Fort Worth Zoo welcomes baby gorilla via emergency c-section
FORT WORTH – The Fort Worth Zoo is celebrating the birth of a baby gorilla.
The gorilla, a girl named Jameela, was born on Jan. 5 via emergency cesarean section by medical specialists for humans, the zoo said. It's the third gorilla to be born at the zoo.
Jameela's mother, 33-year-old Sekani, was pregnant with her fourth offspring and had a routine pregnancy with an expected due date of early- to mid-February, according to the zoo. In early January, she began showing symptoms of preeclampsia, a blood-pressure condition that can occur during pregnancy in both humans and primates.
"Taking part in delivering Sekani's infant via cesarean section was one of the highlights of my entire career as an OB-GYN," said Dr. Jamie Walker Erwin. "It is an honor and privilege to assist with care for this endangered species and to share my expertise with the veterinary staff at the Fort Worth Zoo. I was amazed at how Sekani's anatomy matched that of my human patients."
Zoo staff have been raising Jameela for the last five weeks while Sekani recovers from the procedure. After two weeks and several reunification attempts that failed between mother and baby, the zoo says they are training another gorilla to become a surrogate mother to Jameela.
"Observing our staff and their continuous commitment to this baby and the subsequent surrogacy journey is a testament to their dedication to the animals in their care," said Michael Fouraker, executive director of the Fort Worth Zoo. "It's been incredibly inspiring to witness and we are all hopeful that we can continue to watch this little one grow."
The International Union for Conservation of Nature says the western lowland gorillas are listed as critically endangered due to hunting and disease.
Gorillas also have a low reproductive rate. This means that even if there was a drastic decline in hunting and disease, it would take at least 75 years for population recovery to take place.