Heartwarming moment Calaya the gorilla cradles her newborn baby Moke and gently kisses him at the National Zoo

• The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., welcomed a newborn gorilla on Sunday
• First-time mom Calaya gave birth to her son, Moke, a western lowland gorilla, at the Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
• The gorilla birth is the first of its kind to take place at the zoo in almost a decade
• The adorable baby gorilla was bred last summer by 15-year-old mom Calaya and 26-year-old father Baraka
• The extremely caring mom is seen in footage kissing her baby and cradling him
• Zoo officials said the moment was also special and monumental for them to see 

By Jessa Schroeder For Dailymail.com

PUBLISHED: 14:34 EDT, 16 April 2018 | UPDATED: 17:04 EDT, 16 April 2018

Astonishing photographs and video from the National Zoo show the first interaction between a mother gorilla and her newborn baby.

First-time mother Calaya gave birth to her son, Moke - pronounced mo-KEY - a western lowland gorilla, on Sunday at the Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C.

The astonishing gorilla birth was the first in nine years to take place at the zoo. Zoo officials captured the special moment, which was shared to the zoo's website as well as social media on Monday morning.

'We're thrilled to share western lowland gorilla Calaya gave birth to a male at 6:25 p.m. 4/15. His name, Moke, means "junior" or "little one" in the Lingala language,' the National Zoo wrote to their Twitter page.

 

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Primate staff at the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute are celebrating the firs birth of a male western lowland gorilla in nine years

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5622371/Incredible-photographs-gorilla-cradle-kiss-newborn-baby.html#ixzz5Ct9bVDdZ 
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