At Seattle Zoo, a 'Fluid and Fragile' Situation

A newborn at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo arrived with help from a surgical team more used to human patients than primates. The western lowland gorilla, a 5.4-pound male, was delivered on Sunday via cesarean section after an ultrasound showed reduced amniotic fluid and that his 29-year-old mother, Olympia, wasn't fully dilated, five days past when she was due, the zoo said on Tuesday, per NBC News. Both Olympia and her son are reported to be doing well, though zoo staff describe the situation as "fluid and fragile" and are monitoring them closely, per a release. C-sections in gorillas are extremely uncommon—not even a dozen have been documented worldwide, and this was a first for Woodland Park.

"I did not know they could do C-sections on gorillas," one local news reporter admitted. In a twist the zoo didn't find completely unexpected, another female gorilla, Jamani, who recently had her own baby, quickly took over caregiving duties for the newcomer, per the release. Zoo officials plan to let her care for both infants while Olympia recovers. "Once Olympia shows signs of being ready for her baby, we'll move forward with plans to reunite them," says the zoo's Martin Ramirez. Male gorilla Nadaya is the dad of both babies.