The new baby gibbon born at the Assiniboine Park Zoo

The Assiniboine Park Zoo is celebrating a new addition to a family of gibbons.

A pair of white-handed gibbons named Maya and Samson have had their third offspring together.

Animal care professional Fran Donnelly said they don't know yet whether the new baby is a boy or girl.

"They're doing very well, hanging on nice and tight to mom, and nursing and doing all the little things that babies do," Donnelly said.

Donnelly said Maya has been an attentive mother with her previous two babies, now aged 4 and 2, and seems to be adapting well to her new offspring.

"Our mama is still quite tired having a brand new baby and a couple of toddlers that will be keeping her busy, so she may be taking some rest up in the rafters," Donnelly said.

She said white-handed gibbons are the most common in zoological facilities, but are an endangered species in the wild due to hunters and deforestation.

Donnelly said Maya and Samson are having babies in captivity at the same rate they would in the wild. "Typically, they would birth every two or three years in the wild, and we seem to be hitting that as well here…they're a pretty happy pair," she said.

The gibbon enclosure was closed to the public Friday while Maya recovered from the birth, but will re-open Saturday morning.