CHICAGO (AP) — Lincoln Park Zoo is now home to a baby western lowland gorilla.

Officials at the Chicago zoo said Tuesday that the baby gorilla was born Oct. 11. The mother is 17-year-old Bana and the father is the 23-year-old silverback gorilla named Kwan. Zoo primate curator Maureen Leahy says she’s “cautiously optimistic” about the baby’s future, and the mother and baby currently “are showing all the signs” of a happy pair. Leahy says the baby is nursing regularly.

Zookeepers say they are monitoring mother and baby, and the first few weeks are critical to the newborn’s survival.

Visitors to the zoo can see the mother and baby starting Wednesday at the zoo’s Regenstein Center for African Apes.

http://www.lpzoo.org

Posted 10/17/2012