by Jane Dewar, 25Nov2002
Ok, it’s been a couple months since
our last update and by now I was hoping to be able to announce the arrival of
our first gorilla resident. But some technical difficulties NOT involving
construction issues, amazingly enough, have come up, so we have delayed our
target date from the end of this year until the early in 2003.
We know who our first gorilla will most likely be, but will and cannot announce
this until we’ve had all our inspections and all our licenses are in place.
Moving any gorilla requires anesthetizing the animal (called a “knock down”) at
least twice – once, for a pre-shipping veterinary health check around 30 days
before shipping, and the second, for the actual date of shipping. This enables
the zoo sending the gorilla to GH to sign off on his/her health and allows our
own vets to liaise with the vets and keepers who’ve been taking care of the
animal for years.
The animal most likely to come to GH has been scheduled for two additional
“knock-downs” in December – the month we’d hoped to move him. Since we don’t
want to risk his life any more than necessary, we’re giving him an extra month
or two to recuperate before we have to knock him down again – hence this delay.
Knock downs are extremely dangerous for all animals, especially gorillas. Sadly,
I know too many gorillas who have died after undergoing routine health
procedures, so it’s not something to do arbitrarily or without great
preparations and veterinary care. We could still make our end of 2002 deadline,
but when we asked ourselves “why?” we realized it would only be to meet our own
goal, and it wouldn’t be in the best interest of the gorilla himself, which is,
after all, our entire “raison d’etre!” (reason of existing!).
So, while we’re sad we won’t make our goal, we believe it’s in the gorilla’s
best interest. Meanwhile, we can enjoy the holiday season and by the middle of
January, I should be ready with another update with more details of our
progress!
|
Chewbacca comes to GH |
One
recent bright spot has been the arrival of Chewbacca (Chewie being a very
appropriate abbreviation for him) at Gorilla Haven. Chewie was rescued by some
people we know, but due to overcrowding at all the animal shelters in the
region, was destined for a very short life. Fortunately, he seems to have the
right personality to fit in with our princess puppies and the other 8 dogs
and 19 cats, so he has won a lifetime reprieve.
Bwindi has spent her time looking at Chewie with deep suspicion and her typical grumpiness, but Soakie seems to be thrilled with her new little brother and follows him around like a doting parent.
All the other dogs have been patiently interested and it's clear that Chewie especially likes interacting with all the cats. He's only been here a few days, but is already doing an excellent job of reminding us how empty some people's lives must be that they could discard a helpless creature like Chewie - a creature whose antics and affection always manage to invoke a smile...