Bristol Zoo's baby gorilla being reintroduced to family after keepers hand-reared him

Six-month-old Hasani had to be hand-reared after his mother struggled to care for him but he is now progressing well, according to keepers

Keepers at Bristol Zoo say a baby gorilla is becoming confident and playful as he is slowly being introduced to the other gorillas.

Six-month-old Hasani was born in August 2020 but his mother struggled to care for him and so he has been hand-reared by keepers.

The infant gorilla now has 10 teeth which enable him to eat small amounts of solid food, including a healthy diet of carrots, sweet potato, and green beans.

|Curator of mammals at Bristol Zoo Gardens Lynsey Bugg said he has a playful character is emerging, adding: "Hasani can get himself around nicely now. He’s becoming much more confident in exploring on his own.

"He’s not overly keen on the British winter. He likes to look at things and touch branches but he is quick to hunker down in the warm when it gets cold."

Hasani, which means 'handsome', is gradually being reintroduced to his seven fellow western lowland gorillas at the zoo, although he is yet to live with them.

Hasani is one of a number of gorillas kept in the mammal sanctuary at Bristol Zoo gardens

Keepers say the 6kg gorilla enjoys being active and mobile, and can be seen walking, climbing, and swinging from ropes whilst staying with keepers where he can see and smell the rest of the troop.

Lynsey said: "The females will all come over to see and sniff him.

"His mother, Kala, will regularly give him gentle grumbles, a vocalisation that is positive and welcoming. They quite enjoy sitting with him whilst he climbs on the mesh between them.

Hasani and all the animals at Bristol Zoo Gardens will relocate to their Wild Place Project site as the zoo's iconic Clifton building is closing.

For now, Hasani is still being given five feeds of 180mls of milk over 12 hours throughout the day, but no longer needs to be fed during the night.

Lynsey said: "He sometimes opens his eyes if he’s thirsty and stirs quite a bit in the night but doesn’t really wake up."

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