Still wobbly on his feet, baby gorilla Kukena holds on to his mum’s leg as he tucks into a piece of fruit.

The western lowland youngster has just learned to pull himself up on to his back legs at Bristol Zoo in England after seven months clinging to his mother Salome.

“Kukena is making fantastic progress and is developing well,” said mammal keeper Alan Toyne.

“It’s great to see him starting to walk and becoming more independent, although he will be reliant on mum for a long time yet.

“She is very protective of him, particularly when the other gorillas are around.

“She will let him venture a few metres away from her when they are alone, but keeps him much closer when the others young gorillas are around as they tend to like a bit of rough and tumble.”

Kukena’s name means ‘to love’ and comes from the language of the Lunda Tribe from north west Zambia but originates from the Congo where western lowland gorillas are found in the wild.