Please note sent under embargo – no use before 00.01am Thursday March 24th.
Bristol Zoos new gorilla baby – born via a caesarean – who is being hand reared by staff at the zoo. See SWNS story SWGIGGLE: Bristol Zoos baby Western lowland gorilla is now six weeks old and developing well. The baby girl has almost doubled her birth weight, now weighing 2.2kgs, has started teething and has even giggled for the first time. The infant was born after an emergency caesarean procedure a rare occurrence in gorillas and only carried out a handful of times in the world. She is now being hand-reared round the clock by a small team of experienced gorilla keepers at Bristol Zoo, although she is not currently on show to the public. Curator of mammals, Lynsey Bugg, is one of the team looking after the baby. She said: She is doing really well; she is getting noticeably stronger week by week, which is great. Her arm muscles are becoming more defined, her grip is stronger and she is increasingly alert and attentive. She might be small but she is already showing an assertive side to her personality and grunts and coughs at us if we dont give her her milk quickly enough!
