Mother and baby doing well

From the cheerful news column – a successful gorilla birth at Bristol Zoo:

Keepers arrived to find the new arrival nestling in the arms of its mother.

Photographs taken just hours after the birth on Wednesday show Kala – a nine-year-old western lowland gorilla – cradling the newborn. Staff said both were “doing well”.

They say “its mother” because the zoo doesn’t know the sex yet and won’t for a while. Kala’s first infant was via emergency caesarian section and didn’t survive.

Lynsey Bugg, the zoo’s curator of mammals, said: “We knew we were having a baby gorilla due and we’ve been on baby watch for a little while.

“On Tuesday Kala looked nice and comfortable and not causing us any concerns or worries.

“I came in [on Wednesday] morning to find a brand new baby in the house. It was lovely.”

Captive great apes don’t always know what to do with an infant, but not in this case.

Kala the western lowland gorilla and her baby

That’s a good mama.

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