First wild baby gorilla born to captive-bred parents in Gabon - BBC News

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A baby gorilla born in West Africa is thought to be the first offspring of parents born in captivity and then released into the wild.

The baby western lowland gorilla was born to 13-year-old mother Mayombe and 15-year-old father Djongo in the Bateke Plateau National Park, Gabon.

Djongo was born at Port Lympne Reserve in Kent and released together with his father Djala in 2013.

Mayombe was born at ZooParc de Beauval in Saint-Aignan, France.

She was released in Gabon in 2019 through a collaboration between the Aspinall Foundation and the zoo.

The new baby is being monitored by rangers, with the new family regularly caught on camera traps.

The baby's grandfather, Djala, was rescued by the Aspinal Foundation in 1986 after being orphaned when his family was killed by poachers.

A family group living at Port Lympne, made up of Djala, a group of females and his young offspring, were flown to Bateke Plateau National Park in 2013.

Mayombe and Djongo are believed to be the first gorilla pair, where both parents were born in captivity, to mate successfully in the wild, the Aspinall Foundation said.

Damian Aspinall, chairman, said the birth "symbolises" his organisation's efforts to protect gorillas.

Mr Aspinal said: "Thirty-five years ago, our work saved Djongo's father and allowed that family lineage to continue after devastating loss.

"The next generation of this critically endangered species given a full life in the wild, free from human persecution, is a powerful image in a project that has come full circle."

Delphine Delord, from ZooParc de Beauval, said: "This baby gorilla, offspring of our female Mayombe born in Beauval, represents a huge step for global conservation, of which we are immensely proud."