What's in a Name?
revised,
19-aug-2001 by Jane Dewar
Zoos
admit they need to do a lot more to educate the public about the problems facing
animals and the environment.
Most zoos today recognize they
should not be the entertainment centers of yesterday, but a place to educate the
public while giving them an enjoyable experience as well. And while the
public still expects/demands animals to “perform” for them, a good zoo can
help people realize and understand that animals have their own lives to lead and
while in captivity it is the humans’ responsibility to make that life as
comfortable and natural as possible. Since Gorilla Haven will NOT be opened
to the public, we use our website as one of the tools to help educate the public
about problems facing endangered species – especially, but not restricted to,
gorillas. By protecting gorillas, other animal and plant species are also
protected, and in keeping with our philosophy that there is a Circle of Life, we
hope to
inspire and encourage others to find
their passions to help make their bit of the world a better place.
One thing I feel strongly
about is the notion that to care for something, you must know something about
it. With a highly sentient and sensitive animal like any great ape –
especially gorillas - knowing that each gorilla you see at a zoo has
his/her own unique history, personality and preferences makes all the difference
in the world.
Making the link to the gorillas you see in a zoo with the ones living in
war-torn areas of Africa helps inspire people to care about the problem of the
individual animal as well as the entire ecosystem and environment in which they
live.
In the movie “Saving
Private Ryan” you witness hundreds, indeed thousands of men being killed in
the opening scenes portraying the D-Day invasion of France. It’s
horrifying and dramatic, but after a while one finds themselves becoming immune
to the carnage, even as it remains unsettling to watch. Later in the movie
(sorry for those for whom I’m ruining the story!) when the Tom Hanks character
is killed, however, the dramatic effect of his death is far more painful to
watch.
Why
would the death of one character in a movie be worse than watching hundreds of
other deaths?? The
answer is simple: Because the story’s plot introduced us to the Tom
Hanks character and we knew, cared, understood and liked who he was, where he
was coming from and sympathized with him, as an individual, who was an important
and beloved part of a larger group of individuals. Anne Frank makes the
millions of Holocaust victims more poignant to those who weren’t there, since
we know something about her as an individual, not just one of 6 million people
killed.
If
you visit a zoo and don’t know the gorillas’ names or personal histories,
there’s a tendency to have the same, desensitized
and detached experience of watching something you know little to nothing about.
You
certainly aren’t likely to make the connection with the struggles facing
free-living gorillas in Africa, many of whom are on the verge of extinction.
Most zoos know charismatic gorillas
are a big draw for the public and zoos like Zoo Atlanta (Willie B), London
(Guy), Milwaukee (Samson) and the Bronx (Timmy) use the gorillas in their
marketing and educational programs. Most zoos have signs or docents
(trained volunteers) telling you the names of their gorillas, as well as some of
their histories. I’ve been to literally hundreds of zoos around the
world and of all the zoos with gorillas, there are only two which do not tell
the public the names of their gorillas: Pittsburgh Zoo in Pennsylvania and
Disney’s Animal Kingdom, in Florida. At Pittsburgh, the docents or
keepers will gladly tell you all about Mimbo (see the Silverback Award pages)
and his family, but management apparently does not believe the public should
know the gorillas’ names for reasons I’ve never able to understand.
I’ll work on putting
together photos and life stories of the Pittsburgh gorillas soon and add them to
this webpage when I can, but for now I thought I’d introduce you to my old
friends at Disney.
CLICK
HERE to display a graphic suitable for printing on one page so you have your own copy of the AK Gorillas Real Names &
Histories
Disney’s
Family Troop:
1.
Disney’s Name:
The Dominant 500 lb Silverback
Real
Name & History: 
Gino, born 30Dec80 in
Rotterdam, Holland to Ernst and Salome, who still reside at Rotterdam Zoo. One
of Gino’s brothers, Arti, recently died in a freak drowning accident in
Hannover (Germany) and his siblings are in zoos around Europe. Gino’s first offspring was a male called Mosi, who was born
to Kowali at Lincoln Park Zoo when Gino was just 9 years old.
Sadly, Mosi died just 2 weeks shy of his first birthday (see Photo
Gallery for more details). Gino is one of the
best gorilla fathers I know and I was privileged to watch him grow from a
goofy blackback to a magnificent silverback.
When I saw him in September 2000, after not seeing him in almost 4 years,
he did a double-take and
stared at me as if to say “Hey lady, where you been?”.
He looked great and he continues to be a great dad and troop leader.
2.
Disney’s Name:
The Dominant Adult Female
Real
Name & History: 
Benga,
born 21Apr71 at Lincoln Park Zoo (LPZ) in Chicago to Kisoro and Helen.
Kisoro was sent to Howletts (England) on a breeding loan a few years
after Benga’s birth and then sent to Denver, where he died.
Benga has a half sister named Matadi who lives in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, as well as a half sister, JoRayK, who lives in Denver.
An excellent, relaxed mother, Benga’s kids include four by Otto (LPZ’s
famous gorilla, since deceased) including
3 silverback sons: Kivu, at the St. Louis Zoo, Bebac, at Cleveland Zoo and Babec,
at Birmingham Zoo. Benga has had
three kids by Gino including the two at AK (Hasani and Makena) and Bahati,
who’s a mom herself to the adorable baby boy Bengati at LPZ, making
Gino and Benga grandparents!!
3. Disney’s Name:
The Adult Female
Real
Name & History:
Hope,
born 07Sep83 at LPZ in Chicago to mom Kisuma (since deceased) and dad Koundu,
now living at the Denver Zoo. Hope
was a young first time mother and never got to raise her own children until
she went to AK, where the group was smaller and she wasn’t hassled by the
other gorillas as much. All three
of Hope’s kids are by Gino, including one daughter, Tabibu, who lives at LPZ
where she had a baby which didn’t survive, as well as 2 sons – MatuMaini,
now at Oklahoma City and Jabari, who’s still with mom at AK.
Hope has a half sister, Makari, who’s also now a mom at LPZ and a half
brother, Cenzoo, at Denver Zoo.
4.
Disney’s Name:
The 6 Year Old Juvenile
Real
Name and History:
Hasani was born at
LPZ on 12Oct94 and when I first saw him when he was about 3 days old, his big
sister Bahati was grabbing him away from mom Benga, and dragging him all over
the exhibit, as Benga watched, but allowed her daughter to try her hand at
mothering her baby brother. Another of Gino’s kids, Hasani’s first years
were spent in a rather boisterous group at LPZ, so now that his group is smaller
at AK, he’s the big kid on the block
and during my brief visit he seemed to be enjoying his role of big brother to
his baby brother and sister.
5.
Disney’s Name:
The 3 Year Old Juvenile
Real
Name and History:
Jabari
was born at AK before it opened to the public, on 07Nov97, since his mom Hope
(dad’s Gino) was moved from LPZ while pregnant. I never saw him before this recent trip to AK and was
thrilled to see Hope finally having a chance to raise her own kid without
interference. Jabari and big
brother Hasani conspire to keep things
active and fun in this group!
6.
Disney’s Name:
The Infant
Real
Name and History:
Makena was also
born at AK on 24Jan99 to Benga. Like
her big sister Bahati at LPZ, Makena has a close and fun relationship with her dad Gino, who she likes to
sit close to. This was the first
time I saw her too and it brought back fond memories of watching Gino playing
with baby Bahati at LPZ.
Disney’s
All Male Group:
7.
Disney’s Name: The Dominant Silverback
Real
Name and History:
Augustus, or “Gus” was born on 09Aug81 in the Bronx to mother Tunuka, who’s
still at the Bronx and father Bendera, who’s deceased. Gus was a magnificent
silverback and family group leader at National Zoo in Washington D.C. but the
SSP decided he was sufficiently represented genetically (ie: he had a lot of
babies!) and so he was pulled him from his family group to lead this group of
all males. I’m afraid the same
fate will face Gino one of these days too, which will also be a shame, since
like Gino, Gus is a great guy who
didn’t seem very happy in his new role in life.
Ironically, Gus was hand-raised by GH’s project manager’s ex-wife,
and so he has a special spot in our hearts.
8.
Disney’s Name: A
sub-adult male
Real
Name and History:
Kejana
was born 10May91 in Washington DC to the famous gorilla Mandara (see Super Moms)
and Gus. He was taken care of by
mom for the first 11 months of his life, when she decided to adopt another
female’s (Haloki) newborn baby (Baraka, also Gus’s son, still living in DC),
so Kejana had to share his mom. Eventually
he’d go to Haloki for comfort and as an extra source of mothering.
“KJ” has reddish hair on his back and I’m told can
be quite an imp, stirring up mischief with the other boys in this group.
9.
Disney’s Name: A
sub-adult male
Real
Name and History:
Mtu Chuma was born
28Jun91 at Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo (BZ) to mom Alpha, who’s still at BZ and
dad Ndume, who now keeps the signing gorilla Koko company.
Chuma was a mama’s boy while at BZ, suckling when he was about 5 years
old and nearly as big as his mother, which was quite a sight to see!
He’s the largest of the “boys” in the group and has
his father’s handsome face and sweet demeanor.
Chuma has a half sister, Baraka, still at BZ, as well as a half brother
named Zuza at Pittsburgh (where you won’t find a sign telling you his name, so
ask one of the staff to point him out to you!). Zuza’s full brother, Akanyi, was sent to Columbus Zoo,
where he was reluctantly euthanized, when brain damage he suffered during birth
could not be reversed and worsened.
.
Update:
see MtuChuma Remembered.
10.
Disney’s Name:
A sub-adult male
Real
Name and History:
Zawadi
was born 05Aug91 at LPZ to mom JoRayK, who’s now at Denver (with Hope’s dad,
Koundu). At the time of his
conception, LPZ had 3 adult males together with females, including Gino who was
supposed to be in charge and with Brooks and Bebac (now both together at
Cleveland). Everyone assumed Gino
was the father, although Brooks was also seen breeding JoRayK when Gino wasn’t
looking. DNA tests revealed Brooks
was the father, which makes Zawadi the grandson of LPZ’s first born gorilla,
Kumba and Benga’s nephew (JoRayK and Benga have the same mom, Helen). Just like human
families, gorilla families can get complicated! Zawadi was raised by his mom
the first few months but then she was having trouble producing enough milk for
him and he was pulled for hand-rearing, before being re-introduced to surrogate
gorilla mom Debbie. I remember
Zawadi as a pudgy, round-bellied toddler and seeing him as a strapping young
blackback was quite a thrilling shock for me!
11.
Disney’s Name:
A sub-adult male
Real
Name and History:
Mbizi, or “Spike” was born 14Aug93 to JoRayK and Koundu at LPZ, making him
Hope’s and Zawadi’s half brother. I’m
not 100% sure I remember this correctly, but I think he got the name “Spike”
when JoRayK over-groomed his head and a little spike of hair stuck out of an
otherwise bald baby head, making him look like a punk rocker.
Spike is distinguished by the lack of fingers on his right hand, the result
of what I think was an accident, caused by his dad, Koundu.
Silverbacks often bite to reprimand, but seldom break skin or cause
damage, but in this case I think Koundu got carried away and bit off Spike’s
fingers in the heat of the moment. Spike
was pulled from his group after this incident and eventually re-introduced to
Frank’s group (see Super Silverbacks), where he thrived. I giggled when I saw
Spike’s hand, which I remember with tiny, skinny fingers remaining, which were
now huge, sausage-like fingers of a growing blackback!
His full brother, Cenzoo, lives in Denver with their parents.
Thanks
to Lisa Simmons for the photos of the 11 uniquely wonderful AK gorillas.
Gino, born 30Dec80 in
Rotterdam, Holland to Ernst and Salome, who still reside at Rotterdam Zoo. One
of Gino’s brothers, Arti, recently died in a freak drowning accident in
Hannover (Germany) and his siblings are in zoos around Europe. Gino’s first offspring was a male called Mosi, who was born
to Kowali at Lincoln Park Zoo when Gino was just 9 years old.
Sadly, Mosi died just 2 weeks shy of his first birthday (see Photo
Gallery for more details). Gino is one of the
best gorilla fathers I know and I was privileged to watch him grow from a
goofy blackback to a magnificent silverback.
When I saw him in September 2000, after not seeing him in almost 4 years,
he did a double-take and
stared at me as if to say “Hey lady, where you been?”.
He looked great and he continues to be a great dad and troop leader.
