He is very over represented. Every where you look there are Matz offspring and their offspring! I was sorry Damisi was recently chosen for Chessington for that reason.
Lowland gorillas in Europe 2008
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He is very over represented. Every where you look there are Matz offspring and their offspring! I was sorry Damisi was recently chosen for Chessington for that reason.
Both Dian and Ruby are important to the EEP as Arnhem born gorillas are yet make a significant impact on the EEP. For me the importance is to get both Dian and Ruby breeding with a new male.
If Rebecca is a disruptive force + considering she is well represented with offspring in the EEP gorilla population, I would favour taking her out.
I think you'll find as the only breeder, Rebecca is the pivotal animal of the group. I wouldn't want to see her removed unless absolutely necessary. Maybe as she's still rearing a baby she will let 'VIatu' get on with the other females, if not seperating her off temporarily when either is in oestrus to allow him to mate them would probably do the trick. She maybe needs to go on the pill though.
Bad news: 5 moths old Femi, the daugther of Josy from Hannover Zoo, died a few days ago. Josy had neglected her daugther from the beginning, but since she was nursing her and the other group members carried her when the mother didn`t, the zoo decided to leave her in the group instead of hand-raising. It seems a week before her death, silverback Buzandi (accidently?) injured the baby and then she died.
That`s very sad, especially because Femi was already 5 months old which is amazing given the rough childhood she had, but I hope Josy has learned a lot and will become a better mother with her next infant.
That`s very sad, especially because Femi was already 5 months old which is amazing given the rough childhood she had, but I hope Josy has learned a lot and will become a better mother with her next infant.
Josy/Mambele was born in 1999 and reared by her mother Zazie but 'with help from the keeper'. Hopefully she will do better next time.
Yes, Zazie is no super mom and used to do the same thing with her infants what Josy did with Femi - when she had enough, she just put them on the ground and walked away, and let the other group members carry the baby around. Not the treatment fragile gorilla newborns need.. surprisingly, all of Zazie`s kids survived this rough childhood, and now with her latest infant, the first son, Zazie is finally doing a better job.
It seems strong maternal instinct(or correspondingly, poor mothering) may be at least partially inherited. I remember at Howletts the female 'Mouila' was a rather indifferent mother and her daughter 'KillaKilla' would not rear her own babies at all.
Yet Romina at Bristol, who was also halfmother/half handraised at Rome Zoo, has proved to be a very efficient and 100% capable mother herself.
Bad news from Heidelberg Zoo - 5 months old male gorilla baby Upala, son of Chuma, has been removed from the group and is now being hand-raised in the Stuttgart kindergarten. Chuma was not protactive of her son and often let him alone on the ground, and the older brother Banjoko was so rough with the baby that the keeper feared for his life. Yup, and now they`re raising another male in Stuttgart who will most likely go to an all-male group at age 4 after having waisted valueable time to learn social behavoir in Stuttgart and will never breed. They should consider castrating all males raised in Stuttgart since they never breed anyway and would be easier to keep in all-male groups for life after castrating, GRRRRR.
Far most of them don`t breed and the few which have bred sired just very few babys. Majoko/Münster hasn`t and was ttherefore sent to South Africa; Jitu has just been sent off to Valenicia from Blackpool, Yangu is not breeding in Beauval and has been replaced by a Jersey born male; Pertinax is in an all male group; a baby has been born in Efata`s group in Kolmarden, but there is a second, young male in the group and I think it`s more likely that he is the father. Golo however sired 2 or 3 offspring in Budapest and will hopefully sire some more. From all the young males that went through Stuttgart in the last years, none of them is a breeding position now, that may or may not change. I am not optimistic.
It worked well with Kukuma (born Apenheul) who lives at Belfast. Silverbacks just seem to ignore him.
I wish they would DNA test to establish which is really the father. The younger male Nasibu is genetically more valuable than Efata and needs to breed (if he will that is...
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Thats interesting, they ignore him. Because he his no longer a threat to there reproduction. Or and because he is docile? Haveing been a horse rider all my life l know that casteration does not always make a stallion more docile. Although it usually does quieten them down allot.
Does the Gorilla know he is casterated do you think pertinax? go on ask him
Really Interesting topic.
Thats interesting, they ignore him. Because he his no longer a threat to there reproduction. Or and because he is docile?
Does the Gorilla know he is casterated do you think pertinax? go on ask him
I haven't seen Belfast's gorillas but I know people who have, and have seen a number of photos of Kukuma. In this case, castration at an early age has resulted in him lacking typical male characteristics(crest, thick arm hair, silverback, size(?)) and he looks more like a female....
I reckon the others know he isn't a 'normal' male, or do they count him as a female- I don't know...
Any information from Belfast would be interesting to hear about his relationships.Another who has failed to breed is Awali- born Artis- sent for handrearing to Stuttgart nursery- to Paignton- now at Barcelona. By contrast, 'Asato' (mother reared at Jersey) whom Awali grew up with in Paignton's group, already sired several infants at Beauval.
Think he's mentioned in Yassa's post above....
The young, 7 years old female Shinda from Arnhem is awaited the comming Monday morning in zoo Dvur Kralove to join the remaining pair Tadao and Messy. The other female Minouche (she lived several years in London before she´s returned to Dvur) was put asleep few weeks ago due to last stadium of cancer.
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