Baby Gorilla Born At Berlin Zoo For The First Time In 16 Years

Updated September 8, 2021

No matter how exhausting a job can be, we'll usually find there's at least one part of it that comes as a pleasant surprise.

Maybe a mysterious customer just left a life-changing amount of money as a tip. Maybe you have to make a delivery in a gorgeous part of your city that you've never seen before. Maybe you write an article that takes you down a fascinating and improbable rabbit hole.

And while I must admit I've never been a zookeeper, it seems like a pretty safe bet that the strongest moments of bliss come when a rare animal is born.

Last week, that's the kind of adorable milestone that graced one German zoo.

On February 17, the Berlin Zoo announced that two nights prior, one of their gorillas had brought a "little munchkin" into the world.

Facebook | Zoo Berlin

As WPTV reported, this marks the first time that the zoo has seen the birth of a new gorilla in 16 years.

And while this is certainly a rare event for the zoo, it's also a first for the mother.

Facebook | Zoo Berlin

According to WPTV, 24-year-old Bibi had never had a child before when she got together with 16-year-old Sango.

But as a representative from the zoo told Reuters, Bibi's status as a first time mom doesn't seem to be slowing her down at all.

As he put it, "She has a routine and demonstrates a care as if she had plenty of experience already. She's doing a fantastic job."

And that's clear in how relaxed the baby appears to be nine days after its birth.

Facebook | Zoo Berlin, Ruben Gralki

As the zoo wrote on Facebook, this is apparently typical for baby gorillas, who almost never cry out as human babies do.

That's because it's able to spend most of its time on Bibi's warm belly and nurse and sleep to its heart's content.

Nonetheless, it's a good thing that Bibi and her new baby are working so well together because it's not possible for her to get much support from the zookeepers.

Facebook | Zoo Berlin, Ruben Gralki

As WPTV reported, both the zookeepers and the facility's veterinarians are keeping their distance from the gorillas while the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

And considering that eight gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park were believed to have contracted the virus from a human handler, this decision wasn't made out of an overabundance of caution.

As a result, this means that zoo staff know less about the baby than they would under normal circumstances.

Facebook | Zoo Berlin

As they wrote on Facebook, they neither know the baby's sex nor its birth weight. For that reason, they've held off on naming the new gorilla until they're able to determine that information.

But based on how well it seems to be doing under Bibi's care, it seems that can wait.

h/t: WPTV

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