The gorilla born by C-section after her mother was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia

Wrapped up warm in a blanket, you would have no idea of the huge drama her arrival caused.

This 2lb 10z baby girl gorilla was delivered by an emergency caesarean after her mother was diagnosed with potentially life-threatening pre-eclampsia.

Gynaecologist Professor David Cahill was called in from the local NHS maternity hospital to perform the procedure in the veterinary clinic at Bristol Zoo.

Then vets then had to resuscitate the baby before she took a deep first breath - and the relieved team knew she was really in the swing of life.

She is understood to be the first gorilla in the UK to be successfully born after an emergency caesarean, and one of fewer than ten in the world.

Peek-a-boo! The as yet unnamed baby, who was born weighing just 2lb 10oz, recovers after the operation at Bristol Zoo

Emergency: The baby gorilla's mother Kera is sedated and carried into surgery on a hammock at the veterinary clinic at Bristol Zoo

In good hands: Gynaecologist Professor David Cahill, third left, helps the zoo’s team during the emergency procedure

As yet unnamed, she is now receiving round-the-clock care from a team of experts at the zoo who are hand-rearing her while her mother Kera recovers.

Yesterday Professor Cahill, an expert in reproductive medicine at Bristol University and gynaecologist at Bristol’s St Michael’s Hospital, said: ‘Along with having my own children, this is probably one of the biggest achievements of my life and something I will certainly never forget.

‘I have since been back to visit Kera and the baby gorilla. It was wonderful to see them both doing so well.’

Kera is a Western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered subspecies originally from Cameroon in the west Central Africa region.