Any mother knows the feeling of overwhelming love that comes after you’ve given birth. Now, a series of photos are going viral showing that human moms aren’t the only ones who feel this outpouring of emotion.

Kafi is a first time western lowland gorilla who gave birth to her first baby at the Dublin Zoo on April 1. Photos of her with her baby are beyond adorable, as Kafi can’t stop smiling at the infant!

 

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⚡️BABY GORILLA UPDATE⚡️ ⁣ ⁣ Dublin Zoo’s newest resident, a baby western lowland gorilla, has been busy experiencing the Gorilla Rainforest for the first time this week! Mum Kafi and baby are both going from strength to strength and the rest of the troop are excited to welcome a new member to their troop?????⁣ ⁣ The sex of the baby is still to be determined; it may be a number of weeks before Kafi lets her baby go for a check-up. In the coming weeks, there will be a competition to name the little one? ⁣ ⁣ Western lowland gorillas originate from the dense rainforests of Central Africa and are classed as critically endangered in the wild. The numbers of these primates living in the wild is expected to fall by over 80% between 1980 and 2046 as deforestation, commercial hunting and a highly contagious virus called Ebola threaten their survival. ⁣ ⁣ ?Brian Lawless @pa⁣ ⁣ #dublin #discoverdublin #dublinzoo #gorilla #babygorilla #westernlowlandgorilla #conservation #wildlife #wildlifephotography #nationalgeographic #natgeo

A post shared by Dublin Zoo (@dublinzoo_official) on Apr 12, 2019 at 2:21am PDT

Kafi has been holding her baby so close to her that zookeepers have not yet been able to determine the child’s sex. They don’t want to disturb the bonding process between the mother and the baby, so they are allowing them to spend uninterrupted time together for now.

Photos show the baby clinging to Kafi’s chest as she looks down at her newborn with love and pride. It’s clear that Kafi is absolutely loving motherhood!

 

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⭐Baby Gorilla Alert⭐⁣ ⁣ Dublin Zoo is pleased to announce the birth of a baby western lowland gorilla, born to first-time mother Kafi and father Bangui!⁣ ⁣ On 1st April, after a gestation period of around 8-and-a-half months, Kafi gave birth to the healthy infant weighing approximately 2-2.5kg. To date, keepers at Dublin Zoo have been unable to determine the gender of the infant as Kafi has been keeping the baby close to her chest since the birth. The newborn is the first offspring of Bangui since his arrival at Dublin Zoo last year⁣ ⁣ #dublin #dublinzoo #gorilla #babygorilla #westernlowlandgorilla #silverback #conservation #sierraleone #discoverdublin #failteireland #ireland

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Zookeeper James Creighton said that Kafi, who is 12 years-old, is “doing everything right” with the baby, as is the child’s father Bangui.

“Bangui is proving to be an attentive father and at night has been sleeping close to Kafi and the baby,” explained Helen Clarke-Bennett, team leader of the African Plains exhibit at the zoo.

The birth of this baby is a big deal because western lowland gorillas are considered to be critically endangered due to habitat loss and poaching. There are believed to be only around 100,000 western lowland gorillas left in the world, but Kafi’s child is the eleventh to be born in Dublin Zoo’s captive breeding program.