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Baby Gorilla, Now Healed, Meets Her Adoring Public

(CBS) -- A nine-month-old gorilla is reunited with her family and with her adoring public after suffering a facial injury in February at Lincoln Park Zoo.

Elizabeth Lara and her family from McHenry were among the first in line to see little Nayembi.

"We waited like half an hour.  It was raining, but it was worth waiting for.  It's really cute," Lara says.

Baby Gorilla Returns

In February, Nayembi suffered a facial injury. Zoo officials weren't sure what caused it and temporarily cared for the gorilla.

Lincoln Park Zoo's curator of primates, Maureen Leahy, says Nayembi has healed well after reconstructive surgery. She was reunited with her mother last month and this week with her father. And now the public.

"Everything seems to be on track in terms of her getting her baby teeth correctly. She's doing well," Leahy says.

The zoo staff who've been working with Nayembi shed some tears -- tears of joy, that is -- when it was clear she was ready again to face the public.

Welcome Back Baby! Gorilla Baby Seen by Lincoln Park Zoo Visitors For the First Time Since February by Lincoln Park Zoo on YouTube
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