Endangered Baby Gorilla At New Orleans Zoo Dies Six Days After Birth

The baby gorilla born just six days ago at New Orleans' Audubon Zoo has died. The endangered western lowland infant was the first gorilla born at the zoo in 24 years.

"We are devastated to share the loss of the infant gorilla born on September 4," the zoo shared Thursday on Instagram. After initially appearing well, the animal care staff monitoring the health of both the mother, Tumani, and infant noticed the latter seemed weak and lethargic. The newborn gorilla was taken to the zoo's animal hospital but couldn't be revived.

As of Thursday, the cause of death was undetermined, but the zoo said it appears there was a "lack of adequate lactation" from Tumani. They plan on performing a necropsy to figure out what went wrong. The zoo said Tumani is being monitored and that the entire troop of gorillas were grieving the loss.

Tumani is one of the zoo's critically endangered western lowland gorillas. The infant, which hadn't been named, was a result of breeding between 13-year-old Tumani and Okpara, a 26-year-old silverback.

"We are heartbroken over the loss," said Ron Forman, Audubon Nature Institute President and CEO. "This has been a work in progress for many years, from the introduction of the new troop members to the announcement of the birth, everyone involved has worked tirelessly. I am incredibly proud of our team. We will continue to contribute to the conservation of this amazing species."

The zoo had been preparing for the birth for months, documenting the pregnancy on social media and even creating an online baby registry.

"This is a profoundly hard time for our Audubon family," the zoo's post continued. "We encourage you to share your condolences with the Audubon team in the comments [of the post] or to drop off sympathy cards at the front entrance of Audubon Zoo."

Photo: Getty Images, Audubon Zoo