When Afia, a newborn Western Lowland Gorilla, is rejected by her mother Kera after a difficult birth, her human keepers must start the challenging – but rewarding – experience of hand-rearing her themselves. Teaching her the ropes of life in the Gorilla House at Bristol Zoo is tricky enough. But providing 24/7 care for a baby gorilla means Alan must hand-rear Afia in his own home too, an experience that forges a remarkable emotional bond between the two of them over the course of many sleepless nights.

Soon a second baby gorilla, Hasani, is facing rejection from his mother, and Alan and his colleagues must embark on a daring mission to train Kera – now recovered but socially isolated – to become Hasani’s surrogate mother. Can she learn to protect and love Hasani as her own, in a way she couldn’t for Afia? Can she find her maternal instincts and claim a place within the troop at last?

My Thoughts:

I love a book that is a bit different to my usual reads and this was the perfect read. The cover is so cute and I knew I was going to fall in love with this read and I did. This is about a zookeeper at Bristol Zoo having to hand rear a baby gorilla called Afia. I fell in love with Afia straight away. It is a long and slow process but worth it in the end to see a fit and healthy gorilla go and make it in the world. I had never realised how much work a zookeeper would have to put in to look after a baby animal let alone a gorilla. It takes time and Patience and you can tell Alan the zookeeper loves his job very much. It was an eye opening read and one I feel really passionate towards. I think baby gorillas are my new favourite animal now. Thank you Alan for writing about your experience. It means a lot.

I received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.

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