It’s not a delivery you would witness in the wild. But medical professionals were called in to the Bristol Zoo in the United Kingdom in order to save a mama gorilla and her baby girl. The mother was showing signs of pre-eclampsia, a potentially life threatening complication to a species that is critically endangered in the wild. The Western lowland gorilla needed medically attention, and quickly as the veterinarians were not experienced with giving C-sections.
"We needed to act fast in order to give the best possible treatment to mother and baby and to avoid the possibility of losing the baby," said the senior curator of animals at Bristol, John Partridge.
When the veterinarians decided that the baby gorilla would need to be removed surgically, and David Cahill, a gynecologist at St. Michael's hospital and professor in reproductive medicine and medical education at the University of Bristol, took the lead on the operation.
The C-section is the first of its kind in a zoo, and one of only several recorded in history. It was definitely Dr. Cahill’s first C-section on a gorilla. Cahill said, "Along with having my own children, this is probably one of the biggest achievements of my life and something I will certainly never forget." The baby gorilla weighed in at a mere 1 kilogram and officials stated that she needed respiratory assistance when she was born.
According to the statements provided by the zoo, both mama gorilla and her baby are in good condition and well on their way to a fully recovery.
While Kera, the mother gorilla, is recovering, we’ll be taking bets for baby names for the baby gorilla.
Opini