Sully The 'Male' Gorilla surprises Columbus Zoo with unexpected baby delivery

Zookeepers at the US's Columbus Zoo and Aquarium discovered two unexpected things on July 20. The zoo has a newborn baby gorilla. According to the Columbus Zoo, the gorilla named Sully has been living at the facility with her mother since 2019 and was thought to be male until Thursday. 

“The gorilla care team discovered her holding the unexpected baby gorilla early Thursday,” read the press release by the Zoo, reported CNN.  

Taking to Facebook, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium wrote, "Our gorilla family just got a little bigger with the unexpected birth of a female baby gorilla! But here's the other incredible part: our dedicated keepers recently discovered that the proud mom, who was initially believed to be a male, is actually a female gorilla." Further, they have invited visitors to celebrate the baby gorilla's birth by visiting the indoor gorilla habitat. 

How come the zoo caretakers were not aware of this?

According to the Zoo staff, gorillas “don’t have prominent sex organs” and males and females look mostly alike until around age 8. They noted that it’s only later in life that males develop their large size, silver backs and distinctive head bumps. They went on to explain that with the hard-to-distinguish features, vets at the zoo where the baby gorilla was born adopted a "hands-off approach" to the primate's treatment and let the mother tend to it. 

The zoo also justified that the pregnancy of the gorilla was missed due to  “gorillas rarely show outward signs” they are carrying because “newborns are smaller than human babies and gorillas naturally have large abdomens,” reported CNN citing the press release.  

They asserted that when Sully arrived at Columbus Zoo, she was a “young and healthy animal” and didn’t require any medical procedures that would have led to the discovery sooner. While talking about the baby gorilla, which has not been named yet, the zoo said that the adorable infant appeared to be a healthy female. 

“The veterinary and animal care teams have not yet approached the infant, giving them time to bond with one another and with the rest of the troop, but will conduct a wellness exam soon,” said the facility in the release.