A baby gorilla has been born at Dublin Zoo. The baby's father was silverback Harry, who passed away in May.
Proud mum, Lena, gave birth to the western lowland gorilla in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The new-born weighs approximately 1.8kgs and so far keepers have been unable to determine the gender because Lena is keeping the baby close to her chest.
Lena, who was born in 1984, is an experienced mother and this is her seventh baby.
Helen Clarke-Bennett, leader of the animal care team responsible for the gorillas said, “We are absolutely thrilled with the birth of the baby gorilla. The youngster is doing very well and is very bright and alert. Within minutes the baby was feeding from mum Lena which is a very good sign.”
“It has been a sad time for the team after Harry’s death and this has really put a smile on everyone’s face. Big brother Kituba is taking a keen interest in the new arrival and the rest of the troop has reacted very well."
Western lowland gorillas are classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Yvonne McCann, one of Dublin Zoo's gorilla keepers, told 98FM News "She’ll show us in her own time, when she’s comfortable. Probably in the next few days or so, one of us will get a little glimpse when we’re feeding here in the back den.”
"I had a good connection with Harry, he wasn’t here to see it. You kind of have that in the back of your head but life goes on and it is his last baby here and it’s his little legacy here at the Zoo. We kind of felt that, with the baby now being here, we have a little bit of him back”.
