A German zoo ends the life of a baby gorilla after its mother abandoned it

The authorities at the Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich decided to end the life of a young female gorilla, after her mother abandoned her.

It appears that the female gorilla was born on the night of December 31 and was not accepted by her mother or the other animals in the group, the Munich Zoo announced Monday.

The newborn gorilla was hypothermic and extremely weak, and her general condition deteriorated further.

The zoo said experts from veterinary medicine, care, management and veterinary authorities had unanimously decided to end the newborn's life.

And the guards discovered the baby gorilla in the early morning of New Year's Eve.

According to the zoo, they were able to quickly identify the 35-year-old mother, whose pregnancy had not been noticed before.

Attempts to attract the mother's interest in her little girl failed.

One of the possible reasons may be the weak state of the young animal.

"It is known from nature that wild animals understand at a very early stage whether their offspring are healthy and therefore whether their breeding has a chance of success," said zoology director Carsten Ziehrer.

He added: "This behaviour, cruel from a human point of view, conserves important energy resources for the mother in the wild, among other things, which would be depleted if breeding is not successful."

According to preliminary findings, the baby gorilla was suffering from head bleeding and advanced omphalitis, among other things.

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