by Jane Dewar
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Special Gorillas:
Pong
- a young gorilla male born in the wild approximately in 1995 most probably
in Nigeria or Cameroon. He was poached and smuggled to Qatar where he lived
as a pet of sheik. He was placed in sheik's private Zoo and shared cage with
young female of chimpanzee. But Pong started to be aggressive to her and
also to people. In 2001 Pong was shipped to Prague Zoo in the Czech
Republic, as agreed by the European Breeding Program for Gorillas. The
chimpanzee was sent to the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage in Zambia.
Integration of Pong to a gorilla group in Prague Zoo was very complicated,
but in the end successful. Pong was learning very quickly. The suspicion
that Pong might be Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) was not
confirmed. In August 2002 the Prague Zoo was flooded when the waters of the
Vltava River overflowed their banks. The floodwaters submerged the Zoo's
gorilla pavilion. Four gorillas were rescued, but Pong unfortunately
drowned. Pong's story is complicated and sad despite his young age. However,
the last year of his life he was enabled to live 'as normal gorilla' in a
group. Submitted by friends and
caregivers of the Prague Zoo in the Czech Republic on January 20, 2005.
Jeremiah - silverback gorilla - born 06Mar84 in Bristol,
England to Daniel and Delilah. This photo show Jeremiah when
he was a young blackback and housed by himself at the Bristol
Zoo. He was so thrilled to have some attention, he sat near
me for hours, watching my ‘bag of tricks.’ He
wasn’t feeling so good that day (note his runny nose)
and I spent most of my time keeping him company. Jeremiah was
at the London Zoo in Regent’s Park, housed with 2 female
gorillas for a year or so, but moved to the Belfast Zoo in
Ireland during the summer of 1998. Sadly, Jeremiah died on 27
August 2000 in Belfast, Ireland.
Photo taken by Jane Dewar in March 1994
Ozoum - silverback gorilla - born in Africa in
1961. "Ozzie" lives at Zoo Atlanta and is the
father of many gorilla babies. Ozoum is one of
the coolest, calmest, greatest gorillas around. Sometimes
when visitors are behind-the-scenes, Ozzie won’t even
look up to see who’s there - he knows he’s in
control and his family’s safe. It’s a truly
remarkable tribute to the staff at Zoo Atlanta as well as the
gorillas themselves that there is such a level of trust and
respect between human and ape.
Photo taken by Steuart Dewar in June 1994.
Choomba & Kudzoo - mom and daughter gorilla. Choomba was born in
Africa in 1963 and is part of the Yerkes collection of
gorillas who reside at Zoo Atlanta. Choomba is a super-mom -
very protective of her children, including Willie B’s
first child, Kudzoo, who was born at Zoo Atlanta on 08Feb94.
Kudzoo is now a big sister to her baby sister, Sukari (born
12May98) - Willie B's legacy continues!
Photo taken by Steuart Dewar in June 1994
Amahoro -
female EASTERN LOWLAND gorilla - born in Africa in 1989 (I
think). Amahoro has a long and involved history, despite her
young age. She was rescued from smugglers trying to get her
out of Africa and spent quite a while living with orphaned
chimpanzees, which the Jane Goodall Institute were taking
care of. I met Amahoro in October 1993, shortly after she
arrived at the Antwerp Zoo in Belgium, where the world’s
only other Eastern lowland gorilla group is housed. Amahoro
was housed alone for a while, but now she is in with an adult
female, Victoria and a silverback, Mukisi - the last
remaining Eastern lowland gorillas in captivity, except for
silverback Mac, who resides in Houston, Texas.
This photo was a gift from one of her keepers.
Koundu - silverback gorilla born at Howletts in
England 06Oct75. Koundu is one of the biggest
"characters" I know in the gorilla world. Just
thinking about him makes me laugh or smile. He was
hand-reared by Lady Sarah Aspinall, when his gorilla mother, Mouila,
couldn’t provide adequate maternal care (his father was
the magnificent silverback, Kisoro). My theory is Koundu
thought he was a prince, and indeed his formative years he
was treated like one, celebrating Easter with Cadbury’s
chocolates and other goodies (see left photo). But then, due
to a previous loan and breeding agreement between Howletts
and Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Koundu was moved to LPZ. I
don’t think he ever got over it. It always seemed to me
he was saying "Wait! There’s been a mistake! I
should be living in a lush, outdoor habitat, with over 200
different types of foods and a wide selection of females, as
the prince I am!" Instead, he lived very comfortably
(to any other gorilla’s point of view, at least!) at LPZ
(right photo) for several years, where he sired some
offspring, but never quite seemed to accept his lot in life.
For a while, Koundu was quite a brat (again, I think because
he was frustrated!), banging on the glass at the LPZ exhibit,
causing people to scream and the building to shake.
In the spring of 1996 Koundu and his family
(including his 4 month old son, Cenzoo) moved to Denver. I
hadn’t seen them in over 2 years, when I visited in
February 1998. When he saw me, Koundu rushed over to the
glass and gave it a little tap - quite a change from the old
banging that used to go on! We saw him and his family again
in June 1998 and I’ve never seen Koundu, Bassa, JoRayK
or Cenzoo so happy and at peace. Clearly, the move was a good
one for Koundu, who seems mellower and more relaxed in his
new home. Koundu had been aggressive with his children in the
past, but in this photo from November 1994, shows the
beginnings of Koundu’s gentler nature. The baby is
Cenzoo’s older brother, Mbizi, also known as
"Spike," who now lives at the new Disney Animal
Kingdom. He was born at LPZ 14Aug93. In June 1998 I watched
as Koundu’s youngest son, Cenzoo, picked up an armful of
straw, then threw it in Koundu’s face. Koundu playfully
grabbed for Cenzoo, who then gleefully ran away. Too cute.
First photo: given
to us by his former Howletts keeper, taken in the mid
1970’s.
Second photo
was taken by a friend of ours, Lynn Messner, while Koundu was
outside at LPZ in about 1994.
Third
photo, taken by our friends, Tom and Jan Parkes, in November
1994
Tabibu - female gorilla born 30Apr92 at Lincoln Park
Zoo in Chicago to Hope and Gino. Tabibu is Koundu’s
first grandchild, and like her grandpa, she is quite a
character! This photo from the summer of 1992 shows Tabibu
was in the zoo’s nursery, since her mom couldn’t
take care of her properly. She’s now in with Frank,
where she had a baby (that didn't survive), so she's growing
up fast! Quite precocious like her mother and grandfather!
Photo taken by Jane Dewar in the summer of 1992.
Bongo - silverback gorilla - born in Africa
1973, resides at Apenheul in Holland. This photo is a
"classic Bongo" pose. A terrific father and
silverback, Bongo and his family live on an island at the
wonderful zoo park, Apenheul, near Apeldoorn in Holland.
Photo taken by Steuart Dewar in October 1993
Bakira - female gorilla - born 12Aug95 in Amsterdam,
Holland to Dafina and Tembo. This is Awali’s
full sister, who was 7 weeks old when this photo was taken.
Like her big brother, Bakira loved Steuart and quickly fell
to sleep as he cuddled her. She too went to Stuttgart,
Germany to be raised in their ape nursery. I just heard she's
now moved to Belfast, Ireland, and her younger sister, Chuma,
is at Stuttgart.
Photo taken by Jane Dewar in 1995
Kijo - silverback gorilla - born 02Apr75 at
Howletts, England to Juju and Kisoro. This is Koundu’s
half brother who "lucked out" and got to remain at
Howletts, where he has a large and happy family.
Koundu’s other surviving sibling, full-sister, Kabinda,
his mother, Mouila, and half siblings also
still live at Howletts.
Photo taken by Jane Dewar in March of 1993.
Trib - silverback gorilla - born in Africa in
1959 and died 02Jun93. Like silverback Akbar in Toledo, Trib
was a very playful father and even though we didn’t know
him very well, our time watching Trib was one of the best
ever. He was at the San Diego Wild Animal Park when we met
him in 1992. I got a series of shots of Trib playing with his
young son, Paul Donn: in this one, Paul Donn is
"challenging" dad to grab his arm … too cute.
Photos taken by Jane Dewar in 1992.
Molly - female gorilla - born in the wild in either
1968 or 1969. Molly was "owned" by the New Orleans
Zoo, but when we met her she was at Zoo Atlanta, where she
soon would be introduced to the "shopping mall"
gorilla, Ivan. We were up on the back roof with her keeper -
behind-the-scenes - where visitors seldom go and Molly’s
tight lips and glaring eyes are telling us "Hey! What
are YOU doing back there! Get away - I mean it!"
Molly died 10May96 after a long history of medical troubles,
but I’ll always remember her feistiness and great red
hair!
Photo taken by Steuart Dewar in the summer of 1994
Mouila & Oumbi - mom and son - Mouila is Koundu’s
mom, born in Africa in 1960 and living at Howletts, where she
continues to have babies. Oumbi is her son (casually riding
on her back while she browses for some treats) and therefore
Koundu’s half brother (born 30Jun92 and sired by Bitam).
We just saw Mouila with her latest baby, Tamiela (another
Bitam-baby, born 26Jun97) in October 1998. She's a tired,
relaxed mom who needs a vacation!! Oumbi's now a big boy in
the world's largest bachelor gorilla group at Port Lympne.
Photo taken by Jane Dewar in March 1993.
Djala - silverback gorilla - born in Africa in 1982
and now living at Howletts. Djala’s had a rough life,
but he was lucky enough to go to Howletts, where he’s
been housed in a family group as well as by himself.
He’s back in with females now and he’s one of the
sweetest and saddest gorillas I’ve known. He's had a
couple of babies, including Djanghou, and
seeing him in October 1998 as a fully-grown silverback was
awesome!
Photos taken by Jane Dewar - left in March, 1994; right in April, 2000
Sakina - female gorilla born at the Jersey Zoo
(Channel Islands, UK) 14Jul86. Her mother is Kishka and her
father was the world-famous silverback, Jambo.
This photo shows Sakina when her keeper let her out into the
kitchen area with us and allowed me to give her some
orange-flavored tic-tacs. She was about to eat them when I
asked her if I could take her photo. As I snapped this
picture, she seemed to be saying "Hurry up already
and get your silly picture, so I can go back and eat these
things!" Sakina was 7 years old at the time, making
her the oldest gorilla we’ve encountered face to face.
She was also very mellow and more interested in the tic-tacs
than us!
Photo taken by Jane Dewar in October of 1993.
G-Ann - female gorilla born in Oklahoma City 1979
(Fern/Moemba mom/dad). Another great redhead with an
attitude, we met G-Ann while she was at the Jersey Zoo. There
she strutted and postured and showed off for us, picking up
huge chunks of grass from her exhibit and flinging them at
visitors making too much noise. She's great! Sadly, she lost
part of an arm due to a unanticipated bad reaction to a
routine anesthetic prior to her move to Melbourne Zoo in
Australia in 1997.
Update: 21Nov99: Heidi Wenk, senior primate keeper at the
Melbourne Zoo was kind enough to provide this update for us: Have
just been perusing your website and saw your comments about
G-Ann in the photo gallery. Thought you might like to know
how she's going here in Melbourne. She's now in a group of 7
gorillas (including her old mate Julia who came with her from
Jersey). The group also includes: Motaba (Jambo's son) - 16,
Betsy - 42, Yuska (Ya Kwanza's mum) - 28 and Betsy and
Motaba's offspring Batouri - 8 and Bahasha - 5 (yes Betsy's
our miracle mum having had her first Batouri at the grand age
of 34). G-Ann is doing well having been in the group since
March of this year. Whilst the group is still finding it's
feet with respect to defining themselves and their role as a
group she seems to be coping very well and finds Motaba quite
irresistible. In fact she and Julia are both approx. 3 months
pregnant!! She is coping well with the loss of her hand and
has quickly learnt that quite a lot of food and bedding can
be carried in the crook of her arm. She also frequently puts
her stump on the ground to walk. We're very confident that
she will have not problems caring for an infant despite that
fact that she now only has one hand.
Update, 29May00: G-Ann's gave birth to a baby boy, named GANYEKA by caesarian section. Like most gorilla moms who have to undergo such a birth, G-Ann did not want to raise her baby, so he's being hand-reared at the zoo. Hopefully when he's older, he'll be able to be re-introduced to his gorilla family.
Photo left by Steuart Dewar taken in October of 1993. Photo right by Melbourne Zoo docent Rhonda Philips taken in 1999.
Kinyani - female gorilla born 16Mar83 at Yerkes
(Calabar/Kishina are her dad and mom), and now at Zoo
Atlanta. This photo shows Kinyani’s coquettish demeanor.
Kinyani was one of the females put in with Willie B.
when he first met other gorillas and she was the first one to
teach him about gorilla "birds and bees", even
though she never got pregnant. Now Kinyani’s shown Ivan
the way (again, so far no pregnancy). Whadda gal! I call her
the Gorilla Geisha!
Photo taken by Steuart Dewar in June 1994.
Tebe - female gorilla born in Africa in 1980 living
at Howletts, England. This photo shows her suspicious yet
thoughtful face. When I first met her in March 1993, Tebe was
using a stick poked through the mesh of her enclosure, trying
to reach a piece of banana which had fallen outside her
reach. A crowd of visitors gathered around to watch her using
a stick as a tool and I stood in the background watching both
the humans and the gorilla. Finally, Tebe looked up, scanned
the crowd of visitors, and poked the stick higher through the
mesh at me - "asking" me to help her get the
banana. It’s against the rules to feed gorillas at zoos,
but since it was clearly part of her diet that had simply
fallen out of the exhibit, I reluctantly obliged. Never did I
feel so stupid in my life. Tebe had been doing a MUCH better
job than I could of spearing the banana with the stick. She
thought so too, and just watched me with indignant disgust at
my feeble attempts to help her. I managed to push the banana
closer to her, then I passed her back the stick, which she
took and then skillfully speared the remaining banana and ate
happily. We were best friends from that point on. When her
keepers took me behind-the-scenes, her eyes followed me
constantly - making sure I didn’t step out of line. I
call her the "banana fisher" and during subsequent
visits when she sees me in the public viewing areas, she runs
to find a stick to try to pass to me, perhaps hoping I can
help her snare another banana! Postscript: We saw
Tebe in October 1998 after not seeing her in almost 5 years.
Immediately she came over to investigate and followed me
around, charging and staring. I don't think she remembered
me, per se, but it was clear that once again she picked me
out as someone to watch, which made me feel great. See
Tebe's Miracle for an update!
Photo taken by our friend Phil Ridges (one of Tebe’s keepers), in the late 1980's.
Sidonie - female
gorilla born in Africa in 1972. Living at Howletts, England.
Poor Sidonie had an odd upbringing, which we’d love to
learn more about. This is a photo (left) of a picture of
Sidonie as a baby, who was hand-raised, clothed and
potty-trained by her owner, a French man. As a baby, Sidonie
was fed vegetables, cooked to a mush so they lost their
nutrients, which caused her not to develop properly. Today
her fingers are bent permanently and she could probably be
called mentally retarded, although a sweeter gorilla
doesn’t exist. Sidonie doesn’t like strangers, but
her keepers let me try to befriend her, which I did when the
photo on the right was taken. They said it was very unusual
for Sidonie to show such interest in new people, so I was
flattered and honored she chose to sit near me. A year or so
later I visited her again and she was banging around like an
angry male gorilla, but quickly settled down by me as I
treated her to fresh strawberries (again, with her
keepers’ permission). She’s never had a baby and
it’s doubtful she could raise it if she were to
successfully breed. Today she lives in a family group with
other females, including Tebe who acts as
her friend and protector. When I saw Sidonie in October 1998
(again, after almost 5 years absence), she stared at me and
flapped her mouth open and shut, almost like she was saying "hiya!
where ya been!?"
NEWSFLASH! On
22-Jan-2002, Sidonie gave birth to a healthy male gorilla named Kido! For
years, Sidonie, like her group mate Tebe (see above), was believed to be a
non-breeding female, but then she joined Tebe with her own miracle baby.
Kido is being hand-reared due to insufficient mother's milk, not maternal
neglect. Father Kifu sure has a way with the wallflower ladies.
Left Photo of
Sidonie as a baby from a magazine article.
Right Photo taken by Steuart Dewar in March 1993.
Arilla - female gorilla - born in Africa in
1981, now living alone in Toluca, Mexico. This is another
gorilla who breaks my heart. You might recall the case of a
zoo director from Mexico who was caught in a
"sting" operation when he tried to buy a gorilla
from the Miami Zoo a couple of years ago. A federal agent
dressed up in a gorilla suit and when the criminal zoo
director paid for his "gorilla", they busted him,
creating a funny story for the media at least. Well, Arilla
allegedly was illegally smuggled out of Africa into Spain and
then again into Mexico and this man who was caught was trying
to smuggle yet another gorilla so she could have company.
That man went to jail and Arilla still sits alone - no
reputable zoo wants to have anything to do with the zoo that
"owns" her, and the two other zoos in Mexico who
have gorillas can’t agree to consolidate their animals
so that there could be one good gorilla family, instead of 3
places with 6 animals. And, since her "papers" are
not in good order, it would be difficult at best to get her
out of Mexico and into a US zoo, even though this would be a
great thing, given the fact she would have brand new,
unrepresented genes. Arilla was fascinated by me - apparently
her keeper, a kind and gentle man, doesn’t know much
about gorillas and is afraid of her. So when I purred and
rumbled and nodded at her, using my best gorilla manners, she
was spellbound - even climbing to the top of a tree in her
exhibit (right photo) to watch me when I walked out of her
sight.
Photos taken by Steuart Dewar in September 1995.
Otto & Gori - silverback gorillas - born in Africa
in 1969 and 1967, respectively. Housed at Mae Noell’s
Chimp Farm in Tarpon Springs, FL. Like Willie B
and Ivan, these two gorillas have been
housed alone too long. Another silverback gorilla, King,
at Monkey Jungle in Miami, FL, completes the triad of
privately owned gorillas, who are not regulated by the
Gorilla Species Survival Plan. All three of these animals are
sincerely loved by their owners, who believe they are
providing good care for them. But gorillas should not be
alone. Otto (left photo) has had a lot of medical problems as
a youngster; Gori (right photo) was castrated and had his
canine teeth removed by his former owner, who was a Las Vegas
animal trainer with a dubious reputation. It’s our
fervent hope that these gorillas can have their lives
improved by better enclosures and more enrichment - ideally,
to be given the chance that Ivan and Willie
B were given: to be with their own kind. Sadly, Gori
died in November 1999. Otto remains housed alone, as does
King.
Photos by Jane Dewar in June of 1994.
Akanyi - male gorilla - born prematurely 09Mar96 at
Brookfield Zoo to Aquilina and Chicory. I
never "met" this little guy, but he was on my mind
and in my heart during his entire short life. I’m not
sure of the details, but Akanyi suffered some brain seizures
and had a host of medical problems as a result of his early
birth, making his development very slow. He was moved to
Columbus Zoo, where a staff of dedicated people spent time
with him, trying to teach him to walk or even just crawl. We
thought perhaps one day Akanyi would be a candidate for
Gorilla Haven, since he required so much special attention
that zoos are simply not equipped to handle for the
long-term. Sadly, he died on 18Sep97. I’m grateful to my
friends, Tom and Jan Parkes, for this photo.
Photo by our friends Tom and Jan Parkes taken in July 1997.
Djanghou - male gorilla born 03Dec93 to Sangha and
Djala. We got to meet this little guy in March 1994 when he
was just 4 months old. His name was "Anghou" at the
time, since they thought he was sired by Kouillou. Later,
paternity tests proved it was Djala's first born baby. His
very dark hair, like his father's, should have been a
give-away clue! As a baby Djanghou sucked his toe to calm
down. We saw him in October 1998 and - he's still sucking his
toe to relax! Djanghou is in Port Lympne, housed with other
male gorillas in a bachelor group. With his rare genes (both
his parents were born in Africa), he will probably have his
own breeding group one day, but for now he's in with Oumbi in
the largest all male gorilla group at Port Lympne..