Recently, the Philadelphia Zoo saw the birth of a new member of the gorilla family. The newborn is a boy and it was brought to light with the help of doctors that are usually taking care of humans. Usually, a gorilla labor is quick and doesn’t affect the mother, as the zoo officials have declared.
A Troublesome Birth
Zookeepers have noticed that Kira, who was a mom for the first time, had an abnormal labor evolution. When they saw that the gorilla, who is 17-years-old, started showing signs of tiredness and illness, they immediately called professionals to assist with the delivery. Since the human and gorilla physiology are extremely similar, the doctors used tools and procedure normally applied to humans.
A New Member of the Family
The team was successful in delivering the baby gorilla, which doesn’t have a name yet. It is a healthy boy that weighs 2 kilograms (5 pounds) and it was born on Friday, June 2nd. Andy Baker, who works as the chief operating officer at the Philadelphia Zoo, declared that the vet team had a serious plan for situations like this. As such, they had a delivery that was safe both for Kira and for the baby. He added that it was indeed a tense day at the Zoo, but in the end it all turned out well.
More Reasons to Celebrate
Besides being happy for the birth itself, the zoo employers are also happy because the western lowland gorillas represent an endangered species. Because of disease, poaching and habitat loss, their number has dropped more than 80% in the last years, as the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) reported.
There have been lots of efforts made for conservation both in the wild and also in captivity, which makes this birth even more important.
