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LENA Irish Super Mom! 01August2006

In July 2006 I met another wonderful Super Mom named Lena who lives at the Dublin Zoo in Ireland with silverback, Harry, and their three sons, Kesho, Alfie and Evindi, and young female Mayani, who's Snowflake (the white gorilla)'s granddaughter, from Barcelona, Spain. Lena was born 25 August 1982 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, making her a special gorilla to me, since we share the same birthday (ok, different years, though!). When I watched the Dublin group the first week of July, I ended each day with a sore face from smiling or laughing all the time. Lena's a wonderfully protective and nurturing mom to her newest baby, but also still attentive and playful with her two older sons - especially Alfie, who's a real momma's boy, as the photo on the right shows. During the hotter parts of the afternoon, Lena would take the baby and sit next to Harry in the shaded moat under my viewing window. Kesho and Alfie would be playing and tumbling, getting closer and closer to their parents, occasionally bumping into them, prompting both Lena and Harry to join in on the playing, which was great fun to witness. Lena's baby, a boy, was born 09 April 2006 and shortly thereafter, I was asked if I would give him a name, which has to be one of the biggest honors of my life - naming a baby gorilla! I selected the name Evindi, after the young gorilla I met in Cameroon in 1999, who died a couple months after we met. Evindi was such a lover boy, so sweet and charming, and his death (of meningitis, I believe) was a shock deeply felt even years later by all who knew and loved him. Dublin-born Evindi, unlike his namesake, was born in a captive setting, but at least he will be able to grow up in a family setting with his siblings and parents in a safer environment than African Evindi, whose family was slaughtered when he was captured as a baby circa 1997. It is hoped more baby "Evindis" can be born in the wild to live the life all gorillas were born and destined to live - free of human poachers and habitat destruction, well on into the future. Meanwhile, Irish Evindi can help remind us all why we're working so hard to protect gorillas around the world - in captivity and in the wild.

KUCHI Super Super Mom! 17May06

We try to update our photo section and get nominations up as soon as possible, but sadly, we’re a bit behind on these types of tasks, so please bear with us, since this award should have gone up months ago!  But gentle reminders from our website’s readers have prompted me to include this nomination now, rather than delay it further …Other changes, updates and corrections will be put up as we find the time to do so. Richard Arnold made this nomination and these photos are his and/or Georgina Salup's, unless otherwise noted. Kuchi is a 22 year old female gorilla who was born 10Oct84 at the Yerkes Field Station, before those gorillas came to live at Zoo Atlanta.  Her father, Ozoum, or Ozzie, still resides at Zoo Atlanta, and her mom, Paki, died there in October 2004.  Paki was one of my favorites, a beautiful lady who acted as a surrogate mom to gorilla Jasiri, whose own mom, Katy, didn’t want to raise him (or couldn’t raise him) shortly after his birth in June 1998.  Kuchi has several half siblings, but besides Kekla, who's still at Zoo Atlanta in the all male group, her only other full sibling is at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida: Kishina, recently made gorilla history when she had a baby by caesarian birth, but then quickly took him back and is mother-rearing him. In addition, Kuchi had two surviving offspring of her own:  her son, Stadi, who’s in with Kekla and Jasiri et al at Zoo Atlanta, and her daughter, Lulu. Got all that?  Lulu was Willie B’s last offspring and her birth gave Kuchi a boost in the hierarchy of the female gorillas in his group, which Kuchi seemed to enjoy.  Lulu was born in August 1999 and for the first year, Kuchi never let her go more than a foot away from her – literally!  I swore Lulu would have one leg longer than the other. As Lulu got into her toddling stages, she’d try to explore away from mom, but Kuchi always had one leg firmly held, so Lulu couldn’t wonder off too far, as a very attentive mom. The photo on the right is baby Lulu secure in Kuchi's arms, taken by Steuart during a visit shortly after she was born. On 31Oct05, Kuchi gave birth to TWINS, something that’s happened before (Bronx, Columbus, Oklahoma City), but Kuchi’s twins are making history, as the first/only set of twins born in captivity to be raised by their own mother for this long.  Previously 17 days was the record for a captive born mom taking care of both babies before something happened and humans had to intervene to raise one or both of the babies. Going on at over 6 months, Kuchi’s in the record books as a Super Mom.  But she’s even more than that! A week after Kuchi’s twins were born, Lulu gave birth to her own son!  But Lulu was very young – perhaps too young – to be a mom, and she didn’t know what to do, and she just left her newborn in the hay and ignored it. That’s when Super-Super Mom, Kuchi, went over and picked up her grandson and made room for him between her week-old son and daughter, and proceeded to take care of him – including nursing him! For the next few days, Kuchi successfully took care of all three newborn babies, as anxious caregivers watched around the clock, to be sure all babies were getting enough milk and care.  Even Lulu watched her mom care for her own child, as seen in this photo on the right, courtesy of Zoo Atlanta. Sadly, on November 12, 2005, Lulu’s son died, but for a few shining moments, everyone who works with gorillas was flabbergasted and thrilled to watch a real, super mom in action. I don’t know of any other case like this, where one mom took care of three babies under a week of age all at the same time, making Kuchi our Super-Super Mom for obvious reasons! The twins were named by the public in a contest:  Kali, the boy and Kazi, the girl, are too cute for words and now taking turns riding on mom’s back or tummy, as she continues to be a very attentive, albeit a bit more relaxed mom.  New, first time dad, Taz, is proving himself a Super Silverback too, being very protective of his ever-expanding family, including, daughter, Macy, by Willie B’s first offspring, Kudzoo in December 2005.  Kudzoo’s youngers sister, Sukari, is due to give birth literally any day now, as the Atlanta baby boom continues, with Super-Super-Mom Kuchi thrilled to be around so many babies, I’m sure!

Super Gorilla Moms:

Mandara (Now at National Zoo, Washington, DC). Mandara was hand-reared at Milwaukee’s zoo, where I first "met" her as a baby. She joined Gus’ group in Washington DC and had her own baby, Kejana, who she took great care of, despite never being in a social gorilla group to learn proper mother care. Everyone was thrilled at how great a mom Mandara was, but then she surprised the world even more. Holoki, another females in Gus’ group, gave birth to a baby, but just left it on the ground and walked away! This happens some times and usually it means zoo keepers will have to hand-raise another gorilla baby. But Mandara had another idea. Although Kejana, her son, was only about 8 months old (and therefore still dependent on his mom for food, protection and comfort), Mandara picked up the newborn baby and took care of him too! The new baby, another boy, named Baraka, was nursed by and taken care of by Mandara, while his real mom, Holoki relaxed nearby. Some people call Mandara "the Donna Reed of gorillas" since she’s such a terrific mom. She’s had a couple more babies since her time caring for two young ones, and each time she’s proven just how wonderful, smart, loving and gentle gorilla moms can be! Gus and his son Kejana are now at Disney, as part of their bachelor group.

Left Photo: MANDARA - female gorilla - born 05Apr82 at Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago to Frank and Terra. This photo was taken by C. E. Steuart Dewar while Mandy was being hand-reared at the Milwaukee County zoo during the summer of 1982.

Right Photo: shows an adult Mandy with her latest, a son, K’tembe, born 13Mar97 (by C. E. Steuart Dewar in March 1997) .

Babs (at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago). I call Babs the "Kool Aid mom," since all the younger gorillas love to hang around her and play, and she’s such a good, easy going, playful and loving mom to her kids. A few years ago, Babs had a daughter, Kwizera, who was about the same age as Babs’ brother, Kwisha. Both youngsters had to be hand-reared temporarily due to some injuries, but both were soon re-introduced back to their own mothers. Babs accepted Kwizera back, but Kwisha’s mom, Alpha, would not take care of him. So Babs would take care of her own daughter and her baby brother at the same time, waiting for Kwisha to catch up when she moved with Kwizera on her back. As the juveniles got older, one of their favorite games to play was like Ring Around the Rosie, although I named it "Ring around the Babs!"

Photo: BABS & BANA - mom gorilla and her daughter. Babs was born 12Jul74 to Babe and Alpha at Brookfield Zoo. Her latest daughter, Bana was born there 06Mar95, sired by Chicory. This photo was taken in August 1996 by our friends, Jan and Tom Parkes.

Alpha (at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago). When I started to seriously study gorillas, Alpha was one of the first gorillas to recognize me and move to sit near me during our visits. At first, I didn’t like Alpha very much, since she refused to care for her young son, Kwisha. But now I think Alpha was feeling badly and maybe even depressed, since the silverback, (and Kwisha and Kwizera’s father), Brookfield’s Samson, had just died, leaving a huge void in the gorilla group. Alpha was then the dominant female, but she didn’t feel like taking care of her baby, so her own daughter, Babs, helped her out. Later on, Alpha had another baby by a new gorilla, and once again she was one of the best gorilla moms around. So mom and daughter, Alpha and Babs, are great moms. And now Kwizera’s a mom too (but I haven’t seen her in years) and hopefully she’s following in the great mom tradition! Also check out Alpha's nomination on our Silverback Awards page.

Photo: ALPHA & JABARI - mom gorilla and her son. Alpha was born in Africa in 1961 and has had many children at Brookfield Zoo. This photo (taken by our friends, Tom and Jan Parkes) was taken in March 1988 with Alpha’s son, Jabari, who’s now a silverback at the St. Louis Zoo. Jabari is Brookfield’s Samson’s son and was born at Brookfield on 05Feb85.

Debbie (at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo). Debbie the gorilla never could have her own children, but she is one of the zoo world’s BEST surrogate gorilla moms around. Sometimes baby gorillas needed to be hand-reared, but when they were about 8 months or older, the zoo keepers would introduce the baby to Debbie, who would take care of them for a couple of months, "teaching" them to behave with proper gorilla manners. When the time was right, the zoo would then let Debbie and her new surrogate child back into the gorilla group, where Frank, the silverback, would gently tolerate and even welcome the newcomer. Debbie was one of my first true gorilla friends, coming to sit near me whenever I visited, for hours on end.

Sadly, Debbie passed away recently and we will all miss her

Photo: DEBBIE - female gorilla - born in Africa in 1965 and brought to Lincoln Park Zoo as a youngster. This photo was taken by Jane Dewar in about 1991, during one of our "tea parties" where Debbie would sit near me for hours. Sometimes, if I didn’t pay enough attention, Debbie would put her hand on the glass and tap lightly - reminding me she was still there!

Makari (at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo). Makari was Debbie’s surrogate child when I first started learning about gorillas, and the two of them taught me a lot about gorillas. Makari would play with Joe (who moved to Cleveland years later, where he died suddenly) and if/when the play got too rough, she’d return to Debbie’s side and Joe would have to behave himself! Makari now has her own baby, who she is raising herself and doing a wonderful job. Bulera, another one of Debbie’s surrogate daughters at LPZ, also had a baby and knew how to take good care of him right away, so clearly Debbie is a great teacher!

Photo: MAKARI - female gorilla - born 12Jul87 at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago to mom, Kisuma, and dad, Frank. This photo was taken in February 1990 by Jane Dewar, during one of our "tea parties" where Makari would sit near Debbie and me. Here Makari is looking at a gorilla plush toy I brought to show her.

Evelyn H. Reis and Christine Ortman wrote to us in January of 2002: "The Bronx has two gorilla groups. One lead by Timmy and the other lead by Seattle-born Zuri. I would like to nominate a female from each group for inclusion as part of your photo gallery of "Super Moms". 

Triska (at New York's Bronx Zoo), Triska (photo left) is the Bronx-born daughter of Huerfanita (who’s in Timmy’s group with her) and Bendera. Triska was the first Bronx Zoo gorilla to raise her own baby.  After giving birth to two babies who were hand reared, Triska gave birth to Chipua (or"Chip") in September 1996 and did a superlative job of raising him.  On July 10, 2000 Triska gave birth to another baby boy, Suki.  She has been a wonderful mother to him while also nurturing Chip.

Julia (at New York's Bronx Zoo). A second special gorilla mother at the Bronx Zoo is Julia (photo right), who was born in Los Angeles , to mom Kay and dad Chuma..  Julia is in with Zuri, a relatively young silverback leader.  At almost 21 years old,  Julia  gave birth to her first child, Pierrepont, on January 6th 2001 .  It was a great surprise that she became a mother.  Julia is a very protective mother and carries Pierrepont with her at all times.

Both photos courtesy of D. DeMello (c) W.C.S.

Kumba (At Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo). Kumba is famous as being the first gorilla born at Lincoln Park Zoo. She remains aloof quite often, but sometimes she likes to "talk" to visitors - she looks at you and then flaps her lips like she’s speaking. Kumba can be a moody gorilla, but I think she’s stressed sometimes, and so she will try to block out the world by holding her ears (see right photo). Still, she has the greatest gorilla eyes - full of expression - and I am always privileged and honored when she comes to sit by me during my visits.

Photo: Kumba - female gorilla born 22Jul70 at LPZ in Chicago to mom, Mumbi (sadly, who died October, 1998) and dad Kisoro. When she looks at you, you can almost feel her trying to tell you something. And when she holds her ears, you want to comfort her somehow. Both photos were taken by Jane Dewar in about 1992.

TEBE My old friend deserves her own page - Check out Tebe's Miracle here!

Super Moms – The Next Generation                  Updated 04 July 2001

by Jane Dewar

Baraka (Brookfield Zoo, Chicago, IL, USA).  Baraka is the first offspring of one of my all-time favorite gorillas, Ndume, born to Babs on 19 August 1990.  I’ve literally watched her grow into a beautiful gorilla, and so when she gave birth to her first child on 04 April 2001, I felt like a proud grandmother.   Baraka’s son was named Nadaya, which means “first” in a Nigerian language.  Not only was he Baraka’s first child, he was also the first offspring of silverback Ramar, whose life was anything but “normal” as a show business gorilla featured in the book “Jungle to Stage” written by his former trainer, Jack Badal.  I first met Ramar when he was at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro.  He’d never successfully bred and when he first moved to Brookfield (in 1998) it looked like his libido still wouldn’t be inspired, despite eager and willing females, like Babs and Alpha.  But it turned out Ramar had his eyes on the much younger Baraka and given enough time and space, he figured it out.  Being the daughter of Kool-Aid mom, Babs, Baraka has apparently learned great mothering skills – I couldn’t be prouder!

For unclear reasons, Brookfield Zoo refused Gorilla Haven permission to use one of their copyrighted photographs on our website.  Special thanks to Mary Van Huis for photos of Baraka and baby and proud-papa Ramar (left) taken in April 2001 and also to Pam Rasmussen for photos of Baraka and Nadaya taken in June 2001 (right)).  

Moseka (La Vallee des Singes Zoo, Romagne, France). Moseka was born in Stuttgart 01 September 1984 where she was hand-reared.  I first met here in Heidelberg in 1996.  She was housed with one other gorilla, a young silverback named Jitu, (also born in Stuttgart -15 October 1983).  The keepers in Heidelberg were gracious and let Steuart and I go behind-the-scenes to meet their 2 gorillas up close and offer some treats.  But Jitu was an angry young silverback, who kept throwing feces at us as he charged about.  Much to the keepers (but not Steuart’s) surprise, I just sat there (thankfully, protected by a borrowed raincoat!) purring and rumbling to him reassuringly.  In between charges, Moseka would calmly come up to the mesh and stare into my face, almost as if asking “What kind of a nut are you? Most people run when Jitu throws poop at them!”  I offered her treats, which she took, always keeping one eye on Jitu and one eye on me, “reading” his mood to see how long she could stay by me, before she’d have to move to make way for another one of his charges.  After about 20 minutes of this, even Jitu had to give up and he too stared at me at close range, accepting my treats gently and sweetly as if to say “No hard feelings – I know now you’re a real gorilla lover at heart!”.  I hadn’t heard about either one of these gorillas until seeing a birth announcement on an email forum, and recognizing the name Moseka, as a mother who gave birth to a son, named Kibali, on 25 March 2001.  Apparently she’d been moved to another German zoo (Duisburg) before being moved again to a zoo in France where the right chemistry clicked with her and silverback Yaoundé. Jitu is now residing in Blackpool Zoo in England.  Many thanks to Jan Vermeer, curator of La Vallee des Singes, who sent this photo, taken by D. Marques.

Shani (Chessington, London, England).  I’ve known Shani since she was a toddler in with Jersey-born silverback Kumba, her father.  On 29 March 2001 eleven year old Shani gave birth to her second child, another daughter, named Shanga –sired by a wildborn and wonderful silverback also named Kumba (which is one of the most popular gorilla names around, and a city in Cameroon!).   With Shani’s first daughter, Buu, Shani wasn’t that interested, often letting dad Kumba do babysitting duty.  But this time Shani seemed more willing and able to be a full time mom and big sister Buu was more than eager to help out.

Photos courtesy of Gwen Fraser at Chessington .

Super Moms – 2004                  Updated 28 July 2004

Nominated July 14, 2004 by 19 year old student, Betsy Hall, who wrote:
Nina (at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle). Nina is the experienced matriarch and resident "wise woman" of the original gorilla family in Seattle, WA. Old, wrinkled, and stoic, she sits a great deal (her tongue protruding slightly) to observe the world. Her slow and steady presence provides a stable center (and sometimes a jungle gym) to the younger, more unruly members of her group. She has lived her whole life in Seattle with her silverback, Pete and their extended family, currently consisting of a daughter and three granddaughters. Although the first of their children died soon after birth and the second (Wanto of Kansas City Zoo) was removed to be handraised as was the style in the 70's, Nina raised their remaining three beautiful children with great success (Kamilah of San Diego Wild Animal Park, Zuri of Bronx Zoo, and Alafia - each of them a parent). After a horrible kidney infection in the early 90's Nina was no long able to bear children, but has since become a loving surrogate mother to Nadiri in 1996 and Akenji in 2001, "orphans" whose birth mother refused to care for them.

Alafia (at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle). Alafia is the dominant female of her group, and the redhead daughter of Nina and Pete (shown on the right next to her mother). As Nina's final child, she experienced life for six years as "the baby" before 6 month old abandoned Nadiri was introduced to the family. A wild and headstrong girl, Alafia was deeply offended by the presence of a new baby and the attention Nadiri got from Nina. In protest she bullied the baby a great deal until it became apparent to her that she was, essentially, a big sister and that Nadiri looked up to her. She began to share the role of surrogate mother with Nina (although she is still not shy about letting Nadiri know who's boss). The next few years' experience gave Alafia time to mature. She fell in love with the new boy next door (the zoo has two gorilla groups) and, after being allowed daily access to him for a few months, became pregnant and gave birth in 2000. Alafia's impish redhead daughter Naku is treated as the precious one-and-only she is. Mother and daughter sleep locked in each other's arms. Although Naku is nearly four, Alafia is still fiercely protective of her and allows her to nurse. Naku acts and looks much like her mother, and I know she'll grow up to be as wonderful a mom as Alafia and Nina before her.