A 3-month-old gorilla has been seriously injured at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo while in an enclosure with other gorillas.
Zoo President Kevin Bell says they're not sure what caused the injury, although it appears to have been inflicted by another gorilla. Bell says there were no previous signs of violence from the group.
The baby gorilla named Nayembi suffered cuts to her face last week. Zoo workers quickly separated the mother and baby from the rest of the group.
"It’s been a difficult few days, filled with worry for everyone at the zoo," Bell wrote in a blog post on the zoo site. "As we reflect on the complexity of caring for wild animals, we’re comforted by our comprehensive planning. We prepared for this sad, unlikely possibility. This preparation let us react with the speed and expertise necessary to give Nayembi the care she needed."
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Zoo officials are cautiously optimistic about a recovery.
"Her recovery isn’t a certainty—we find few certainties with such fragile infants, nearly a quarter of whom don’t make it through their first year of life," Bell wrote. "But she’s playing throughout the day and getting plenty of sleep, just like an infant should. These are good signs."
The zoo has its own hospital where the gorilla is being treated.
A statement on the Lincoln Park Zoo's website says that in an encouraging sign the gorilla is playing during the day and getting plenty of sleep at night.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
