Adoption…. At the San Francisco Zoo.
Over the weekend the female Gorilla, Bawang of the San Francisco Zoo, showed us that adoption is not exclusive to the human race.
According to KCBS.com, shortly after giving birth, the mother gorilla, Monifa left the nest and did not attempt to care for her new born baby boy. The zookeepers tried several times to get Monifa to connect with the baby but were unsuccessful. Each time the new mother would move far away from the baby and eventually built a new nest.
Knowing that the baby needed a mother, the curators united the baby boy with an older mother named Bawang. Although the curators still have to feed the baby, Bawang has taken on the responsibility of mother and the unamed baby is doing well.
UPDATE: If you would like to see more photos of the baby gorilla, the San Francisco zoo has posted more pics on Flickr. CLICK HERE to see them.
