It’s a girl! San Diego Zoo welcomes baby gorilla via rare C-section

On March 13, San Diego Zoo welcomed a baby gorilla via emergency Caesarean section. It was the first time the zoo performed the procedure on a gorilla.

The female baby gorilla, who was born full-term and weighed 4.6 pounds, was initially placed in intensive care after showing some post-natal complications, including a collapsed lung.

She is the first born to Imani, an 18-year-old gorilla at the zoo.

Veterinarians and a team of neonatal specialists intervened after hours of a difficult labour.

"The C-section was the right decision," Nadine Lamberski, associate director of veterinary services at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park said of the newborn gorilla. "We think the health of the fetus would have been compromised if we delayed the surgery any longer."

The little gorilla will be monitored around the clock as she recovers, the Associated Press reported.

According to a statement by the zoo, "Imani is recovering from surgery in the familiar surroundings of the gorilla bedroom area."