Critically endangered gorilla born at London Zoo as part of conservation breeding programme

• A Western Lowland gorilla mother cradling her newborn at London Zoo

London Zoo has welcomed a new critically endangered gorilla into the world after a 17-minute labour.

Mother Mjukuu gave birth to the Western Lowland gorilla on Wednesday.

Western Lowland gorillas are classified as critically endangered with a high risk of becoming extinct.

The number of wild Western Lowland gorillas have declined by more than 60% over the last 25 years because of poaching and disease, according to the Zoological Society of London who run the zoo.

The newborn will have the company of youngsters Alika and Gernot who keepers say are "intrigued" by the newborn.

The infant was fathered by a gorilla who came over from Tenerife in November 2022 as part a Western Lowland international conservation breeding programme.

The project aims to preserve a genetically diverse and healthy population of the gorilla subspecies.

London Zoo’s primates section manager Kathryn Sanders said: “To say we’re happy about this new arrival would be a huge understatement – we’ve all been walking around grinning from ear to ear.

“We’ll be giving mum and baby lots of time and space to get to know each other, and for the rest of the troop to get used to their new addition – they’re as excited as we are and can’t stop staring at the baby.”

Zookeepers are yet to confirm the sex of the infant, who has remained snuggled in its mother's arms.

The infant will remain in close contact with mum for around the first six months of its life.

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