ZSL London Zoo London Zoo Notes.

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right, probably not important anymore, but the zoo told me that Mukisi has been at ZSL since late March and has already been mixed with the other three gorillas...
 
That`s great news, white-napped mangabeys are highly endangered and very rare in zoos too. Hopefully the keepers will be able to introduce her to the group soon.
 
CZJimmy said:
right, probably not important anymore, but the zoo told me that Mukisi has been at ZSL since late March and has already been mixed with the other three gorillas...
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Yes, very important. Its Mjuku (not Mukisi) but that's good information. She would be easy to mix in with the others having come from a large group herself and being young probably slotted straight into the bottom rank, no squabbles or questions asked.... Now the $million dollar question- will Bobby mate with her ? I won't quite say I'll eat my hat if he does but if this fails too (I really hope it succeeds of course) then they should give up on him.
 
A welcome birth though a pity its having to be handraised. Hopefully ZSL, Flamingo Park and Dublin can co-operate with exchanges in the future, in order to allow this species a better chance to flourish in the Uk.
 
News from London today is that Bobby has been seen mating Mjuku on a number of occasions already. Though whether anything will come of it remains to be seen.....
 
vetandy said:
News from London today is that Bobby has been seen mating Mjuku on a number of occasions already. Though whether anything will come of it remains to be seen.....
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That's great news and a big step forward. Do you know if he has mated with 'Effie' since she arrived last year? And what about with 'Zaire'?
 
MARK said:
Yes that is great news he may even try mating with the other two females?
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This is very similar behaviour to SeKondi(now dead) at Twycross- he ignored the female he grew up and was living with longterm (Asante) but when the younger 'Ozala' was introduced- whom he'd never seen before- they started mating almost immediately and 2 babies followed. But he still ignored Asante... However, yes this introduction may stimulate Bobby/Bongo to greater interest in the others -though I'm a bit doubtful.
 
Hi there, first post so please be gentle with me!!
Unrelated animals of the opposite sex that grow up together are often not 'attracted' to each other, it is known as the 'Westermarck effect' and is seen as an inbuilt incest avoidance mechanism....
Unfortunately this occurs in zoos because its difficult to house animals apart(lack of space) and then re-introduce at a later stage....
 
Marcellus said:
Hi there, first post so please be gentle with me!!
Unrelated animals of the opposite sex that grow up together are often not 'attracted' to each other, it is known as the 'Westermarck effect' and is seen as an inbuilt incest avoidance mechanism....
Unfortunately this occurs in zoos because its difficult to house animals apart(lack of space) and then re-introduce at a later stage....
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Yes, hi there, I know this as 'sibling avoidance' or 'platonic' relationship behaviour. In the case of London's male though, he didn't grow up with any of the three females he lives with, though he also exhibited this behaviour with the one female he did grow up with(who is now breeding at Bristol with another male).
 
Sorry..I was referring to the Twycross post, i need to work out the whole quote thing!
I hope the situation at London turns out positive, but as Blackpool know only to well Gorilla mating doesn't necessarily equal a baby Gorilla....
 
Marcellus said:
Sorry..I was referring to the Twycross post, i need to work out the whole quote thing!
I hope the situation at London turns out positive, but as Blackpool know only to well Gorilla mating doesn't necessarily equal a baby Gorilla....
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Yes, Sekondi & Asante at Twycross were a typical platonic pair. I wish that a new male will be obtained soon so Asante could be bred from...

What do you know about the Blackpool Gorilla situation? Does Jitu mate all three females regularly, or only one or two... if so maybe he's infertile.
 
What do you know about the Blackpool Gorilla situation? Does Jitu mate all three females regularly, or only one or two... if so maybe he's infertile.[/QUOTE]

Last time i was there i was told he had mated both the younger females, jitu certainly looks the part but i would be inclined to think that his infertility could be the underlying problem.....
 
Marcellus said:
What do you know about the Blackpool Gorilla situation? Does Jitu mate all three females regularly, or only one or two... if so maybe he's infertile.
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Last time i was there i was told he had mated both the younger females, jitu certainly looks the part but i would be inclined to think that his infertility could be the underlying problem.....[/QUOTE]
 
Pertinax said:
Last time i was there i was told he had mated both the younger females, jitu certainly looks the part but i would be inclined to think that his infertility could be the underlying problem.....
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[/QUOTE]

I think that if he mates the females then he must be infertile as they've been all together(even Kena)for a good long time now. Did you hear of any plans to replace him? Its been talked about before but still nothing has happened so far.

There are five Uk centres with Gorillas that currently have problems with breeding;
Blackpool
London
Jersey
Belfast
Twycross.
also Chessington (until they get their new male)
 
I think that if he mates the females then he must be infertile as they've been all together(even Kena)for a good long time now. Did you hear of any plans to replace him? Its been talked about before but still nothing has happened so far.

There are five Uk centres with Gorillas that currently have problems with breeding;
Blackpool
London
Jersey
Belfast
Twycross.
also Chessington (until they get their new male)[/QUOTE]

Jersey have done well in the past breeding Gorillas I am a little surprised they are having problems, they seemed to of had a good track record
 
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