Twycross Zoo Serious Gorilla Worries !

SMR said:
Do you know if there have ever been any plans to combine those two (three actually) enclosures? Unless things have changed recently, only pathway and lawn separate the two main areas. Admittedly it probably wouldn't work at the moment given the state of the two groups, but I always thought one big area would be an improvement.
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it would be a bad isea to combine the 2 becaouze oumbi and bolus would likely harm eechother
and as for blaming the zoo they do evrything they can and these things just happen so dont blam them
 
mr primatology said:
it would be a bad isea to combine the 2 becaouze oumbi and bolus would likely harm eechother
and as for blaming the zoo they do evrything they can and these things just happen so dont blam them
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Sorry but had to reply to this, because I found it so funny and also gives me more of clue about what age you are! :D

I doubt for one minute that SMR was suggesting puting Oumbie and Boulas together just creating one larger outdoor area by combing two!
 
taun said:
Sorry but had to reply to this, because I found it so funny and also gives me more of clue about what age you are! :D

I doubt for one minute that SMR was suggesting puting Oumbie and Boulas together just creating one larger outdoor area by combing two!
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I think youve got the wrong person i never said anything about the SMR
 
mr primatology said:
it would be a bad isea to combine the 2 becaouze oumbi and bolus would likely harm eechother...
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I did mention it wouldn't work at the moment due to the status of the groups... although thinking about it, why not make one big enclosure and mix in some lions, that might take their minds off each other. :rolleyes:
 
Personally, i think twycross have really hit a problem with their gorilla breeding programme. They now only have one "good" breeding female (ozala) although she has still failed to become pregnant within the past 7/8 months while living with oumbie.

If things dont pick up within the next few years the "twycross line" will fall down to matadi who is currently ranked 36th most genetically important. Mambi (matadi's uncle) who lives in spain is said not to be interested in the females he lives with so still no babies from him. I also think that Asante will never breed at this late stage of her life.

Thanks.
 
josh_08 said:
Mambi (matadi's uncle) who lives in spain is said not to be interested in the females he lives with so still no babies from him.
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Mambi only lives with one female(Fossey) currently at Bioparc Valencia as the older one (Dorle) died. But there is a photo somewhere in the Gallery of him mating, so he is interested- though its true there has been no pregnancy so far. Another female (Bikira) is supposed to go there from Belfast.
 
SMR said:
I did mention it wouldn't work at the moment due to the status of the groups... although thinking about it, why not make one big enclosure and mix in some lions, that might take their minds off each other. :rolleyes:
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sorry i misinterpreted what you posted :) and as for my age ,taun, i do not beleive that matters.
 
I visited Twycross today (for the first time in a year) and was shocked to see both Oumbie and Ozala regurgitating their food and then eating it off the floor :eek: Has anyone else seen them doing this? That doesn't seem like the behaviour of happy gorillas, or am I worrying unnecessarily?
 
I've been a few times recently and haven't seen them do this.

I had a look around the net after yr post and found some interesting research done by Kristen Lukas. Well worth a look. It's still very much on going, but she has found links to lack of time sent finding food compared to that of wild gorillas and the lack of browse in captive diets. It didn't say too much about the state of mind of the gorillas, I be interested to hear the thoughts of other members.
 
This habit is called Regurgitation and Reinjestion (R & R) and is quite widespread in Gorillas in (some) Zoos (as is Coprophagy-eating faeces). Some people say these both happen in the wild too but I suspect they are related to the rather different daily feeding patterns in the wild and in zoos. Even when browse and scatter feeds are supplied at intervals, Zoo gorillas still have much more time when they are not eating/browsing/searching for food and this may be a way of emulating those longer feeding periods in the wild.

I don't think it is connected to the Gorillas' mental state or health in any way though.
 
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Thank you for the information, Pertinax :). I have seen it happen once before at Port Lympne (one of the bachelors in the small indoor enclosure) but I wasn't sure if it was anything to be worried about or not.
 
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