Surrey, Tuesday April 26: The primate zookeepers at Chessington World of Adventures are delighted to announce the arrival of a baby Western lowland gorilla. The currently unnamed new arrival was born in the early hours of Sunday April 24, and is being closely monitored by the team whilst they stay close to their mother and slowly get introduced to the rest of the troop behind closed doors.

Meet baby Lila. Zoo Keepers at the UK's Chessington World of Adventures Resort have taken the tiny Meerkat under their wing, after she was rejected by her mother. Just 22 days old and weighing 119 grams, the equivalent weight of half a stick of butter, Lila is receiving round the clock attention.

Keeper Gemma Anscomb has taken on the challenge of being the main caregiver for Lila, with duties including milk-feeding every two hours and lots of cuddles. Anscomb said, “Little Lila was sadly abandoned by her mummy. This often happens in the wild. If the parents feel that the family group is getting too large, they will often seek out the weakest of the group and reject them from it. We closely monitored the group following Lila’s birth and when we saw something wasn’t quite right, we stepped in. I’m delighted to say she is doing really well.”

Photo Credit: Chessington World of Adventures Resort

“We’re all so pleased to see that little Lila is developing by the day and are looking forward to introducing her to her new family in the Wanyama Village very soon,” Anscomb added. She may be small but she’s a little fighter and has proven quite a character already!  She loves nothing more than snuggling up to her Mumma Duck cuddly toy and getting lots of attention from her keepers.”

Lila has begun a program of meeting her fellow Meerkat playmates, where she’s learning behaviors from them and developing her natural instincts. She will also begin to try some solid food. Lila will make her public debut this Saturday, May 25.

These 15-day-old Capybara babies seem like they were born to rock.  Something about the spikey-haired "wet" look and their "blue steel" attitude should land them a cover spot on Rolling Stone. "Spinal Cap", perhaps? The pictures were taken at Chessington Zoo in the UK just yesterday by photographer Mogodonman. Note the sleepy-eyed bass player on the top left of the lead image.

More pics after the jump...

Keepers at Chessington zoo are bringing up a baby meerkat by hand after he was rejected by his parents. According to African popular belief (mainly in the Zambian/Zimbabwean region), the meerkat is known as the sun angel, as it protects villages from the moon devil or the werewolf which is believed to attack stray cattle or lone tribesmen.

The UK's Chessington Zoo reports a record year for baby births. Marc Boardman, Zoo Manager, explained: “2009 has been our biggest baby boom EVER at Chessington World of Adventures, with everything from gorillas, spider monkeys and lemurs to frogs, seahorses and condors getting in on the action. Most of the animals in Chessington Zoo are endangered or threatened species and the most important part of the work of the zoo is its contribution to conservation.” 

Mbulu, baby Western Lowland Gorilla

Ayu the Binturong, the first parent-reared Bearcat born in the UK for decades

One of Chessington's many recent Skunk babies

More feathered and furry fun below the fold...