ATLANTA — Zoo Atlanta announced that a newborn western lowland gorilla was found dead Monday morning, according to a press release from the zoo.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of not just this special little individual, but by the loss of a newborn member of a critically endangered species,” the Zoo's Vice President of Collections and Conservation Gina Ferrie said in a press release. "Like humans, newborn gorillas are very fragile, and the first few days of life are uncertain for any baby animal."
Originally, Zoo Atlanta said the baby gorilla — which was born on Nov. 13 — had not been nursing on its own.
They removed the infant from their mother, Kambera, for a neonatal exam to check on her status.
When they returned the infant to the mother, Zoo Atlanta said Kambera began nursing the infant, which they said was a positive sign.
But Monday morning the baby gorilla was found dead, Zoo Atlanta said.
Kambera had previously rejected a baby before arriving at Zoo Atlanta. The zoo noted they took efforts to help prepare Kambera for the birth, giving her the opportunity to observe the maternal care of other gorillas.
But while the death of the baby's death is tragic, they say that Kambera had shown progress as a mother. In the original press release, Zoo Atlanta said Kambera displayed "positive maternal inclinations" after the infant's birth.
“If there is an encouraging takeaway from this sad moment, it is that we were so encouraged to see Kambera, who had not previously reared an infant, display all of the maternal inclinations we hoped to see," Ferrie said
The animal equivalent of an autopsy, a necropsy, will be conducted to learn more about the infants' death.
