Newborn Gorilla at Toronto Zoo

[Catherine]

We have a new baby! I was out there on Dec 31 and Ngozi looked very pregnant. And she was.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/01/...o_zoo.html

I can't wait to get out there and see the little one. Newborn Gorillas are so tiny and so sweet. They cling to mom for months and she will hold him all that time.

Well done Charles. Not bad for an old man of 42.

[Cibach]

That's wonderful news isn't it? I hope you manage to see the baby and get us some photos!!

[Catherine]

I will get out there as soon as I have a whole day off. I want to see the baby while it is tiny. The mom was so big when I was out there on New Years Eve. She looked so pregnant. She is a great mom and already has one son and took over being mom to an older female's half grown son when the older gorilla had a stroke and died.

I hope it is a girl this time. We have lots of boys. Charles has had many children and grand children. They live as a family unit and it is wonderful to watch the dynamics of the group. I suppose it is a little like a reality TV show, but way more interesting.

[Knight of Albion]

Ahh! The miracle of life.

I'm not a fan of zoos though. Shame the little thing was not 'born free' ...

[Catherine]

The little baby is safer born at the zoo. He will never be threatened by poachers and loss of habitat. He will live longer and have good medical care. Charles, his father, is an orphan and he only survived because he was flown from Africa to Canada and raised at the Toronto Zoo. Sadly the ideal of animals living free exists in so few places.

I suppose we could think of animals raised in Zoos and sanctuaries as a type of refugee. Life in exile is still life and it can be happy and fulfilling.

[Libby]

awwww I love baby gorillas. the pictures are adorable.

[Catherine]

Baby gorillas are so sweet looking. They have such gentle open expressions on their faces. They are so trusting and vulnerable. Gorilla moms hold them continually for months and provide them with warmth and a sense of security. It is beautiful to watch a mom and baby.