Release hope for rejected gorilla

Tia has put on weight since park keepers started caring for her

A baby gorilla rejected by its mother is being hand-reared by zookeepers ahead of a possible return to the wild in her native African homeland.

Tia is being fed powdered milk and clothed in nappies after her mother showed no signs of maternal instinct.

Keepers at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park near Ashford, Kent, separated the gorillas after realising Tia was not getting the normal level of care.

The young gorilla could be introduced to a safe natural habitat in Gabon.

Phil Ridges, head of the gorilla section at 600-acre Port Lympne, said: "She was dehydrated and in need of some love and attention, just like human babies.

"Between us we have been surrogate mothers, spending 24 hours a day with her and she is progressing well, putting on weight and taking in her new surroundings."

Surrogate mothers

Tia's mother, 19-year-old western lowland gorilla Tamki, was also hand-reared after being rejected by her mother, Killa-Killa.

Some of her offspring have been sent to the Gabon as part of a programme by the wild animal park.

Tia has been transferred to Port Lympne's sister park, Howletts, near Canterbury, and is spending time with two other hand-reared gorillas.

Port Lympne spokeswoman Tricia Corkhill said: "Provided everything goes to plan and Tia continues making good progress, it is hoped she will also go to the Gabon at some point."

Extinction risk

There are less than 100,000 western lowland gorillas left in the world, and experts predict they will be extinct by 2020 if their numbers continue to fall at the present rate.

Their decline is mainly due to deforestation, the Ebola virus and the bushmeat trade in central Africa.

Port Lympne and Howletts were set up by the late John Aspinall to protect and breed rare and endangered species.

Between them they house 74 western lowland gorillas.