- The baby’s mother, 18-year-old Imani,went into labor on Wednesday morning but ran into complications
- The little gorilla was successfully born by c-section but is now in the intensive care unit after the difficult birth
- The baby gorilla, who has not yet been named, weighs 4.6lbs
An adorable baby gorilla has been born at San Diego Zoo Safari Park in an extremely rare animal c-section.
Park officials say that the baby’s mother, 18-year-old Imani, went into labor on Wednesday morning and was showing no signs of progress until later that evening.
NBC reports that’s when doctors took Imani to the Safari Park veterinary hospital for an emergency operation, with the help of experts in human c-sections.
‘In retrospect the c-section was the right decision,’ said the park’s Associate Director of Veterinary Services Nadine Lamberski in a release.
‘We think the health of the fetus would have been compromised if we delayed the surgery any longer.’
A cesarean delivery, also known as a c-section, is a ‘surgical procedure used to deliver a baby through an incision in the mother’s abdomen and a second incision in the mother’s uterus,’ according to mayoclinc.com.
The operation was performed by the talented San Diego Zoo Global team and also by a veterinary surgeon and a neonatal specialist from UC San Diego medical Center.
The baby gorilla, who has not yet been named, weighs 4.6lbs.
She is currently in intensive care at a veterinary hospital after suffering complications during birth.
The little gorilla is being provided with oxygen and fluids and her mother is in the bedroom area.
The Mail Online tried contacting the park for updates on the gorilla’s health but no one was available for comment.
This is Imani’s first baby gorilla but the park’s 17th.
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