HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!
Friday June 29th we decided to see what would happen when Oliver and the two goats met without mesh between them. The goats had been in the outside yard and were familiar with their new chalet and Oliver had been watching them, showing all signs that he was interested and not annoyed by their presence. See our last update for more info.
Oliver is suspicious and initially refuses to leave his outside cages.
Stratton (foregound) and Briggs by their goat chalet, complete with ramp leading to their penthouse!
Curiosity starts to overtake Oliver's
suspicions.
Stratton bravely wants to see what's inside Oliver's villa!
After having some yogurt, Oliver came back into the A cage (closest to the chalet), where I was sitting in the safety porch. It’s important to realize Oliver had full access and could have been inside his villa, in the further outside cage or outside in the habitat itself, but he chose to sit nearest the action. Since the other observers were still upstairs, I had a unique vantage point of seeing the action from Oliver’s and the goats’ perspective and snapped a few photos (the others were taking mostly video). Oliver was very calm and curious and when Stratton, the younger goat, jumped onto the ledge of door between the habitat and outer cage A, I held my breath and tried to keep calm and nonchalant, to see how Oliver would react. Stratton had never seen these doors open and was curious. After a few moments Stratton jumped into cage A and came around the safety porch to see Oliver within arm’s reach! Suddenly, Oliver got up and ran towards Stratton and I tried to take a photo but it all happened too fast …. It was clear Oliver could have caught Stratton easily, but instead he just displayed and half-heartedly chased her out, swatting her gently on her rear-end as she jumped back outside to her mom, Briggs, who was waiting. Mere minutes later, Stratton jumped in again, and Oliver only started to get up and she jumped out again. I was just cracking up. When Stratton jumped into the door frame again, Oliver calmly went over and sat in the door, looking at both goats.
Oliver, sitting in the doorway to watch the
goats, and perhaps discourage them from jumping in again!
Oliver peeks into the chalet as the goats go the other way.
After more than an hour of little to no action, Steuart and I decided to leave as Kelly stayed on to observe and be sure the goats were going to remain ok. I waved goodbye to Oliver as I always do, and blew him a kiss. As we went to my car parked by the viewing window, Oliver came out to see us go, as I described in the last update. En route to the viewing window, however, Oliver decided to have a peek inside the chalet, where Briggs and Stratton were napping. The goats ran out and Oliver calmly walked around looking in each of the several doors to their villa, until he realized the goats were elsewhere, at which point he did a little display before running to the window, which you can see in this video clip.
Oliver chases the goats.
Oliver enjoying Goat TV!
The rest of the day and in the days since, Oliver will sometimes half-heartedly chase the goats, who have the benefit of hearing on their side, so they can hear Oliver coming and get out of the way well in advance. But all interactions we've seen have us believing this is fun enrichment for everyone! The video clip (left) is a sample of what some of the chasing looks like.
With Oliver’s deafness, he’s extra vigilant but at least the goats are reliably together and easily found, so they don’t sneak up and scare Oliver. Pete reported that at one point, Oliver was sitting in the doorway between the two outside cages watching Briggs and Stratton eating his hay and food in one of the outside cages, like he was watching TV. When Oliver shifted his weight to get more comfortable, the goats started to bolt, until they realized Oliver didn’t mind them inside the cage – as long as he got to decide when it was time for them to leave! So both goats resumed nibbling on Oliver’s hay and Oliver kept watching, relaxed and curious.
Mostly Oliver is very relaxed and nonchalant
when the goats are around.
You can see Oliver is still plucking hair from his knees in this photo.
Good news is the hair on Oliver’s head is growing back, although he’s still plucking hair from his knees and wrists occasionally. It is our hope Oliver and the goats will keep him too busy to be bored (if indeed that was a cause or significant factor) and Oliver’s hair plucking will stop altogether. The goats will live in Oliver’s part of the habitat 24/7, with their villa for shelter and their special goat food (in addition to the goodies growing in the habitat itself). During the days they will share the habitat with Oliver, who has access from around 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon, if he wants it. The goats can jump into the 2 outside cages of the villa, but heavy plastic flaps which Oliver easily lifts to enter the inside cages will keep them out of the inside villa. But if they make it into the villa, they can jump out just as easily and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that both goats and gorilla will enjoy each other’s company. This isn’t the first/only time goats and gorillas have co-existed. Here’s a photo taken in the 1980’s of a silverback and goats in a zoo in France, sent to me by a friend a while back. We know Joe would hate to have to share his villa with any other animal, but it’s clear Oliver and the goats are making friends and have high hopes this will be a great friendship for all concerned.
Gorillas and goats have co-existed before in zoos.
Thank you Murray County 4H Club!
On June 1st, a group of young people from the 4H club came to volunteer at Gorilla Haven, working with our gardener, to help clear debris and tidy up the gardens and grounds.
They worked very hard and as a special reward, we took them to visit Joe, who enjoys visits from kids.
This was a big group for Joe and he was calm and interested in the kids, who were fascinated by him too. We always appreciate hard working volunteers and send our sincere thanks to everyone who helped! 4H photos courtesy of Sharon Lichey.
