Olympia, the second of two expectant gorilla moms at the zoo, gave birth to a healthy baby boy on Sunday.
SEATTLE — The Woodland Park Zoo performed the first-ever Cesarean section in zoo history on Sunday, after ultrasounds revealed complications in western lowland gorilla Olympia’s pregnancy.
Fewer than 12 C-sections are performed on gorillas globally every year, according to zoo staff.
Both Olympia and her baby, a 5.4 pound boy, are healthy and recovering well, zoo officials said, and the family is starting to adjust to life in the troop. Olympia’s is the second baby born at the Woodland Park Zoo in about a week, the first being to fellow troopmember Jamani on May 18.
Olympia and Jamani were both scheduled to give birth in mid-May, but when Olympia’s May 19 due date came and went, zoo veterinary staff began to worry. The team transported Olympia via ambulance to the zoo’s medical facility, where the obstetrical team examined the gorilla. An ultrasound revealed that Olympia had decreased amniotic fluid combined with an incompletely dilated cervix, which indicated a non-productive labor, explained Dr. Tim Storms, director of animal health at Woodland Park Zoo.
“This meant that Olympia would not be able to deliver her baby without our help, so we made a critical decision to deliver the baby via cesarean section. We had a highly skilled and compassionate volunteer obstetrical team that joined our veterinary team to perform the surgery and deliver a healthy baby boy,” said Storms.
Given the urgency of the situation, a surgical team from Swedish Medical Center performed the procedure — all of whom typically work on humans. The procedure had no complications, and both animals were successfully treated.
Olympia and her baby were reintroduced to the troop the day after the birth. Introductions between mom and baby have been smooth, but fellow gorilla mom Jamani has stepped up and has nursed both baby gorillas several times, zoo staff explained.
“While Olympia showed interest in her baby, Jamani picked up the baby instead and carried him along with her own baby while allowing Olympia to be nearby. Throughout the day Jamani on cue brought both babies to the mesh for the gorilla care staff to do bottle feeding training sessions,” wrote zoo officials in a press release.
Jamani and Olympia successfully raised their first babies together at the North Carolina Zoo in 2012, zoo staff added.
“So far Olympia’s baby is doing well and maintaining a healthy body temperature. While Olympia recovers from the C-section, our plan is to allow Jamani to continue caring for Olympia’s son while also caring for her own son as long as both infants remain healthy, which is our priority. Once Olympia shows signs of being ready for her baby, we’ll move forward with plans to reunite them,” said Martin Ramirez, curator of mammalogy at Woodland Park Zoo.
