Wednesday was a busy day at Zoo Atlanta.
The arrival of an 11,000-pound bull elephant named Msholo made a big splash, but a much smaller package was delivered on the same day.
A baby western lowland gorilla -- still yet to be named -- was born July 24 to mother Lulu, 19 and father Taz, 30.
The newborn is Lulu’s second surviving offspring and the 11th for Taz.
Western lowland gorillas are listed as critically endangered, and their numbers have been reduced by 60 percent over the last 25 years as a result of poaching, the bushmeat trade, habitat loss and emerging diseases, according to Zoo Atlanta.
Zoo Atlanta is part of a coordinated effort to protect the species through the Association of Zoos & Aquarium’s Species Survival Plan and through the AZA’s Ape Taxon Advisory Group, which supports conservation of wild ape populations.
Zoo Atlanta is now home to 19 western lowland gorillas, one of the largest collections in North America. Lulu is the fifth and youngest offspring of Willie B., one of Zoo Atlanta's most celebrated inhabitants, who arrived in 1961 and died in 2000.
Some 24 gorillas have been born at Zoo since 1988.
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