The Dallas Zoo has been welcoming lots of new baby animals this year, including two giraffes, an elephant, and a white-cheeked gibbon.
The baby gorilla, however, has been the star of the show lately. Bruno is just two months old and was born on November 6 this year.
Bruno has a very close relationship with his mother, Gracie, who can be seen holding on tight to the young gorilla.
Bruno is exciting people of all ages, including 11-year-old Eziquiel Vernis, who has never seen a baby gorilla. “They’re so cute and it’s wonderful how they treat them like they’re almost humans, wrapping them, even the way they’re holding them. They’re just so cute,” Vernis stated.
Zookeeper Angie Holmes has been enjoying guests’ reactions and love for the baby and his mother.
Holmes, who is in charge of the gorilla exhibit. said, “I love seeing the guests light up when they see any of the animals but especially Bruno … Gracie is a wonderful mother. She’s taken care of him from the get-go. She holds him, she feeds him, she cleans him. The other animals can come up to him but right now she’s not letting anyone else hold him or touch him.”
You can also see Bruno’s brother Gus at the exhibit, who is seven years old, and his father, Elmo, who weighs in at 420 pounds.
Zookeepers have attempted to weigh Bruno, but have been unsuccessful, as his mother will not let go of him.
When he was born, he weighed around five or six pounds, and he has grown since then; he also now has four teeth, though he still cannot eat solid foods.
Baby gorillas will nurse for the first two years of their lives and will become independent from their mothers around the age of three. Bruno will not be fully grown until he is around 15 years old.