Zoo Atlanta Gorilla attacks barrier at Zoo Atlanta, prompting evacuation

I think Acacia did get out last year. I sure would like to know what that vet to poor Taz at Zoo Atlanta.
 
clm1950 said:
I sure would like to know what that vet to poor Taz at Zoo Atlanta.
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I know you are joking partly, but Gorillas routinely don't like Vetinary Surgeons. It is the darting procedure which upsets them and so instills the image of the vet in their mind as an 'enemy'.

I've seen male Gorillas at Howletts and Jersey react aggressively to the appearance of a vet they know- even when he was just walking past. Its perhaps the nearest they show in captivity to the excitable defensive 'charging' behaviour they can show in the wild under stress. Cracked panes at Atlanta are the result of that male hitting the glass harder than usual as a result of his aggressive reaction.
 
Something that concerns me is what to do in an emergency or semi-emergency at the zoo if there aren't any staff around. It could be an escape or if anti-social behaviour is going on. Zoos should have an emergency number you can call.
 
@Pertinax: Gorillas are not the only animals that do not like vets-and not just because of the distance immobilization.
That's actually the sad thing about being a vet; you study long and hard, you do everything night & day to guarantee their well-being and cure them when they get sick. And as a "reward" for all that, most of them hate your guts and some try to kill or at least injure you badly whenever they can. But somehow, it's still worth it...

One of the zoo vets at Copenhagen Zoo has a nice trick to avoid causing unnecessary stress: when visiting (for example) the chimps on a regular, harmless routine tour, he's wearing normal clothes and passing out treats to the apes. When he's about to do some "serious business" with them, he wears funny clothes like a mask etc. Pretty neat idea, if you ask me. ;)
 
Yes, that's a pretty neat idea. Most animals, even Apes, probably aren't smart enough to see behind such a disguise if its done properly, I'm sure. So they never twig that these two 'different ' people are in fact one and the same. Very clever...

It must indeed be rather thankless being a Zoo vet- treating animals which then hate the sight of you ever after..
 
I think it's less about the chimps being confused by the "camouflage", but rather that this is a clear visual signal to them.

Pertinax said:
It must indeed be rather thankless being a Zoo vet- treating animals which then hate the sight of you ever after..
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This might sound corny-but having the luck to work in such a position together with good staff and seeing a sick animal get well again is thanks enough. Plus you've got a job that will always put any conversation into good humour and going-even if you just explain how bad the flatulence of giant anteaters can smell, why you shouldn't stand close to a tiger marking its territory or how to avoid ape faeces thrown at you...:D
 
Sun Wukong said:
One of the zoo vets at Copenhagen Zoo has a nice trick to avoid causing unnecessary stress: when visiting (for example) the chimps on a regular, harmless routine tour, he's wearing normal clothes and passing out treats to the apes. When he's about to do some "serious business" with them, he wears funny clothes like a mask etc. Pretty neat idea, if you ask me. ;)
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Actually, I'm not so sure how much of a "trick" this is, as it seems like outright common sense. My Question: are these apes smart enough to recognize the vets by face? If not, then they're just recognizing them by their clothes. That being the case, the vets can (and should) enjoy the apes simply by not wearing their medical clothing. To be honest, I wondered about the person who triggered the Atlanta incident -- did she use poor judgment in wearing her green scrubs while viewing the gorillas? (Admittedly, I don't know the whole story.)
 
ANyhuis said:
My Question: are these apes smart enough to recognize the vets by face?
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Yes. And it's not just your face; it's the way you move, walk, stand, talk, gesticulate, etc.; some are very, very good at "reading"/recognizíng you, no matter how hard you try to disguise yourself.

Most zoo vets I know are not running around the zoo in their scrubs, lab coat or any other piece of medical clothing. Scrubs, and in case of a 'sterile' operation (if the clinic is adequately equipped) surgical gowns, are if at all normally worn within the boundries of the zoo clinic (in particular the surgery room) and at the very location of the (hopefully not too bloody) procedure/surgery.
 
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Sun Wukong said:
I think it's less about the chimps being confused by the "camouflage", but rather that this is a clear visual signal to them.
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Yes, I see what you mean. If he's wearing a mask, they can relate that to an unpleasant experience. Without it, they can relax, he's not on official business.

I did wonder whether an intelligent Ape such as Gorilla or Chimp would see through any disguise, I'm sure they would, apart from perhaps the very first time of seeing it when they might be tricked.
 
I just experience a similar encounter yesterday at the Buffalo Zoo. I was looking at the gorillas and quite surprised that none of the school groups had made it to this section of the zoo yet. One of the female gorillas spotted my partner and I and then ran up and banged on the glass. No damage was done, but it's a little scary. Then Koga, the male came out to investigate, one who doesn't seem to appreciate males, and I thought we were in big trouble! It was interesting because there were no school groups harassing her and I've never had her do that when I've seen her before. Perhaps I was wearing something that she didn't like or she didn't like my partner.
 
blospz said:
Perhaps I was wearing something that she didn't like or she didn't like my partner.
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Some Gorillas- usually males- don't like certain male visitors- maybe they see them as rivals? It may be something to do with the person's stance. i.e. a man who walks confidently into their vision, or is holding a camera etc- just something they take a dislike too. I have also seen a silverback re-act badly/aggressively to mentally disabled people, possibly because he detects differences in their behaviour to the usual visitors.

They also appear to have very good memories. A silverback in one UK zoo would always display at me whenever I visited, even if my visits were two or more years apart, he would always jump up and start to display, hitting the glass etc as soon as he saw me. Of course, he may not have recognised me from past visits, just reacted each time to someone he saw and didn't like. But the speed with which he'd jump up as soon as I appeared would indicate memory to me. Yet males at other Zoos have never reacted to me in this way, although I'm sure I behave pretty much the same way near all the enclosures.
 
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I know this is slightly off-topic, but Pertinax's stories of gorilla reaction reminded me of when our family went to the Indianapolis Zoo, back when my kids were little. My daughter, who was about 6 then, walked up to the lion exhibit to view the lions through the piano wire barrier. Immediately, the big male lion came to the barrier and eyed my daughter. As she moved from window to window, the lion followed her closely. The lion exhibit is set up such that you see it on two different sides, with the baboons and hunting dogs in between. When we got to the other side, there was that big male lion, waiting for my daughter. It really creeped her out, even making her cry!

So, animal experts, was this lion sizing up my daughter for a potential meal, or was it just showing affection?
 
I've seen big cats deliberately stalking small children, disabled people and dogs on various occasions; a few zoos have taken this up as another reason to forbid dogs at zoos. After all, these are still wild animals with predatory instincts. Try it on your own: limb or behave somehow else oddly & injured in front of a big cat enclosure and see whether you can get the cat interested. Especially juvenile specimens might take you up on it, while older, more experienced cats will reward your silly moves with a bored yawn...;)
 
Thanks, Sun. My daughter was doing nothing to attract this lion. She was quietly looking at the zoo animals. It was, to my memory, a rather young-looking lion.
 
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