Gorilla Effie with her newborn, appearing ‘bright and healthy’ at the zoo in Regent’s Park [© ZSL London Zoo]

A SECOND baby gorilla has been born at London Zoo, less than a month after the zoo welcomed another endangered primate to the world.

On Thursday February 8 western lowland gorilla Effie gave birth in the zoo’s gorilla kingdom, just three and a half weeks after Mjukuu had her baby.

But the labour was not as straightforward as Mjukuu’s, which took 17 minutes.

Effie’s baby was born wrapped in an umbilical cord. While the newborn appeared bright and healthy, the zoo’s keepers maintained a constant vigil over the weekend in case the cord posed any risk to the new arrival.

Thankfully, the cord didn’t create any issues and the baby continued to feed and wriggle around. The cord has now completely detached.

A half-sibling to the baby born in January, the new gorilla was also fathered by silverback Kiburi.

Kiburi, 19, arrived at London Zoo from Tenerife in November 2022 as part of the conservation breeding programme which ensures the preservation of a genetically diverse and healthy population of the gorilla sub-species which come from remote rainforests in Africa.

As a result of poaching and disease, the western lowland gorillas’ wild numbers have declined by more than 60 per cent over the last 25 years.

Primates section manager Kathryn Sanders said: “We’re over the moon to have a second gorilla infant born here at London Zoo in the space of a month. These babies are an important addition to the conservation breeding programme for this endangered species, and just as crucially, great additions to our troop. Effie and her baby kept us on our toes for the first 72 hours as we wanted to make sure that the attached umbilical cord didn’t pose any risk to the newborn.

“It was a huge relief to see baby feeding, moving normally and to get a glimpse of its bright eyes peeking out from mum’s arms. The two youngsters will now grow up side by side, much like their older siblings Alika and Gernot did. They’ll love having a permanent playmate.”

Zookeepers will not be able to confirm the sex of the infant yet while they leave Effie to bond with her new family member.