The baby locks eyes with the photographer and shares so much in just a look LONDON ZOO, ENGLAND INCREDIBLY rare and intimate images show six week old
The baby locks eyes with the photographer and shares so much in just a look LONDON ZOO, ENGLAND INCREDIBLY rare and intimate images show six week old and a three week old baby Western Lowland gorillas captured on Friday March 1st 2024. Images show the newborns, who have not yet been named and share the same father, both close to their mums Mjukuu and Effie. The half-siblings born just three and a half weeks apart were both fathered by silverback Kiburi, who arrived at London Zoo from Tenerife in November 2022 as part of the international conservation breeding programme for western lowland gorillas. Both births are celebrated as remarkable moments in the zoos breeding programme as the western lowland gorilla is one of two critically endangered subspecies of the western gorilla. Mother Mjukuu's baby entered the world after a speedy 17-minute labour. The tiny infant was born at London conservation zoo at 9:34am on Wednesday 17th January 2024, following an eight-and-a-half-month pregnancy. Moments after giving birth in the privacy of their dens, second-time mum Mjukuu could be seen gently cradling her newborn, before allowing the troop’s curious youngsters Alika and Gernot to examine the intriguing new arrival. “We started our day as normal, we gave the gorillas their breakfast and began our cleaning routines. When we returned to their back dens, we could see Mjukuu was starting to stretch and squat, a sign that she was in labour,” stated Primates Section Manager Kathryn Sanders “After a very quick labour, just 17 minutes, Mjukuu was spotted on camera tenderly holding her newborn and demonstrating her wonderful mothering instincts – cleaning her infant and checking it over.” Then on February 8th 2024 the zoo prepared for another gorilla arrival, this time things were slightly more complicated as the baby was tangled in its umbilical cord. The mother, Effie, first went into labour at , in the gym area of the zoo’s Gorilla Kingdom. However it soon beca
Size: 5400px × 4191px
Photo credit: © Media Drum World / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: animals, baby, british, endangered, gorilla, lowland, nature, photographer, species, uk, western, wildlife
