LORNA Wanless had tears in her eyes and a lump in her throat as Kent's seven captive-born gorillas left Howletts.

It wasn't because she will not see them again, for Lorna, 34, will be joining the Djaltam, Kwibi, Kiba, Djalta, Ima, Ama and Kido in the Gabon.

Her sadness was because Lorna, along with other gorilla keepers at the wild animal park near Canterbury, had been instrumental in hand-rearing five of the apes now living in the wild in Africa as part of the pioneering project.

She said: "It was like saying goodbye to my kids. For my own selfish reasons I didn't want them to go. At the same time I am excited for them because it is a chance for them to live how they should be living and I want them to have that chance."

Lorna has been hand-rearing gorillas at Howletts for four years. The first she was given was so poorly he didn't make it but Djaltam, her second, is one of the Born to Be Wild seven.

She said: "They are all different, just like children. Djaltam wouldn't take any milk in the day, so had all his feeds in the evening. He also wouldn't take any milk if his nappy was dirty.

"You don't have favourites but I particularly loved Kiba when I was hand-rearing her. She's really posh and likes who she likes and if she doesn't like you she lets you know.

"She was easy for me to look after because as long as she was with me she was happy.

"Ama was grumpy as a baby and was nicknamed Grumpy Gorilla. I had help from the other keepers with each of them, and with the two small boys, Ima and Kido, Hannah Barlow gave me a hand.

"Because the two small ones are so close in age when you had those two on your own, it was like being a single mum with twins.

"When Kido was born he was with his mum for six days and she nearly managed to keep him but she wasn't producing enough milk.

"He was practically dying when he was taken away from her. He was so weak I was waiting for him to die, especially because my first gorilla died.

"I would always prefer the baby gorillas to be with their natural mother. It's an absolute last resort that we have to take them. It's always best for the babies to be with their mums, if their mums are looking after them properly."

As a 'mum' Lorna has every anxiety for her 'young' taking part in such an intrepid adventure. She said: "We've done as much as we can for them in preparation.

"They've had malaria pills, we've changed their diet from fruit to branches and leaves and they've been running as a group in the day, just trying to get them together as a unit.

"Everything is against them. They've lived in the UK, so aren't used to African bugs and things, they are used to living in enclosures and have never lived in a social group with a mother and father."

Lorna will be joining the gorillas in mid-September, taking over from head gorilla keeper Colin Angus, who is helping the gorillas settle in for the first six weeks.

"It is important that we look after the gorillas emotionally as well as physically," said Lorna. "If they become emotionally distressed that can make them physically sick.

"I'm just really looking forward to seeing them in their natural habitat, climbing trees, having the space to go where they want."