Lowland gorillas in Europe 2012

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Amnéville

Pertinax said:
I am presuming that as there are two Silverbacks (Ya Kwanza & Awali) who are complete strangers to each other, that they will be kept in two groups rather than one. Any one know for sure if that's correct?
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The zoo has confirmed now that there will be two groups, but did not specify their members. Here is the latest article (in French): Nouveauté au zoo d'Amnéville
 
In the fake log in the outside enclosure photo it looks like there's a gorilla face been sculpted into it!:D

One photo is Awali(the slimmer silverback). I'm sure that he and Ya Kwanza will be the alpha males in the two seperate groups.
 
Willard said:
You were right. :D Flickr member ".E.L.S" has visited the zoo and confirmed the "who's who".
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It had to be that way;) - they wouldn't be able to introduce two completely strange silverbacks like YK and Awali, so have formed the two groups using them as the dominant animals.
 
Video of young female gorilla Moja interacting with her silver back Nicky and older female Nadia at zoo Cabarceno. It's 10min long, but for gorilla fans worth every second ;-)
 
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Messy said:
Video of young female gorilla Moja interacting with her silver back Nicky and older female Nadia at zoo Cabarceno.
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A really nice video, Moja seems to be doing fine and enjoying life. I can't help but thinking that Niky is not only a (potential) mate for her, but also important as a protector, replacing her father Richard back in Prague. She is still quite young, and in a way behaves more like a girl than an adult female.
 
Willard said:
A really nice video, Moja seems to be doing fine and enjoying life. I can't help but thinking that Niky is not only a (potential) mate for her, but also important as a protector, replacing her father Richard back in Prague. She is still quite young, and in a way behaves more like a girl than an adult female.
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yes, I think so too.. both Chelewa and Moja are young and Nicky seems to be sensitive and nuanced enough to be able to relate in this gentle protective way . Chelewa's baby is due any day apparently, so that'll be the next interesting development :-)
 
I think Nicky is very gentle/laid back anyway, possibly because of his background. He didn't seem that excited when Moja was introduced. Here Moja is the one soliciting his attention, rather than him showing interest in her, but he is very good with her. The important thing is that he has mated Chelewa, and hopefully Moja also, as he's genetically important. I think maybe Moja is trying to interact with Nicky and Nadia more now because Chelewa will not play with her as she approaches motherhood.

One scenario in the future may be that these young females as they mature will come to dominate 'Nicky' because he's so gentle- they will lose respect for him and push him around, it has happened with other similar males before- and when that happens it can hinder future breeding. But at present they have a nice social setup, though I wouldn't say this is a typical group as young gorillas are normally far more respectful of the silverback than here.
 
Just appeared in the Longleat thread.... The new batchelor group there has "apparently" been confirmed as....
1:0 from ZSL (I assume Kesho, very odd timing though :confused: )
1:0 from Dublin (Alf/Sekondi)
And most oddly 2:0 from Twycross????? :eek: Boulas and ????
Warminster Web | Longleat News & Photos
 
Yes, this is rather unexpected news (at least for me;) ) though not from an 'official' source yet. I had presumed the four/five 'young' males- that's apart from Boulas- would be coming from Port Lympne(who would still own Boulas also) but it seems otherwise. (Its possible that was the original plan of course, but has since been changed due to more urgent moves arising)

Three adult males(Boulas, Oumbie, Kesho) who have never been together is an unlikely recipe for a successful/compatable group.:( Kesho and Alf would be okay kept together as they are brothers/siblings who lived together previously. (Boulas and Oumbie are adult brothers too, but have not been together for a very long time, if ever)

I suggested in the Longleat thread that if Oumbie as well as Boulas really is leaving Twycross it might be because they hope to get a male more compatable with Asante?

If this is correct it does mean both Twycross and ZSL will soon be making male changes.
 
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Munster Gorillas.

The female 'Sakina' who came from Jersey Zoo has not integrated well in the Munster group, mainly due to her dominant nature. She was injured during fighting and I believe they are looking to rehome her again now.
 
KEEPER said:
Chelewa gave birth the first gorilla born in Cabarceno.:
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Good news. Thanks for posting.:) Important first baby fathered by the wildcaught male 'Niky'. Chelewa looks to have good maternal behaviour but lets hope they see the baby suckling and do not have to remove it.
 
Sakina

Pertinax said:
The female 'Sakina' who came from Jersey Zoo has not integrated well in the Munster group, mainly due to her dominant nature. She was injured during fighting and I believe they are looking to rehome her again now.
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Hello. I am new here. I have been following Sakina´s situation intensively since end of last year - when she seriously fell ill. Since she came to Münster, she spent most of the time beeing separated from the group. Her start might have been difficult due to her dominant nature, but then she fell terribly ill. She seems to be in a stable health condition again and my impression is, that the Zoo does not really know how to deal with her/the situation now. I wonder, for how long she can be kept away from the group without suffering from loneliness. Can anybody confirm that there are plans to move her to Kerkrade in the Netherlands and if yes, when? Thank you.
 
Paula said:
Her start might have been difficult due to her dominant nature, but then she fell terribly ill. She seems to be in a stable health condition again and my impression is, that the Zoo does not really know how to deal with her/the situation now. I wonder, for how long she can be kept away from the group without suffering from loneliness. Can anybody confirm that there are plans to move her to Kerkrade in the Netherlands and if yes, when? Thank you.
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Sakina was quite old to be moved for the first time(from Jersey). Its possible she became ill due to the stress of the unsuccessful introductions though of course there could have been other reasons I don't know about.

I would think remaining seperate is better for her until her future is decided but I do wonder if she will integrate any better somewhere else. Possibly a different/more dominant silverback than N'Kwango might make a difference.
 
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