NOffspring for an endangered gorilla species: A western lowland gorilla was born in London, the zoo in the British capital announced on Thursday. The tiny baby was born on Wednesday morning just 17 minutes after labor began. First, mother Mjukuu cuddled the little one before allowing other cubs to examine the new arrival.
The day started quite normally, said Kathryn Sanders, who is responsible for primates at London Zoo. “We started our day normally – we gave the gorillas their breakfast and started our cleaning work. When we returned to her back caves, we could see that Mjukuu was beginning to stretch and squat, a sign that she was in labor.”
It has yet to be determined whether the baby gorilla is male or female. The newborn is still cuddled too closely to its mother, it says London Zoo website. The baby monkey will remain in close contact with its mother for the first six months of its life.
His name has not yet been determined either. Sanders said the gorillas are “as excited as we are” about the baby and can't stop staring at the baby.
The population of western lowland gorillas, which live in dense and remote rainforests in West and Central Africa, has declined by more than 60 percent in the past 25 years. According to the Zoological Society of London, this is caused by deforestation, poaching and disease. The gorillas are classified as critically endangered and have a high risk of extinction.
Mjukuu was closely monitored during her eight-and-a-half-month pregnancy: the zookeepers watched her the entire time using surveillance cameras.
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