After emergency caesarean delivery, UK gorilla doing well

A mother gorilla and her baby are doing fine in a British zoo after a very rare delivery by emergency cesarean surgery.

A mother gorilla and her baby are doing fine in a British zoo after a very rare delivery by emergency caesarean surgery.

A baby female Western lowland gorilla is seen in this handout photograph dated February 17, 2016. (Reuters)

The infant was born 11 days ago by surgical intervention after the mother showed signs of a potentially life-threatening illness.

Bristol Zoo officials said Tuesday the as-yet unnamed female baby needed help breathing at first but is now doing well and being treated around-the-clock by experienced gorilla keepers. The baby’s mother, Kera, is also recovering.

The baby was delivered by Prof. David Cahill, a gynecologist experienced at delivering human babies by cesarean. It was the first time he had used the procedure to deliver a gorilla.

A baby female Western lowland gorilla is seen in this handout photograph dated February 18, 2016

He said there were signs the baby was unwell in her mother’s uterus and needed to be delivered as quickly as possible.