Baby gorilla is first born at Sedgwick County Zoo

At just 5 days old, a baby gorilla is stealing the spotlight at the Sedgwick County Zoo.

The baby Western lowland gorilla was born shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Its gender is unknown.

But zoo officials announced Monday that mom, dad and baby are doing great.

“We were not there for the birth, which is just fine, but we had night keepers on staff who came in and checked,” said Danielle Decker, the gorilla’s zookeeper.

Barika, 15, is a first-time mom. The father is Matt, 23.

Baby gorillas at this stage typically weigh about 3 to 4 pounds, but this little one hasn’t been weighed yet. Zoo staff members are keeping a close eye on how the new parents are doing.

“We don’t want to intrude on their bonding,” Decker said.

Decker said on Monday that the staff has observed the baby nursing, and that it is clinging well and looks strong. The gorilla family will remain behind the scenes – away from the public’s view – until the baby is healthy, strong and ready to be debuted.

“Mom is doing a great job with her maternal skills,” Decker said. “The baby is nursing. The mom is caring, attentive and curious about the baby. Other members of the group are coming over, but she is being protective and keeping it away.”

Matt, the dad, is keeping a close eye.

“He is just kind of standing on the periphery. He is hanging out and watching. He tries to get close. He is very calm and doing very well,” Decker said.

The Western lowland gorilla is found in the tropical forest of western Africa, from southern Nigeria to the Congo River.

In 2007, Western gorillas, the only species seen in zoos, were declared critically endangered by the World Conservation Union. Less than a decade ago, it was estimated there were 100,000 Western gorillas in Africa. Now, those numbers are closer to 30,000. Many of the gorillas have been killed by humans or by disease.

In the wild, gorillas live in groups of three or four females with one male.

Because the gorillas are nearly extinct in the wild, zoos stopped taking gorillas out of the wild in the 1960s. Over the next few decades, many zoos relied on larger zoos such as San Diego and Cincinnati to successfully raise gorillas, with smaller zoos housing the male populations.

This species can be found in the wild in the African countries of Cameroon, People’s Republic of Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic, and Equatorial Guinea.

This story was originally published August 8, 2016 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Baby gorilla is first born at Sedgwick County Zoo."