ZSL London Zoo New Western Lowland Male Gorilla

johnstoni said:
Well I suppose the proximity of a male and seeing some of the interactions between him and some of the adult females in the group would be better for an infant than being raised in an environment without a male even present. I would expect some modifications over time to allow any infant gorilla the chance to interact safely with Kesho before an eventual introduction when older and more robust.
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We are very much in the realms of speculation here- so many variables to ponder such as- will she rear it herself, its sex (i.e.a valuable female or less valuable male) is Kesho demonstrably friendly towards mother and baby(or hostile) as to when they try to risk an introduction. I cannot see Mjuku being kept seperate from him for the next several years though (as they indicated might happen). Of course if they had to take it away they could get them together very much quicker.
 
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Pygathrix said:
When I was there in August the keeper said that the male had been mixed with all three females individually at different times, but they had not had all four animals in together at once.
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That's interesting. Because Mjuku has presented a special case they have no doubt had to be doubly careful, and because of that it looks like there won't be a 'group' for some time to come yet.
 
But isn't this a bit impractical what with there only being a single room indoors?
 
Goretex said:
But isn't this a bit impractical what with there only being a single room indoors?
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The design does mean if they aren't all together then any that have to be isolated(such as Kesho) have to use an offshow bedroom and access to the outdoors, while the others are using the dayroom. (Zoos often don't allow for such problems arising and new houses often aren't designed for these temporary situations)
 
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It is a very difficult situation. I really don't envy the keepers. They will have to play it by ear... we don't know even whether the baby will survive; Mjukuu is a very small, first time mother. Apparently the birth is now imminent, so it's fingers crossed all round. At the moment there are workmen in the tunnel part, I think windproofing the overhead bridges – it's notoriously draughty in there!
 
volvox said:
It is a very difficult situation. I really don't envy the keepers. They will have to play it by ear... we don't know even whether the baby will survive; Mjukuu is a very small, first time mother. Apparently the birth is now imminent, so it's fingers crossed all round. At the moment there are workmen in the tunnel part, I think windproofing the overhead bridges – it's notoriously draughty in there!
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Thanks for the update, so no baby yet, depite the Gorillas Galore Studbook 'entry'.

I don't think Mjuku is small though, only in comparison to the other two females who are bulky & fully mature and I'd say she is well grown for her age. Although its a first birth I'm fairly certain she has the potential to be a good mother- I saw her carrying her younger siblings around at Chessington on several occassions. BUT if she is stressed by the current set-up, that could overide her normal maternal behaviour. We can only wait to see what happens.
 
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Hi

Please find below a link to a one minute video I took of Kesho the male gorilla a couple of days ago (Sunday 24 October). It was around 5.00 pm and he was running around outside quite angry as the three female gorillas were in the main covered bit of the enclosure and had just started to be fed and he was excluded from this. I think the female gorillas appeared quite scared of him as he was rattling the barriers around where they were being kept and acting quite agressively.

The video was shot on my Samsung camera.

Link to video


Derry
 
Del250 said:
Hi

Please find below a link to a one minute video I took of Kesho the male gorilla a couple of days ago (Sunday 24 October). It was around 5.00 pm and he was running around outside quite angry as the three female gorillas were in the main covered bit of the enclosure and had just started to be fed and he was excluded from this.
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Thankyou for posting this, its the best views I've had of Kesho since he came. But he definately isn't angry here, more full of life and playful as he charges about and beats his chest. And as he runs back you can see his mouth is open and relaxed. An angry male struts stiffly, stands rigidly and has his lips compressed tightly. Female gorillas are always wary(not necessarily frightened)of the male as they know he's bigger and stronger. And if he rattled the barriers it was probably a sign of impatience at wanting his food, not aggression directed toward them.
 
And what a thrill for the visitors, having a gorilla charging at them, almost full pelt.

Thanks for the interpretation of his body language pertinax, very helpful.
 
kiang said:
And what a thrill for the visitors, having a gorilla charging at them, almost full pelt.
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Its a great shot, and he's certainly got a lot more room to let off steam in this enclosure than in Dublin's smaller one. He is evidently more silverbacked than Yeboah was, although younger and still not fully developed.
 
Thanks Pertinax for your comments and interpretation of Kesho's behaviour.

I think I was perhaps being a bit too hasty at calling his behaviour aggressive as it was probably just typical of a young male gorilla. He is quite an impressive sight as he seems to be bigger than the two other male gorillas who were previously in the zoo. Its good to hear that he has got more space in London Zoo than he had in Dublin.

Mjuku does look heavily pregnant now and I hope they manage to integrate Kesho in with the other female gorillas successfully at some stage although I am sure it is going to be quite a complex job.
 
Del250 said:
Thanks Pertinax for your comments and interpretation of Kesho's behaviour.

I think I was perhaps being a bit too hasty at calling his behaviour aggressive as it was probably just typical of a young male gorilla. He is quite an impressive sight as he seems to be bigger than the two other male gorillas who were previously in the zoo. Its good to hear that he has got more space in London Zoo than he had in Dublin.
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My pleasure. If I could find a video clip that showed an 'angry' male you would certainly see the difference.;) Kesho isn't fully developed yet, though he's probably fullgrown in size. He will develop a bigger crest and thicker arms(hair growth) before he reaches full maturity.

I think now is the time to see him making full use of the enclosure like this. As he gets older and the group settles down he will, with time, become less lively!
 
That's the same video that was on the ZSL website at the time, though its probably been removed now. 'Yeboah' was quite undeveloped for his age but his father 'Arti' was similar at that stage too so his slow development was probably genetic.
 
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Pertinax said:
If I could find a video clip that showed an 'angry' male you would certainly see the difference.
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If you go on You Tube and type in 'Gorilla Fight' or 'Gorillas fighting' there are several clips, but most are actually Gorillas happily playing. But there are two good clips, both I think from Taronga Park, Sydney. The dominant/silverback 'Kibabu' is punishing another gorilla-though even here he is restrained and doesn't really use his full power.

In the clearer clip, the action starts with a lull in the squabble but Kibabu is still annoyed/tense and when an upset female, hidden behind him, starts screaming it kicks off again... See Kibabu's rigid posture and determined look, but also how the group combine to drive him away. During fights, any babies cling tightly to their mothers in order to stay safely out of the way. These fights usually sound a lot worse than they really are though animals can sometimes get badly bitten.
 
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A quick update on the gorilla integration project: apparently Kesho watched the birth of Mjukuu's baby through the mesh and made lots of happy positive interested noises. He has spent loads of time with Effie and the keepers are hoping to win Zaire round too! So they are still feeling positive about eventually keeping all five gorillas together, it will just take time and patience.
 
volvox said:
So they are still feeling positive about eventually keeping all five gorillas together, it will just take time and patience.
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I feel sure they will get them together successfully, despite Kesho not being the baby's father, though it may take a while yet. The key being Kesho's good nature I think. In the meantime I hope his meetings with 'Effie' will also prove productive too.;)
 
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