A Happy Gorilla Mother
By John Tierney
Mark Keppler/Associated Press Gana, an 11-year-old gorilla at a German zoo, holding her 2-day-old offspring on Tuesday.
I’m back from vacation and grateful to my colleagues for publishing so many excellent posts here while I was away. I’m also glad to start back with some good news: Gana has a healthy new baby.
Gana is the gorilla at a zoo in Münster, Germany, who in 2008 became the Pieta of the animal kingdom after the death of her three-month-old son, Claudio. She held the baby’s body for days afterwards, and heartbreaking photographs of mother and child were published around the world.

Oliver Werner/Getty Images Gana held the body of her dead baby, Claudio, for days in August 2008.
One of the photos ran with my colleague Natalie Angier’s column about how animals deal with death.
On Tuesday Gana was photographed with her new daughter. The Associated Press reports:
Gana’s new daughter was born early Sunday, said Ilona Zuehlke, a spokeswoman for the Allwetter Zoo in Muenster.
The newborn is healthy and lively, much to the mother’s apparent joy, Zuehlke said Tuesday.
“Gana looks very happy,” she told The Associated Press.Source
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