Baby gorilla born in San Francisco Zoo

SAN FRANCISCO ZOO/EPA

Everyone's going ape over this baby girl.

An endangered western lowland gorilla said hello to the world on Wednesday afternoon at the San Francisco Zoo. Weighing in at 5 pounds, 1 ounce, the tiny, wrinkled primate seems to be doing well.

"It's a girl and, from all signs, appears to be healthy and very active," zoo president Tanya Peterson told SFGate.

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She is 14-year-old mom Nneka's very first child. But the new parent will have plenty of help raising her child. The zoo has six other gorillas and some of them are aunties.

"The whole troop will play a part in it," Peterson said. "It will definitely take a village."

The baby will be carried around on Nneka's back between the age of four months and three years.

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Oscar Jonsey, affectionately known as OJ, is her proud dad but will be hands off for some time. The 31-year-old, 330-pound silverback gorilla gave Nneka a sign that it is okay to take care of the baby.

"He will not physically touch the baby for a while, but he will play a protective role," Peterson said.

The gorilla preserve will be closed for the next few days while zookeepers monitor how the infant integrates into her community.

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The baby hasn't been given a name, but zoo officials said it won't be long before their visitors start calling her something.

There are approximately 342 western lowland gorillas at accredited zoos in North America, NBC reports.

If Nneka had given birth in the wild, her baby woulnd't have had as good a chance at survival. In dense and remote rainforests in Africa, western lowland gorillas can grow to 440 pounds. They have a life span of 35 years, according to National Geographic.

They often fall prey to diseases, illegal hunters, and habitat destruction. Their population counts have dropped 60% in the past 25 years.

"The next few days are very important in terms of integrating the baby into the troop, but we feel very blessed to be able to contribute to the population of this critically endangered species," Peterson said.