Who says gorillas can't have birthday parties?
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park held the first of three birthday parties for its youngest gorilla, Monroe, over the weekend.
The group of young children who had camped at the park overnight were delighted by the celebrations and serenaded the one-year-old gorilla with the song "Happy Birthday to You".
The birthday boy was carried into the exhibit by his mother, Kokomo, but Monroe quickly crawled out of her arms and pounced on his colourful "cake" made of ice and filled with fruits and vegetables.
"Monroe is a very busy little guy. He's climbing all over the place and he's very independent, spending lots of time with the other gorillas," said Peggy Sexton, senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, "He's a very curious little guy."
The exhibit was filled with presents, toys and extra branches and leaves (also called browse) for the six-gorilla troop.
Monroe was born on June 17, 2011, to Kokomo and father Winston. Monroe is the first offspring for this pair and the first gorilla born at the Safari Park since 2001. Western lowland gorillas are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
3 News / Reuters