(WBIR-Knoxville) Until last week, it had been years since a gorilla was born in captivity in Tennessee. In fact, one had never been born at the Knoxville Zoo. Now, they've had two babies born in the span of one week.
"I think it's the cutest thing ever," said a young visitor of the Knoxville Zoo.
"It's small. It has a big head," a young girl added.
Crowds gathered around the Gorilla exhibit at the Knoxville Zoo on Wednesday hoping to get a sneak peak of the family's new members.
"Our guests have been so excited. They've been so respectful and so understanding the new parents need some private time," said Lisa New, Executive Director of the Knoxville Zoo.
Only cameras were able to get close to see two brand new gorilla babies born just five days apart.
"It's been over 30 years in the state of Tennessee. So it's a big deal," New explained.
It didn't take long for the babies to steal the hearts of the Knoxville Zoo as well as people across the country.
"We are getting well wishes from all over the country," New said.
The first baby gorilla prompted a surge in attendance and helped the zoo set an attendance record for the month of May. The zoo said 1,000 more people than normal visited on the Saturday after Hope, a female gorilla, delivered her baby.
Now that Machi has given birth to the second baby gorilla, officials are holding the public back just a few days until the family has time to bond.
"We've been keeping the area off view just to give them time to bond as a family, give us time to observe and see if we can see the gender," New explained.
Both babies are part of the Western lowland gorilla family, which is a critically endangered species. While the decline in their numbers can be attributed to habitat loss, commercial hunting and outbreaks of the Ebola virus have been having significant impact on the population since the early 1980's.
Machi came to Knoxville in 2013 from Zoo Atlanta on the recommendation of the Western Lowland Gorilla Species Survival Plan. This is Machi's fourth baby, and zoo staff have every expectation she will be a caring and nurturing mother based on her history.
"The gorilla population as a whole nationally has a bit of a baby boom lately. The planners of that program has done that intentionally to be sure that we have babies growing up in normal social groupings and males are getting the opportunities to breed and be fathers," said New.
Bantu, the 17-year-old new father of two, is taking on the role quite well.
"Whatever he likes to eat, whatever he wants to do, we're keeping him happy. The females are so appropriate to him. They show him the baby," New explained.
Machi has been cleaning and caring for the baby appropriately and staff are watching closely for signs of nursing. It's a growing family that has made history in Knoxville.
"It would be a big deal if it's our 50th gorilla baby. But to be our first and second? That's really special," said New.
The zoo hopes to take down the ropes that keep people back by this weekend. But, the family bonding will determine that timeline.
