I did not see a gorilla in infancy, but there are two interesting accounts of travellers in this region who have seen them. Reichenow says:
I was successful on the hunt to capture an animal only a few
days old. It weighed only 2 kg., therefore considerably less
than a newborn human child, while an old gorilla considerably
exceeds an outgrown man in weight. The whole body of the
little gorilla was sparsely covered with hair so that it almost
appeared naked; only on the crown of its head there arose
straight up a tuft of long brown hairs. This manner of hair
growth gave the little ape a particularly human appearance.
When one saw the little being, which flourished beautifully at the breast of a Negro nurse, in its helplessness, one had to become convinced that the gorilla nursling needs the greatest care and attention on the part of its mother. On the soft high bed the mother can well cover with her body the tiny young one which is in great need of warmth, without its running a chance of being crushed by her heavy body.
Late in 1919 I received a letter from an English
hunter, Mr. C. D. Foster, which contained the following
paragraphs concerning a gorilla hunt on Mt.
Mikeno:
I noticed that the nearest gorilla was holding a very small one
in her arms. I shot and wounded her and she came toward
me still holding the young one. I shot again and she dropped.
The rest, by this time, were just disappearing, and having shot
two good specimens I did not try to follow them.
I approached the female gorilla and found her lying stomach down resting on her elbows and still clasping the young one. She was evidently nearly dead and I took a photo of her in this position. I then waited for her to die which she did within a few minutes, so I went up to her and took away the baby gorilla which was quite uninjured and apparently was not more than 24 hours old. . . . The baby gorilla (a female) is now two
