February 12, 2008—As the female's daughter looks on, two western lowland gorillas in Congo's Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park embrace before mating face-to-face, as seen in photos released today.

Lowland gorillas had never before been seen mating face-to-face, and no wild gorilla had ever been photographed using this behavior, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced. The mating style, though, is seen among gorillas in captivity. (Read full story.)

Perhaps just as surprising, the female in these 2005 photographs—Leah, named after Star Wars's Princess Leia—is also the first gorilla to have been seen using a tool in the wild.

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