A GORILLA that successfully underwent the first cataract operation in its species after it was born blind has given birth in a zoo in Bristol.

Romina, a western lowland gorilla, underwent two operations to restore her sight in April 2002 and September 2003. She was the first adult gorilla to receive the treatment in Europe.

Last Tuesday Romina, 25, gave birth. The baby gorilla weighs about 2lb (0.9kg). Keepers at Bristol Zoo Gardens will have to wait several days to determine the sex of the new arrival.

It is yet to be named and is described as doing well. It has started suckling and is receiving around-the-clock attention from staff at the zoo.

Melanie Gage, a zookeeper, said: “The baby is beautiful. Gorilla babies look very much like a human baby.

“They don’t have much hair on their bodies, but their heads can be quite hairy. We won’t be able to tell the baby’s sex for a few more days yet as Romina is keeping such a close guard on it.

“They are not weaned until they are around 3½ years old and have quite a long infancy.

“This is absolutely fantastic news for Romina, who underwent cataract surgery three years ago, and also for the conservation breeding programme of which we are part.”

Romina was born blind. She was hand-reared at Rome Zoo before arriving at Bristol in November 2001 as part of an international breeding programme aimed at protecting the western lowland gorilla.

Since the operation to restore her sight, Romani has interacted more effectively with the other gorillas at the zoo and bred with Jock, a 22-year-old silverback male.

Western lowland gorillas are under threat in the swampy jungles of their native West Africa because of hunting by man and loss of habitat.

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