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Mother gorilla soothes newborn to sleep

KNOXVILLE (WATE) – The zoo released new video of a gorilla named Hope and her 3-week-old infant, stating, “All babies need their mother’s loving touch, even gorilla babies!”

Hope, an endangered Western lowland gorilla gave birth on May 28, 2015.

Her baby was the first ever gorilla born at the Knoxville Zoo and the first gorilla to be born in Tennessee in more than 30 years.

Machi, the second female Western lowland gorilla gave birth to her baby days later.

Video released by the Knoxville Zoo shows Hope gently patting her little one. Zoo staff said they won’t know the sex of the babies for some time.