This picture shows the tender moment a huge 29-stone female gorilla cradles her newborn baby in her powerful arms.
Mum Ozala gave birth to the baby western lowland gorilla 11 days ago at Twycross Zoo, Atherstone, Warks.
The pint-sized primate has not been named because it is still too young for zoo keepers to determine its sex.
Captive gorilla births are so rare that London Zoo has had only one in 22 years, while Bristol Zoo has resorted to using IVF drugs.
The new arrival is one of four baby apes born at Twycross which has the most diverse collection of primates in the world.
Though the 125,000 gorillas in the wild have no problem breeding, it is much more difficult with captive gorillas.
They are normally unwilling breed due to the limited choice of mates, the reduced need for males to compete, or simply the distraction of an audience.
Robert Bracken, the zoo’s director, said: ”As the baby is still very young we don’t know the sex and so it’s hard to decide on a name.
”But we will definitely consider a royal one given the timing. We do, however, already have a chimp called William.”