Vet is living with poorly baby gorilla to help him back to health

A vet is living with a poorly primate around the clock as she helps nurse him back to health. Sarah Chapman is keeping Twycross Zoo's baby gorilla Okanda under 24-hour supervision after staff noticed he had become weak and poorly. They discovered a problem with his mother's milk that meant the young primate was not getting the nutrients he needed.

Staff sedated his mother, Ozala, while they hurried the infant to the on-site vet. Sarah is now living with the six-month-old gorilla at an undisclosed location but is only communicating with the infant through grunts. Zoo staff have asked her to mimic the sounds and actions of a primate as they are wary about exposing him to human influence.

Vet and director life sciences at the zoo Sharon Redrobe said: "We're very pleased with his progress but we thought we were going to lose him. It's been very touch and go. He was so thin and he doesn't want to be left alone because after all he's still only a baby. Sarah isn't holding him like a human baby, or talking to him, just grunting and grooming him like his mother would do."

The young primate was put on a drip and had a feeding tube placed in his stomach as he was not strong enough to feed from a bottle. He was then fed powdered baby milk every three hours as his condition was continuously assessed. For the past few days, staff have been weaning the youngster off milk and on to solid foods, such as bananas and food pellets. They hope to have Okanda back with his mother by January.