Guessing game for gorilla's keepers

New arrival - but is it a boy or a girl?

Keepers at Bristol Zoo are still unsure of the sex of one of their latest arrivals - a baby gorilla.

The youngster - born on 26 July but as yet unnamed - is the first baby for the group of western lowland gorillas at the zoo.

Parents Undi and Claus came from Cologne Zoo in Germany in 1998 and are part of an international breeding programme.

Western lowland gorillas are endangered because they are hunted for bushmeat in the wild.

Keepers are being kept at a respectful distance by the new parents - and as the 18-year-old father weighs 31 stone and is in his physical prime, it may be some time before the baby's sex is definitely established.

Not to be trifled with - protective father Claus

Kirsten Pullen, overseer of primates at the zoo, said: "We are pretty sure he is male but until we can get closer we cannot be certain.

"We shall have to wait until then to give him a name. He, or she, is doing very well.

"It is Undi's first child and she is taking to it very well indeed. The pair of them are adapting very well to parenthood."

Claus and Undi, who is nine years old, live at Gorilla Island at the zoo with a 24-year-old female called Salome.