BABY GORILLA NEEDS A NAME.

Byline: Terri Hardy Daily News Staff Writer

Forsaken by its mother, a baby gorilla born at the Los Angeles Zoo is receiving loving care from keepers but is missing one vital thing - a name.

Zoo officials announced a baby-naming contest for their newest star attraction, hoping the children of Los Angeles will find a suitable moniker for the diaper-clad primate.

"She's really captured people's hearts," Lora LaMarca, zoo spokeswoman, said Sunday. "Visitors crowd around the nursery window to look at her."

Born Jan. 17 to mother Angel and father Tzambo, the 5-1/2-pound bundle of joy marked the first gorilla birth at the zoo since 1987.

The birth was a major event for Los Angeles, but apparently not a blessed event for the mother.

"The keeper found the baby on the ground, cold," LaMarca said. "Angel didn't want anything to do with her."

Worse yet, zoo veterinarians discovered a puncture wound on the newborn's head, and suspect that Angel had bitten her infant, LaMarca said.

Zoo workers placed the baby in an incubator, fed her formula with a bottle, and soothed her to sleep in a rocking chair, LaMarca said.

"Now she's getting really playful, kind of flailing her arms and sticking her tongue out," LaMarca said. She's also put on about 2 pounds, outgrown her incubator and been moved to a crib.

The gorilla-naming contest began Thursday and will end Saturday. Participants must be 12 or under. The winning name will be announced March 7.

The winner will receive four zoo tickets, a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo, and a giant, stuffed gorilla.

Contest forms are available at Ralphs markets.

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Photo (1) Los Angeles Zoo animal keeper Karen Jackson feeds the as yet unnamed baby gorilla, which was rejected by its mother. Terri Thuente/Daily News (2) The young female has grown frisky with big doses of TLC.