Keep your paws off my baby!
Worldwide, Daily news | ankakh | January 7, 2013 20:49
Zoo keepers are unable to get close to newborn gorilla because of its 16-stone protective motherIndeed, keepers at Twycross Zoo, Warwickshire, have so far been unable to get close enough to 16-stone Ozala to determine the sex of the infant, born four days ago.
But they are happy that Ozala is feeding and cleaning her baby, an important addition to a species that is said to be on the verge of extinction. There are only 100,000 western lowland gorillas left in the wild.
After a short, and relatively smooth labour, keepers say mother and baby, which weighs just 2lbs, have bonded and are doing well.
Neil Dorman, curator of conservation programmes and planning at the zoo, said: ‘It was a quick, largely uneventful birth, which was great for Ozala.
‘Gorillas are very protective creatures, for the first few weeks, even months, the baby with stay very close to mum, she will carry it all the time.
‘Even when it starts to become more independent, she won’t let it venture very far from her.
‘Because she is holding it so close it is very difficult to tell the sex, early indications are it is a boy, but we can’t be certain.
‘She’s being very attentive towards it, cleaning it, feeding it, all the signs are good at this stage.’
Forest clearance, which has allowed hunters into previously inaccessible areas, combined with the deadly Ebola virus, has been blamed for wiping out a third of all western lowland gorillas in protected areas in just 15 years.
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