SEATTLE — A western lowland gorilla at Woodland Park Zoo, Nadiri, has given birth to her second baby, a girl.
She gave birth on Friday at 10:25 a.m.
The newborn gorilla is now under human care because her mother didn’t pick up her baby to nurse or keep her warm enough the first day.
Zoo staff are bottle feeding the newborn with human infant formula, keeping her warm and giving her short visits with her mother.
The baby is doing well.
Staff will continue to try to reintroduce the baby to her mother, who can see, hear, and smell her baby.
“We will continue to introduce Nadiri to her baby. She is staying close and has picked up her baby for short periods over the weekend but has not shown any interest in nursing her. By doing short introduction sessions frequently throughout each day, we hope her maternal instinct will soon kick in,” said Martin Ramirez, mammal curator at Woodland Park Zoo.
The baby is the second offspring for 24-year-old Nadiri. She gave birth to her first child, Yola, in 2015.
The zoo says Nadiri was partially human raised as an infant and had no experience as a mom, so she didn’t know what to do when she gave birth the first time. Staff gave baby Yola constant care while also ensuring she had daily interactions with her mom.
Nadiri’s maternal instincts later kicked in and Yola was reunited with her mom.
“We had worked with Nadiri to prepare for this moment and were optimistic this time around that Nadiri would pick up her baby and show maternal care. However, while Nadiri periodically touched her baby just after giving birth, she never picked up her newborn the first day,” said Ramirez.
Nadiri and her group will stay in the off-view dens so she can be with her family, including daughter Yola.
Get updates and milestones on the new baby by visiting zoo.org/growingupgorilla.