Keepers at London Zoo are "over the moon" after a second critically endangered gorilla baby was born - less than a month after the arrival of another.
The adorable infant was born to mum Effie at 7.44pm on February 8, just three and half weeks after Mjukuu, another Western lowland gorilla, had her baby.
Effie went into labour at around 7.04pm, but the birth was not straightforward as the baby was wrapped in its umbilical cord.
Keepers kept a vigil over the weekend and the cord has now fallen off.
London Zoo’s primates section manager Kathryn Sanders said everyone was "over the moon".
She said: “Effie and her baby kept us on our toes for the first 72 hours, as we wanted to make sure that the attached umbilical cord didn’t pose any risk to the newborn.
"It was a huge relief to see baby feeding, moving normally and to get a glimpse of its bright eyes peeking out from mum’s arms."
A half-sibling to the baby born in January, the baby - whose sex is not yet known - was also fathered by 19-year-old silverback Kiburi, who arrived at London Zoo from Tenerife in November 2022 as part of its conservation breeding programme.
Kathryn added: “The two youngsters will now grow up side by side, much like their older siblings Alika and Gernot did – they’ll love having a permanent playmate!”
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