Meet Dublin Zoo’s latest arrival – Gorilla mum Lena gives birth to new baby

Here are the first photographs of Dublin Zoo’s latest arrival, a little baby western lowland gorilla. Proud mum, Lena, gave birth to a healthy baby gorilla on Saturday last but sadly, the baby’s father, a Silverback named Harry passed away in May.

The new-born weighs approximately 1.8kgs and so far, keepers have been unable to determine the gender because protective mother, Lena is keeping 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.”

“Lena is a great mother and so far she hasn’t let go of her newborn. She will continue to cradle the baby in her arms non-stop for the next two to three months. When she does eventually let the toddler out of her arms to explore, the youngster won’t go far because Lena will not allow the baby go more than an arms length away.”

“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. The new arrival is a great success for Dublin Zoo as part of the European breeding programme for these critically endangered primates.”

Western lowland gorillas are classified as critically endangered spepcies. The numbers of these primates living in the wild is expected to fall by over 80% between 1980 and 2046 with commercial hunting and the contagious Ebola virus being the two main threats facing their survival.