SEATTLE — A 19-year-old western lowland gorilla has given birth at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.
Zoo officials said in a news release the female baby gorilla was born Friday morning at a healthy 5 pounds.
The new mother, Nadiri, has shown little interest in the infant so staff has stepped in to bottle feed and care for her. Their goal is to expose the baby to the mother and help a maternal instinct take hold.
Officials say because Nadiri was partially raised by zoo staff, they took extra measures to prepare her for raising a baby.
The father of the newborn is 36-year-old Vip, who has sired six other offspring at the zoo.
The gorilla birth is the 13th overall at the zoo and the first in over eight years.
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