The Prague Zoo
received a very special Christmas present this year:  Western Lowland Gorilla Kijivu delivered a
healthy baby boy on December 22, just a few months after another of her
offspring died in a freak accident.

The baby’s delivery
went smoothly with no problems, according to Prague Zoo staff.  Kijivu is an experienced mother, and this is
her fourth baby with the zoo’s male Gorilla, Richard. 

In July, Kijivu’s
second offspring, 5-year-old male Tatu, accidentally hanged himself with a
climbing rope in the Gorilla enclosure. 
This devastating event was called one of the worst tragedies in Prague
Zoo’s history, and makes the new infant’s arrival even more significant for the
zoo staff and the captive Gorilla population. 

Western Lowland
Gorillas are the most widespread of all Gorilla subspecies, inhabiting the
dense rain forests of western and central Africa.  In some parts of their range, the population
is decreasing by 5% each year as Gorillas are captured as pets or killed for
bushmeat.  As timber and mining companies
encroach on the area, valuable Gorilla habitat is destroyed.  The deadly Ebola virus is estimated to have
killed up to one-third of wild Gorillas. 

Photo credit  Tomáš Adamec, Prague Zoo