San Diego Zoo welcomes c-section chimp

A rare caesarean, aided by experts in human c-sections, delivered a health 2.08-kilogram female gorilla at San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Eighteen-year old mother Imani went into labour early in the morning mid-March but showed no sign of progress until later that evening.

Doctors took the mother to the park’s veterinary hospital for an emergency caesarean, performed by the zoo’s global team, a veterinary surgeon and a UC San Diego Medical Center neonatal specialist.

The unnamed baby is in intensive care after birth complications reported to be a collapsed lung.

It was Imani’s first baby but the 17th for the safari park. The mother is recovering.

 Picture: San Diego Zoo