Human doctors stepped in to perform a rare emergency c-section on a gorilla mom after she went into labor five weeks early.
The story is an incredible, breathtaking reminder of the similarities between these magnificent animals and ourselves.
At the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas, a mother gorilla named Sekani showed signs of a pregnancy complication called pre-eclampsia that were identical to those seen in human mothers.
Zookeepers then called in a team of gynecologists who usually spend their time looking after pregnant women, to assist with the urgent delivery. Arriving at the zoo, they determined that, if it were a human woman in the same condition, an emergency C-section would be required to save the life of both infant and mother.
Alongside vets, they proceeded with the operation when Sekani was five weeks before term. The newborn required urgent resuscitation, and the event became the highlight of the team members’ respective careers.
Dr. Jamie Walker Erwin led the surgery with neonatologist Dr. Robert Ursprung and Dr. Dennis Occkiogrosso—none of whom had ever worked with primates or apes before.
The baby was named Jameela, which means “beautiful” in Swahili, but also after Dr. Jamie.
“Taking part in delivering Sekani’s infant via cesarean section was one of the highlights of my entire career as an OB-GYN,” Dr. Erwin said in a statement. “It is an honor and privilege to assist with care for this endangered species and to share my expertise with the veterinary staff at the Fort Worth Zoo.”
It is the third gorilla birth in the zoo’s 115-year history but the first gorilla to be born via cesarean section.
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The infant required immediate intervention and Dr. Ursprung assisted the Fort Worth Zoo team with resuscitation and stabilization, respiratory support, and radiographs.
“It was incredible how similar this mother-infant pair was compared to what I see in the hospital for babies born under similar circumstances,” said Dr. Ursprung. “The baby needed critical respiratory support for a few hours post-delivery, but as she transitioned to life outside the womb, she stabilized quite nicely.”
“She had so many features typical of a slightly premature human baby.”
Fort Worth Zoo primate keepers, along with veterinary and nutrition staff, began around-the-clock care and feeding of the little gorilla while Sekani recovered.
Despite repeated attempts to reunite the mother and baby, Sekani showed little interest in caring for her baby, they said.
Zoo experts suspect Sekani never experienced the necessary hormonal cues that come during natural and full-term birth.
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After two weeks and several unsuccessful reunification attempts, staff started to train a 24-year-old female gorilla named Gracie to become a surrogate mother.
Gracie has two offspring of her own, including one-year-old Bruno, and is already trained to “present” her baby up to keepers for a visual examination.
WATCH the procedure take place, and the sweetness that followed…
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