Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve celebrates Louango the gorillas first birthday
Published: 13:02, 15 May 2019
Updated: 14:00, 15 May 2019
A baby gorilla will celebrate his first birthday this month.
Louango was the sixth infant born to Tamba, a west lowland gorilla at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve.
His dad is silver back Kouillou.
He was named after Loango National Park in Gabon, in Africa.
The gorgeous baby has already established himself as a favourite among the group at Palace of the Apes, one of the gorilla enclosures at the animal park near Hythe.
A party is now being organised by the keepers to celebrate Louango's milestone birthday.
It will include free cake for visitors, special talks, craft making - including the chance to make a card for Louango - and a raffle.
The gorillas will also be treated to cupcakes.
Simon Jeffery, animal director said: "Lovely little Louango is a firm favourite in the family group at Palace of the Apes and his antics captivate our visitors, as he learns to take his first steps and tries to instigate play with his older siblings.
"We thought it would be a lovely idea to throw a first birthday party.
"The party will include free talks at Palace of the Apes where visitors can learn about the family group and, at the midday talk, visitors can also watch the family and Louango tuck into their own gorilla friendly cupcakes."
During the party, visitors can meet members of The Aspinall Foundation team to discover more about how the conservation charity protects western lowland gorillas in the wild and how they can help support this important work.
The festivities will take place from 11.30am to 1pm and 2.30pm to 4pm at Port Lympne on Saturday, May 25.
WATCH: Louango explores with mum Tamba
Port Lymne Reserve sits on 600 acres and has a South American, Asian and African safari experience and is home to the largest outdoor dinosaur exhibition in the UK, Dinosaur Forest.
For more, visit www.aspinallfoundation.org/portlympne
Escaped animals, unusual finds, news from the RSPCA and Kent's zoos can all be found here.
Read more: All the latest news from Hythe
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Sam Williams