Visitors to zoo witness gorilla birth in exhibit

PITTSBURGH – Visitors at a Pittsburgh zoo got a surprise when they witnessed a gorilla giving birth in the exhibit area.

Moka, the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium’s 22-year-old Western lowland gorilla, gave birth to her third baby Friday morning.

The zoo says Moka is very attentive and has been encouraging her baby to nurse.

Brandi Bella-Shaw says she was at the gorilla exhibit with her husband, teenage son and his girlfriend when Moka emerged from behind a wall, carrying the baby. She says the umbilical cord was still attached and it was very apparent Moka had just given birth.

She says “it was amazing to see” and Moka “was so nurturing.”

She says everyone in her group was “amazed by the sight.”