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      Animal babies

      Baby gorilla at Hannover Adventure Zoo

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      A little baby gorilla holds its hand forward. © Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover

      On discovery tour: The little gorilla baby is very fascinated by its own body

      It's a boy! On 4 September female gorilla Zazie gave birth to her baby at the jungle house at Hannover Adventure Zoo.

      Since then Zazie (32) keeps her offspring as close as possible. When the little fur bundle moves and shows its small face, the rest of the gorilla family is delighted: The siblings Kala (4) and Mayumi (3) want to adopt the baby right away and even dad Buzandi (23) grunts with satisfaction.

      Mainly sleeping

      A baby gorilla is sleeping at its mother's breast. © Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover

      The best sleep is near mum Zazie's bosom

      The junior gorilla has long slim arms, hair lying close at the head, a pretty round face and weighs about 2,000 grams. It will spend most of the time in its mum's arms, pressed close to her body, during the next weeks. Same as newly born human babies, it will mainly sleep the whole day. About every two hours it will be breastfed and then going back to sleep. With about three months it will be able to crawl independently and with four and a half months even walking on all fours.

      First baby since 2012

      Western lowland gorillas rank among the most endangered animal species. With the offspring as part of the European Conservation Breeding Programme, the Hannover Adventure Zoo hopes to save these animals from extinction. The children of the gorillas from Hannover nowadays live in Spain, France and Stuttgart. Zazie's baby is the first offspring in Hannover since 2012. At that time Mayumi, daughther of Melima (19) and Buzandi, was born. One year before that Kala, the daughter of Kathi (41) and Buzandi, was born.

      Profile: Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

      Close-up of a baby gorilla. © Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover

      The junior gorilla weighs frail 2,000 grams

      Origin: Africa
      Nourishment: Fruits, grasses, tree bark and leaves
      Height: 140 to 185 cm
      Weight: Male 140 to 275 kg, Female 60 to 100 kg
      Gestation Period: 251 to 289 days
      Age: up to 47 years in human custody

      (Published: 7 September 2015)