Bristol Zoo welcomes new baby gorilla

A baby gorilla has been born at Bristol Zoo Gardens.

The infant, which is yet to be named, was born to mother Touni and father Jock, the silverback leader of a family of Western lowland gorillas at Bristol Zoo.

After her baby arrived in the early hours of Saturday, Touni has been recovering from the birth in a quiet den away from the public.

A zoo spokeswoman said: "Keepers will be monitoring mum and baby very closely over the coming days and weeks.

"Despite being just a few hours old, the baby appears strong and mum is being very attentive.

"The Gorilla House is closed to allow Touni time to rest quietly and bond with her new infant."

The baby is the eighth gorilla in the troop at the zoo.

Touni arrived as a seven-year-old female in October 2015 from La Vallee des Singes Zoo in France.

And in February last year Afia, whose name means Friday-born child in Ghanaian, was born by emergency caesarean section after her mother Kera suffered pre-eclampsia before the birth.

She was hand-raised behind the scenes by keepers for the first eight months of her life, before being slowly reintroduced to the troop just before Christmas.

Western lowland gorillas, which are found in the wild in the tropical rainforests of African countries including Congo, Central African Republic, Cameroon and Gabon, are threatened by illegal hunting, disease, habitat loss and degradation.

The gorilla has seen numbers declining more than 60% over the last 20 to 25 years.