A proud gorilla mum welcomes her newborn baby western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species. The adorable baby gorilla was born at approximately 9.15am on Thursday 3rd January at Twycross Zoo, Leicestershire. Mum, Ozala, experienced a natural and stress-free birth and is keeping the new arrival very close to her. Curator of Living Collections, Charlotte Macdonald, said: “Ozala is a confident, attentive mother and is taking great care of her baby. The baby’s father, our silverback Oumbie, is gentle but protective and is showing a lot of interest in the infant. On the day of the baby’s birth he was very inquisitive, sitting beside Ozala and putting his face right up to the baby to smell it. In time, he will touch and play with the baby but for now he lets Ozala take things at her own pace.” The western lowland gorilla is listed as 'critically endangered' on the IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species, as there are estimated to be fewer than 100,000 left in the wild.
A pair of adorable polar bear cubs play-fight with each other in the Alaskan snow .
A pair of BEAUTIFUL rescue sea turtles spot their catch in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef .
A SPECTACULAR array of stars fills the night sky as they soar over this active volcano .
WITH the phosphorescent blobs and mesmerising patterns, these spectacular images may look like the hall marks of an enchanted forest but it is in fact the scene of thousands of dancing FIREFLIES .
Swirling water and sand create amazing aerial images of river deltas across Iceland .
COURAGEOUS CLIMBERS scale frozen waterfalls in Canada, as the ice threatens to collapse beneath them .
Say cheese! This cheeky chappy isn’t in the mood to live up to his scary reputation as he is pictured here cracking a killer smile as he goes about his daily business .
SITTING quietly at the edge of the lake, these two baby bears watch and learn as the adults hunt for fish .
TOMORROW (Saturday) marks the 28th anniversary of the nuclear disaster that left the city of Chernobyl devastated .
Complete with core, mantle and crust, these incredible planet cakes are truly out of this world .
An Australian explorer has travelled the globe with a toy pig, known as Travel Piggy, in search of a missing cuddly companion .
A GLOWING range of greens and blues sweep across the sky in a spectacular display of light .