Melbourne Zoo Rigo the gorilla #2
- Thread starter zookiah63
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I think it probably was. At the same time it helped Melbourne out with their difficult situation with him and to stop having any single Gorilla.
I live in the Uk but I saw Rigo at Melbourne Zoo on two different occasions when he was living alone. It was very sad to see, particularly as he was then a magnificent animal in his prime and it went on so long. So I too was very pleased to hear of his transfer into the group after all those years of solitary.
However, as he isn't breeding(that is not surprising really) it does have longer term implications for the group. Also poor Motaba was abruptly removed from a group he had a very close bond with which was the downside of Rigo being given access to the females.
A couple of European Zoos have 'pensioned off' elderly pairs or trios of Gorillas and it seems to work well. At Chessington in the Uk the elderly pair Kumba & Baffia (who arrived there at much the same time as Rigo & Yuska came to Melbourne) now live seperately from the main group. When a new male 'Damisi was introduced into the main group last year, the old pair were even used as 'baby sitters' for the two youngest juveniles in the group too.
In Melbourne's case I think the time has come for Rigo and Motaba to perhaps be swapped again- but now with Rigo/Yuska staying together and they would probably also live perfectly happily with the two young 'bachelor' males as a group of 4, at least for the time being. That is not a particularly natural grouping but gorillas have proved themelves quite adaptable in that respect.
I don't think Rigo would get along very well with two young males. I visited once and there was a sign up explaining that there weren't any gorillas on display because they were introducing Rigo to the females. So later that day I asked a keeper about it and she said it was slow going because Rigo really didn't get along with the females at first and he had mood swings a lot so one minute they'd be getting along fine and the next he would be attacking one of them.
It was in the Herald Sun last year some timeso you could look in their archives. It seemed like a really long term masterplan when I was reading it but seeing as the wild dog exhibit has already been built maybe it will happen sooner then I first expected.
I think you'll find he would be fine with them in the longterm though initially he'd behave of course the same way he did when introduced to the females to start with. The young males would quickly learn to avoid him and it would all settle down.
However, no doubt there would be some public critisism of Rigo being 'disturbed' by such a move, so I can't really see it happening.
Perth definitely have gorillas down as a longish-term objective. The idea is to fill in the large lake at the front of the zoo, incorporating the islands. Would be a very nice-sized exhibit (although as a species not my first choice for a first up exhibit), and I can imagine the bird keepers would be upset about losing valuable avian real estate...
Perth, Adelaide, Australia Zoo and Mogo all have intentions of holding gorillas eventually.
For the first new group somewhere else in Australia(Perth?) I would nominate as founders the two young males from Melbourne- to be joined by one or two females from Taronga Park's group. (Female Jumatano from Melbourne should join Taronga Park's group as a replacement)
Rigo & Yuska could also join the new group if need be...
Rigo & Yuska could also join the new group if need be...
For the first new group somewhere else in Australia(Perth?) I would nominate as founders the two young males from Melbourne- to be joined by one or two females from Taronga Park's group. (Female Jumatano from Melbourne should join Taronga Park's group as a replacement)
Rigo & Yuska could also join the new group if need be...
So Melbourne would have three gorillas left - two of them quite elderly. I think that might be slightly unrealistic.
Melbourne could use Motaba again to breed with G.Anne & Julia, who have only had one young each so far. They could perhaps add a third unrelated female either from Taronga or from outside the region.
The alternative is keep things as they are with a high likelhood of no breeding and/or unsuccessful attempts at AI and no new youngsters coming into the group for a long while to come. If nothing is done to promote breeding now the future prospect is that eventually it will become a geriatric group and fizzle out.
Realistically, if the gorilla population is to expand out to six groups, that's going to involve quite a lot of importing from Europe and America.
I am not sure whether in Australia you are allowed to import them now?
I see the best option available to increase the breeding in the two existing groups but problems will still arise unless sex ratios can be mannipulated in favour of more females being born. If unrelated animals can be imported too, so much the better.
just a reminder that melbourne and taronga zoos form part of the EEP gorilla program.
thus any breeding decisions made by these zoos will be part of a bigger international picture, not an isolated micro australian one (as is the case in so may other scenarios)
my suspicion is that melbourne were asked to halt breeding motaba since he has fathered many offspring already and since female gorillas were in short supply, melbourne instead decided to drag out poor old rigo and have a shot with him. i doubt very much his integration into the group had anything to do with ethics. after all it was one isolated male for another.
my guess is they will try AI to ensure another batch of baby gorillas are forthcoming.
thus any breeding decisions made by these zoos will be part of a bigger international picture, not an isolated micro australian one (as is the case in so may other scenarios)
my suspicion is that melbourne were asked to halt breeding motaba since he has fathered many offspring already and since female gorillas were in short supply, melbourne instead decided to drag out poor old rigo and have a shot with him. i doubt very much his integration into the group had anything to do with ethics. after all it was one isolated male for another.
my guess is they will try AI to ensure another batch of baby gorillas are forthcoming.
You are correct, both Gorilla groups in Australia are treated as part of the EEP programme, which is why the two young females from Taronga Park left the country. One has since bred at Duisburg Zoo, baby being fathered( plus another) by Rigo's grandson, further securing Rigo's genetic representation.
My fear for the Melbourne group is that AI with Rigo will (probably) not succeed-despite Melbourne's pioneering success with 'Mzuri' all those years ago, it still has a very low success rate in Gorillas while Rigo, now of advanced years, may well have very poor quality sperm by now anyway. There is a risk that the gap before any more babies are born will just get longer still and with so few potential breeders, Australian Zoos can't really afford to let that to happen - that is if they want to build up the population. Exchanging Rigo & Motaba as the 'breeding' male for Melbourne was a sensible idea on paper, but the reality may turn out a little different.
boogiebroad
New Member
Is this Rigo?
I took these photos March 2008, Melbourne Zoo
I took these photos March 2008, Melbourne Zoo
SilverbackApes
Well-Known Member
The bottom one is Rigo, the top two are Julia, the third one I think is G-Anne and I think the others are Yuska
boogiebroad
New Member
Thanks for replying!
The first 4 photos are of the same gorilla, I was there for awhile just watching.
thanks, I'm wrapped, glad to know that the last shot is of Rigo
The first 4 photos are of the same gorilla, I was there for awhile just watching.
thanks, I'm wrapped, glad to know that the last shot is of Rigo
This must be just about the longest thread on the whole Zoochat site, so I'm helping to keep it alive by pointing out that it is 50 years ago this year that the first gorilla ever seen in Australia arrived - a 5 year old male with the wildly inappropriate name of King Kong arrived at Taronga, purchased from a U.S. animal dealer.
I was just 13 years old at the time, but I remember what a BIG DEAL it was - at least as big as the present baby elephant hysteria.
Two years later Buluman and Betsy arrived, having also been captured in the Cameroons (probably at great expense to their troop!)
We've come a long way in 50 years!
by pointing out that it is 50 years ago this year that the first gorilla ever seen in Australia arrived - a 5 year old male with the wildly inappropriate name of King Kong arrived at Taronga, purchased from a U.S. animal dealer.I was just 13 years old at the time, but I remember what a BIG DEAL it was - at least as big as the present baby elephant hysteria.
Two years later Buluman and Betsy arrived, having also been captured in the Cameroons (probably at great expense to their troop!)
We've come a long way in 50 years!
This must be just about the longest thread on the whole Zoochat site, so I'm helping to keep it alive
I was just 13 years old at the time, but I remember what a BIG DEAL it was - at least as big as the present baby elephant hysteria.
Two years later Buluman and Betsy arrived, having also been captured in the Cameroons (probably at great expense to their troop!)
We've come a long way in 50 years!
Not sure l agree with long threads at all. Personally would think this information deserves a thread to its self! As l would love to read more about this.
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