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Endangered gorilla kisses 'very special and significant' newborn baby

Birth of western lowland gorilla 'very significant', zoo says

Tuesday 17 April 2018 18:16 BST

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Beautiful moment Calaya the gorilla kisses her newborn baby

The moment a mother gorilla first kisses her newborn baby was caught on camera.

Shortly after giving birth to her son, Calaya, a western lowland gorilla, was filmed kissing him repeatedly on the lips as she cradles him.

He was given the name Moke, which means “junior” or “little one” in Lingala - a language spoken throughout the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo where the creatures hail from.

The footage was captured at the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington DC.

Moke’s arrival marks the first time in nine years the zoo has managed to get the critically endangered species to breed in captivity.

15-year-old Calaya arrived at the zoo three years ago and quickly coupled up with Moke’s 450-pound father, 26-year-old Baraka.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice award

Show all 8

1/8Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice award

Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice award

Winner – Pikin and Appolinaire

Pikin, a lowland gorilla, had been captured and was going to be sold for bushmeat but was rescued by Ape Action Africa. Jo-Anne took this photograph as the gorilla was being moved from her former enclosure within a safe forest sanctuary in Cameroon to a new and larger one, along with a group of gorilla companions. She was first sedated, but during the transfer to the new enclosure she awoke. Luckily, she was not only very drowsy, but she was also in the arms of her caretaker, Appolinaire Ndohoudou, and so she remained calm for the duration of the bumpy drive

Jo-Anne McArthur

Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice award

Finalist – Elegant Mother and Calf

Every year from July to late October southern humpback whales migrate north from their Antarctic feeding grounds to give birth in the warm sheltered waters off Tonga. Ray encountered this humpback mother and calf peacefully floating in the plankton-filled water around the island group of Vava’u, Tonga. After Ray gently approached them, the giants swam a bit closer to have a look at him. While they made this elegant turn, Ray took the shot. He later converted the image into black and white which he felt represented the simplicity of the scene

Ray Chin/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice award

Finalist – Warm Embrace

When polar bear mothers and cubs emerge from their dens in the early spring, the cubs stay close to their mothers for warmth and protection. Once the cubs are strong and confident enough, they make the trek to the sea ice with their mother so that she can resume hunting for seals. Debra waited six days near the den of this family, in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada, before they finally emerged. In the most challenging conditions she has ever faced, temperatures ranged from -35C to -55C with high winds, making it almost impossible to avoid frostbite and keep her camera gear functioning properly

Debra Garside/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice award

Finalist – Roller Rider

Lakshitha was on safari in MaasaiMara National Reserve, Kenya, when he spotted an unusual sight – a lilac-breasted roller riding a zebra. Normally they prefer to perch high up in the foliage, but his roller spent an hour or more riding around and enjoying the occasional insect meal. Lakshitha waited for the surrounding zebras to form the perfect background before taking this tight crop

Lakshitha Karunarathna/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice award

Finalist – Sloth Hanging Out

Luciano had to climb the cecropia tree, in the protected Atlantic rainforest of southern Bahia, Brazil, to take an eye-level shot of this three-toed sloth. Sloths like to feed on the leaves of these trees,and so they are often seen high up in the canopy.

Luciano Candisani/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice award

Shortlisted – Reach for the Sky

Steven was taking pictures of a small group of adult roseate spoonbills in a rookery in Tampa Bay, Florida, when he noticed a newcomer flying in from afar. With just enough time to back up a few steps, Steven photographed the bird landing exactly square to his camera with its wings in a stunning symmetrical U-shape

Steve Blandin/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice award

Shortlisted – Holding On

This close-up captures the touching moment an infant lays its small hand in the big hand of its mother. Jami took this photograph while she was in Borneo working on a story about the effects of palm-oil agriculture on orangutan habitat. Loss of primary rainforest is a serious threat to this already critically endangered species

Jami Tarris/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice award

Shortlisted – Blood Ivory

In a protected area of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, a ranger’s bloody hand rests on a heavily grained ivory tusk, also covered in the blood of an African elephant. The bull had to be destroyed due to a severe tusk infection that couldn’t be treated.The tusks were removed to a place of safekeeping, where they were carefully catalogued in accordance with legislation

Peter Chadwick/Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Calaya became pregnant in August, kicking off a gestation period which tends to be seven-and-a-half to eight months long for gorillas.

“The birth of this western lowland gorilla is very special and significant, not only to our Zoo family but also to this critically endangered species as a whole,” said a spokesperson for the zoo.

Scientists estimate that in the past 20 to 25 years, the number of wild western lowland gorillas has decreased by 60 percent.

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