A baby gorilla was born at Bristol Zoo. When the keepers arrived, they found the new arrival nestling in the arms of its mother.
Pictures hours after the birth on Wednesday showed Kala , a nine-year-old western lowland gorilla cradling her newborn.
The zoo said Kala gave birth naturally with the baby’s father, Jock, nearby. Her first baby died last year a week after it was born.
It will be a while before the zoo knows if the baby is male or female.
“It is so lovely that she was able to give birth naturally and baby and mum are really well. She’s a very attentive mother and very nurturing and you see lots of suckling from the baby, and the baby looks really strong and a good size,” Lynsey Bugg, the zoo’s curator of mammals said.
The new gorilla joins a troop of six at the zoo, which are part of a breeding programme.
The western lowland gorilla is classed as critically endangered, with some estimates putting the number left in the wild at about 100,000.
