San Diego

A gorilla was born at the San Diego Zoo sometime Monday or Tuesday, officials said. It was only the second gorilla to be born in the 70-year history of the zoo.

Zoo officials had projected late May or early June as the probable time of birth, but keepers arriving at work Tuesday morning discovered Alvila, 21, the first gorilla born at the zoo, in 1965, holding her newborn in her arms, spokesman Jeff Jouett said. The baby apparently had been born sometime between 7 p.m. Monday and 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Zookeepers believe the baby is premature by at least a month, but the baby “seems to be a normal size . . . strong,” Jouett said, adding that the infant is male and has not been named.

The baby is Alvila’s third child and the first baby sired by Memba, a 17-year-old male donated to the zoo, Jouett said. Alvila’s two other children, Alberta and Jitu, were born in the Roeding Park Zoo in Fresno and now live at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

Alvila had not begun nursing her baby as of Wednesday afternoon, but “it is not uncommon for a newborn gorilla to go two or three days without nursing,” so officials are not concerned, Jouett said.

“If it doesn’t start nursing tomorrow, then we will begin to worry.”

Officials hope Alvila will raise her baby on exhibit at the zoo. If she rejects the baby, it will be transferred to the Children’s Zoo to be raised by keepers there, Jouett said.

Alvila was raised in the Children’s Zoo after she was rejected by her own mother.

When Alvila was born, she was the 11th gorilla born in captivity.

The first, Colo, was born in the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo in 1956. Since then, more than 300 gorillas have been born in zoos around the world. The lowland gorilla is an endangered species, with less than 6,000 remaining in the wild habitat in Central Africa, Jouett said.