Gorilla at Prague Zoo Has Surprise Baby

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Shinda is a 24-year-old gorilla that lives at the Prague Zoo, in the Czech Republic. She is a bit overweight. The gorilla had never given birth.

Several times she became pregnant, but the pregnancies ended early, without a baby. Zookeepers did not expect her to ever be able to give birth. In fact, nobody noticed that she, once again, was pregnant.

But on April 23, Shinda delivered a healthy baby gorilla. It shocked everyone at the zoo. The director of the Prague Zoo told the media, “I can’t even imagine what could surprise me more. Not only did we not know about Shinda’s pregnancy, but, to begin with, over time we’ve lost hope she could have a baby anymore.”

People on social media reacted to the unexpected birth, too. The term “Prague Zoo” has been trending on Facebook and Twitter. Photos and video of the mother and baby gorilla have gone viral. One video of Shinda holding her new baby has more than 2 million views.

One Facebook user wrote, “just simply amazing how they are so much like humans. Look how she’s holding and feeding this baby.”

But, others reacted with concern that zookeepers did not even know Shinda was pregnant. One social media user asked how “this could...be called care if they didn’t even know she was pregnant. Add the fact [that] she went on display within 24 hours.”

​The zoo has already permitted visitors to see mother and baby. The gorillas are among the most popular animals at the Prague Zoo. Tens of thousands of people watched the birth of another gorilla -- online -- back in 2007.

And that’s What’s Trending Today.

I'm Ashley Thompson.