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Mammal milestone
A baby Western lowland gorilla has been born at Bristol Zoo following an emergency caesarean.
The as yet unnamed 11-day-old female infant is the first ever gorilla to be born by C-section way at the zoo and one of only a handful worldwide. She was delivered early due to life-threatening pre-eclampsia symptoms within her mother, Kera.
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Professor David Cahill has delivered hundreds of human babies by C-section, but never a gorilla.
He said: “Following our assessment, we considered that Kera might have a condition that humans get (pre-eclampsia) and that the only way to treat it was by delivery. We also thought that the baby in her uterus was showings signs of being very unwell and in need of delivery.
“My colleague from St Michael’s Hospital, Dr Aamna Ali, and I prepared for this extraordinary caesarean section, and delivered a little girl gorilla.”
The baby weighed in at 2lbs 10oz (just over a kilo) and initially struggled with her breathing, but with the zoo’s small team working around the clock to care for their new arrival she is now doing well and is back within her mother’s arms.
John Partridge, senior curator of animals at Bristol Zoo, said: “The birth of any gorilla is a rare and exciting event; but the birth of a baby gorilla by caesarean section is even more unusual. It wasn’t a decision that we took lightly – Kera was becoming quite poorly and we needed to act fast in order to give the best possible treatment to mother and baby, and to avoid the possibility of losing the baby.”
The Western lowland gorilla remains on the endangered species list. Bristol Zoo’s gorilla house is open as usual but the newborn gorilla will not yet be on show to the public.
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