Howletts Wild Animal Park Kijo

gentle lemur

gentle lemur

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
I was browsing Jim Davis' gorilla studbook today and I noticed that Kijo died of a heart attack on 20th December last year at the age of 33.
Regular visitors to Howletts will hardly need to be reminded that his group was the one housed nearest to the main entrance, next to group led by his son Kifu. He has 2O surviving offspring.
I note that there is no comment on the Howletts/Port Lympne website: perhaps one will appear soon in the e-mail newsletter.

Alan
 
Thats a really big shame i was hoping to see him in march :( his Legacy shall continue.
Is D'joum still at Howletts?
Thanks for any info
Regards
 
This is just another case of early death caused by heart disease. It's beyond profound in the US, but I didn't think it was prolific in Europe. How many other males died from heart attacks last year in Europe?
 
Tribute to Kijo.

I'm shocked and upset by this news,which I overlooked. Of all the Howletts Gorillas, Kijo was my all time favourite, a lovely looking male and a great group leader with a gentle and dignified disposition.

He was also Howletts very first Gorilla birth back in 1975, after they obtained the proven breeding male Kisoro from Lincoln Park Chicago and all the four adult females at Howletts started breeding with him.
His mother 'Juju', mother of several offspring, still lives in the old cages in the kitchen garden. I saw 'Kijo' in October last year, he looked fit and well then, though in recent years he has tended to hide away where he can't be seen quite a lot of the time. He quickly appeared at the scatter feed however and was very nimble on his feet as he appropriated the best delicacies.

Kijo featured in several T.V. films and videos featuring John Aspinall with the Gorillas. Probably due to a calm and reliable temperament, I believe it was mainly his enclosure old Aspinall and the keepers used to enter on a regular basis in the post Djoum years, though when younger Aspinall took over the role of 'going in ' with Gorillas it was not with Kijo's group but with his son 'Kifu', another group leader- probably because he had grown up with Kifu.

Howletts will no doubt transfer(or may have already done so) another male from Port Lympne to replace him.
 
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ColumbusZoo001 said:
This is just another case of early death caused by heart disease. It's beyond profound in the US, but I didn't think it was prolific in Europe. How many other males died from heart attacks last year in Europe?
Click to expand...

None that I know of for sure, but two silverbacks in the UK, Bobby at LOndon & SamSam at Twycross died during 2008, without causes of death being publicised yet. Bobby, only 25, died in his night nest so a heart related death is quite possible.

I saw each of these 3 silverbacks (Kijo, Bobby & SamSam) last year and all of them looked perfectly normal at the time but they were all dead within a few weeks/months. (Maybe I am unlucky for them..).
 
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Thanks for the info but im pretty sure i have seen D'joum on Roar.2008 was not a good year but hopefully 2009 will be better :)
Also apart from Juju are any of the original gorillas still there?
And who are the Silverback males for each group at Howletts?
Thanks for any info
Regards
 
Riziki said:
Thanks for the info but im pretty sure i have seen D'joum on Roar.2008 was not a good year but hopefully 2009 will be better :)
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If you saw Djoum on that T.V. programme it must have been old film.

Gorillas are bound to die sometimes- Kijo is only the 2nd group silverback in recent years to die there(the other was Bitam) but both were at the 'dangerous age' for males- the early 30's.

As well as Juju, there are still two other original females; Mouila & Baby Doll. The 4th, Shamba, died some years ago.

The other group silverbacks at Howletts are Koulliou(wild caught) Kifu( Kijo x Founa) Djanghou(Djala x Sangha) and at Port LYpmne there is Djala(wildcaught)
 
Thanks for that info Pertinax It must of been old film but i definately saw him. Amazing animal and individual.
30's isnt the best age for gorillas and an awful lot when looking through that Studbook have died of a heart-related illness,it could more probably be the cause of Death for Londons Bobby.
Regards
 
Riziki said:
Thanks for that info Pertinax It must of been old film but i definately saw him. Amazing animal and individual.
30's isnt the best age for gorillas and an awful lot when looking through that Studbook have died of a heart-related illness,it could more probably be the cause of Death for Londons Bobby.
Regards
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Quite likely. A large number of males in American Zoos have died of heart attacks and related problems, more than in Europe for some reason. And they seem to be dying at earlier ages too. I suspect its the cause of Bobby's death also but there is no confirmation of that yet.
 
Will a new Group Leader male be a Blackback from that group?
or a new adult male from the other groups or Port Lympne?
I would think less hassle for the gorillas would definately be best - Maybe a young male from that group if it takes 2 years to be mature could work suspend breeding from that group for a few years?
Gorillas arent my speality so if got anything wrong sorry! Big/Small Cat are mine! but looking into John Aspinalls work into Tigers and later into Gorillas has given me a fasination for this species.
Any info?
Thanks
 
Riziki said:
Will a new Group Leader male be a Blackback from that group?
or a new adult male from the other groups or Port Lympne?
Thanks
Click to expand...

The oldest male in that group is 'Bitono' only 8 years old and much too young to take over responsiblity for a group. Also several of the females in it are related to him. So a new male should really come from Port Lympne.

However-replacing a male can be tricky, especially with existing young or any pregnant females in the group(the new male may naturally try to kill unrelated offspring during his settling in period) For that reason, depending on if any females are still pregnant etc, they might prefer to just leave things as they are for a while without a new incoming male. But balanced against that is the loss and stress the group feels without a Silverback in charge. Sometimes a difficult decision to make.
 
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Yes it must be a rather difficult decision
Thanks for that information Pertinax very interesting - Gorillas are definately very complex in terms of groupings etc. Which in its self is very interesting.
How old do Male gorillas take to be mature is it 13/14?
Regards
 
Riziki said:
How old do Male gorillas take to be mature is it 13/14?
Regards
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Most are 'silverbacked' and full grown by about twelve. However, like people, they are often still not mentally mature - in the wild I estimate a male of 15+ is probably full mature and capable of managing a group properly. In captivity younger males aged 10-12 for various reasons, mostly availability, are often used. Sometimes it creates a dominance struggle which causes more stress. Because they know their superior strength but are unsure of themselves, some young males also go through a 'bullying' phase before they settle down and become calmer as they get older.

For those reasons and under normal circumstaces (there are occasional exceptions) I think only Silverbacks, never Blackback males should be introduced to groups for breeding- I think the studbook holders at Apenheul share this view also.
 
Thanks for the info, you know what your talking about when it comes to gorillas!
 
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aha that must be why! ;) what do you think of the Aspinall Method of keeping gorillas?
I agree with it entirely
 
Riziki said:
aha that must be why! ;) what do you think of the Aspinall Method of keeping gorillas?
I agree with it entirely
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He saw how gorillas should be kept (exactly like their wild counterparts) I have found reading some of the early articles he wrote fantastic.
 
Yes i believe he is right about keeping them in large groups if it was not for him this may not be the case.I also think he is right about the Close Contact between keepers and animals ,why cant you get close to an animal your going to be looking after for in quite alot of cases all its life?.Under close supervision i think this should continue but only for experianced keepers and trusted animals.
 
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