The tiny western lowland gorilla, nicknamed 'Baby G', was born on October 26 last year at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

He was the first baby gorilla to be born at the zoo in its 139-year history, to his mother Nneka, 23, and dad, Mokolo, 34.

However Nneka did not show appropriate maternal care, so the troop’s eldest female, Fredrika, 47, who herself has raised four infants, instinctively took over looking after the new born.

Sadly, Baby G was born prematurely - weighing only about three pounds - and contracted pneumonia, so he had to be separated from his family while he was treated.

They then exited the enclosure and let in Fredrika who, after sniffing him for a few minutes, picked him up and has barely let go of him since.

The baby's surrogate mother continued to impress the zoo's staff by bouncing Baby G and displaying the maternal instincts she had before he was removed.

After this, the other gorilla's also welcomed the new born back into the group, with dad Mokolo keeping a watchful eye.