Lowland gorillas in Europe 2012

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lowland gorillas in europe

Pertinax
Crate training was never used on any journey I made. the crate was usually loaded onto the vehicle first and the tranquilised gorilla transferred on a stretcher into the crate. Much less stressful for everbody, gorilla wakes up loaded.
I did move the 2 from Rome Bongo was a great character who I had spent time with a few weeks before the move.We stopped for a rest on the french border, as soon asit stated getting light hewas banging on the crate side for a drink.
I also moved Pertinax to Paignton from Koln if I rember with one other and then the next two from Frankfurt & wuppertal.
 
Small update from Prague: the troop seems to be calming down and good news - Kijivu is expecting her 4th offspring (end 2012). The zoo announced update on exPrague, now Cabarceno Moja as well - according to Cabarceno any news about her pregnancy are premature, unconfirmed.
 
mukisi said:
Crate training was never used on any journey I made. the crate was usually loaded onto the vehicle first and the tranquilised gorilla transferred on a stretcher into the crate. Much less stressful for everbody, gorilla wakes up loaded..
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How you describe is how it always used to be done virtually everywhere and I think some/most are still moved that way.

'Crate training' seems a fairly new inception for Gorillas. Not quite sure of the point if tranquilisation is then used to load them, unless its to familiarise the animal with the interior for when it wakes up? I would be interested to know if Kumbuka's imminent move from Paignton to London, also involves tranquilisation beforehand.
 
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Hi everyone I am a massive gorilla fan and I am particularly fascinated by a gorilla called Richard who has been living in Prague zoo. I was very uspet when I discovered his son had died in an accident 2 weeks ago.

I would be very grateful if anyone could provide me with any information about what he was like as a youngster at Paignton Zoo. I know he was very mischievous and lived with Pertinax. There is a report about him on the web but that made me more curious.

I would also be appreciative if anyone could kindly tell me about Damisi, his brother, when he was young too

Thank you very much!
 
praguegorilla said:
It says that prior to the arrival of Asato and Mambie, Richard was becoming much braver in his interactions with Pertinax, playing pat-a-cake through the hanging draught excluders, and other such games unbecoming of a silverback. It goes on to say that after Asato and Mambie's arrival, it soon became apparent that while Asato was quite happy to take his time before deciding if he wanted to challenge Richard for 'second spot', Mambie, being bulkier, was standing no nonsense leaving Richard in no doubt that he wasn't to be pushed around, much to Richard's consternation.
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Hi Gigit!

Thank you so much for answering my query and for kindly taking the trouble to sift through your report collection. I saw Richard about 8 weeks ago in Prague and he is such a handsome gorilla with his symmetrical features.

He is now an excellent father (despite the terrible accident that befell Tatu 3 weeks ago). The Czechs love him and race to the corner of the zoo to observe him and his family. He can sometimes be in a bad mood but he is (was) playful with his children.

I was very curious to know how he was like before he began a new family in Prague and you kindly provided me with some answers. :)

Thanks once again! :)
 
Richard and Awali were the first two younger Gorillas to join the newly formed Paignton group- after they had to send the 2nd adult male 'Klaus' away to Bristol. I have photos of them as juveniles there and they show Awali as rather spindly with a reddish coloured back while Richard was slightly more rangy(he still is that shape) and the larger of the two. Later they were also joined by Asato(also mother reared) and Mambie(handreared) to make the first successful group of five males. Being mother-raised Richard always had good potential as a group leader and is now obviously a big favourite at Prague.
 
Thank you so much Pertinax! Pertinax was clearly a very good mentor to Richard. Richard has successfully fathered 3 children and has another one due perhaps this year. It is so sweet watching him play with his children. Although, he is very strict with the females, it is obvious he has a caring side. He lovingly picks their ears and breaks up any fights if he can.

I would be deeply indebted to you if you could upload photographs of Richard as a youngster. I can't describe how thrilled I would be if it were possible :). I belong to a club who support the gorillas in Prague zoo. We raise money to sponsor the gorillas in the zoo and collected money to help the Okapis after the terrible incident in the Congo. It is a very nice group and they would be ever so happy if they could see pictures of a young Richard.

Once again thank you for the information. Here is a webcam of the Prague Zoo family. It is operated voluntarily by one of the members of the club.

http://hobby.idnes.cz/gorily-v-zoo.aspx

Once again many thanks :)
 
praguegorilla said:
Although, he is very strict with the females, it is obvious he has a caring side. He lovingly picks their ears and breaks up any fights if he can.

I would be deeply indebted to you if you could upload photographs of Richard as a youngster.
It is interesting you comment about 'ear-picking'. Its obviously a personal habit of Richard, as I once saw him go over to Pertinax , gently hold him and pick his ears! He was already silverback by then and I've never seen such behaviour before between adult males.

I saw the videos of when Bikira was introduced into the Prague group- Richard appears to be defending her from the angry females- he looks very concerned throughout as if not sure which side to take in the fighting.

Photos- I only have a couple of shots and they are in print form- it may take a while to transfer and upload. Will try.
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Hi Pertinax!

Thank ever so much for kindly telling me about Richard's old habits. It is interesting to know when it all started :) The club group were happy to learn about Richard. They have only known him as an adult and are fascinated to know about his background. I eagerly look forward to your old photographs and don't mind whenever you upload them :)

Richard lives with several females:Kijivu who is very nervous but an excellent mother, Shinda who is devious and dominant, Kamba who can be a bully but is like a sweet grandmother and Bikira who is submissive but highly intelligent. She creates tools and walks upright because she was hand reared.

It is a pleasure seeing him laugh and chase his children. He especially likes to pick Kamba's ears. The females sometimes fear Richard but they gang up on him if he attacks any of them. He does not prefer going outdoors and if he does, he sits near the enclosure door. He knows how to use fishing tools.

Anyway, once again many thanks and much appreciated :)
 
praguegorilla said:
The females sometimes fear Richard but they gang up on him if he attacks any of them. He does not prefer going outdoors and if he does, he sits near the enclosure door.
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Both those behaviours are typical of male Gorillas in zoo groups everywhere. I do not know why they spend more time indoors than the females, but it is pretty common place.

Do you think Bikira is expectng again yet?
 
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I am not sure but I think the plan is for her to observe Kijivu give birth and look after the baby. I think she is still on contraceptives. Bikira was flirting with Richard a few days ago-looking at him longingly. Prague Zoo also wishes for Bikira to continue playing with Kiburi and give him piggy backs so that she is accustomed to being with young gorillas. Tatu, who sadly passed away 3 weeks ago, was the first to welcome her into the group. He enjoyed having piggy back rides.

When I was in Prague weeks ago, it is clear that Kijivu was pregnant because she slept a lot and was gradually losing interest in Kiburi. The same process happened to her previous 2 offspring. She allows Kiburi to play with Bikira and it is nice to observe Bikira and Kiburi laughing out aloud.
 
praguegorilla said:
[ I think the plan is for her to observe Kijivu give birth and look after the baby..... Prague Zoo also wishes for Bikira to continue playing with Kiburi and give him piggy backs so that she is accustomed to being with young gorillas.
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Is that Bikira in the photo? I think so as it looks like her and she is the female in Prague with the most reddish saddle on her back.

It is far better they try to get her to learn motherhood from the group before she has another baby- handraised babies are increasingly unwanted in groups because of their social problems.
 
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Hi Pertinax!

It is Bikira on the left. She has reddish hair but is grey compared with the others. The zoo keeper calls her "Smokey" because of a greyish hair colour. She had a hard time integrating but nearly two years later she is almost part of the group. Kiburi absolutely adores her and searches for her. Now that Tatu is sadly dead, he plays with her even more. She is very "conservative", according to the keepers, and introverted. She defends herself better against the other female gorillas. Shinda, the dominant female, (the one in the photograpoh) can't stand her. Bikira is submissive to Shinda. At least they no longer brawl.

Just a question, what do you recall about Richard's personality when he was young? He seems serious today but has a playful side to him. many thanks :)
 
Update that the latest baby at Chessington has now been sexed a female and named "Kuanza" meaning Begin
 
Prague / Schmiding

Hi all, I enjoyed a lot learning more about Prague's Richard, thanks a lot for everyone who contributed. Just one remark: I got the impression that he was not very helpful when Bikira joined the group. I've seen quite some attacks on her when he did not intervene or even seemed to blame her for getting in troubles with the other females. Being the leader I'd expected him to stop the fights with some more, well, leadership qualities.

Ten days ago I was in Schmiding again. The four males were outdoors, picking up food and lazily strolling from one spot to the other. It was a hot day and the group prefered to rest in the shade rather than play with each other. Everyone paid due respect to silverback Kisumu (15), but I did not observe any close interaction between them. Everything was peaceful and quiet. I wonder though how long it will stay this way, as Awembe is almost 12 now and almost as big as Kisumu. The two of them are not related, whereas the other two (Wazungu, 10 & Mawingo, 11 y.o.) are (half)brothers of Kisumu.

Photo of the two full brothers (more in the same set): Zoo Schmiding: Gorillas 101 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
 
Chessington

For those who are interested, I've updated my "family trees" for the Chessington gorillas. To me, this way it's more easy to see the family structure and to follow the blood lines. That's why I made them. Please pay attention to the colour code as explained in the description.
All trees can be downloaded.

Both groups: Gorilla Family - Chessington | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Damisi's group: Gorilla Family - Chessington - Damisi's Group (Version 1) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Damisi's group (extended): Gorilla Family - Chessington - Damisi's Group (Version 2) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
 
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