Gorilla Friends

A New Bag and a Friend for Acacia Gorilla

Acacia is sporting a sack on her back. On burlap bag day, she loves to pick up one of the bags and throw it over the top of her head, or over her back, and walk around with it.  The bags are part of a rotation of enrichment devices. Each day the gorillas come out and find some things to play with. They each seem to have their favorites. N'kosi used to like to sit in the big tubs. And the boys like the rings. Acacia loves those bags.

Acacia, center comes to visit Jamani, left. Bomassa is over on the right edge

But that's not the big news. Even more fascinating during my visit last week, was Acacia's friendship with Jamani. Something of a loner, Acacia is constantly on the outs with Olympia, the dominant female in the troop. But Acacia gets along fabulously with young Bomassa. And here she is nosing up to Bomassa's mother Jamani. This was such a treat to see!  Jamani is relaxing in the pond, near her boy. She is munching on grasses and leaves when Acacia comes over to play kissy face. Acacia hung out for a good little while and the two ladies seemed to be enjoying each other's company.

The Essence of Gorilla Beauty

Acacia has such a beautiful face. She is very friendly to the visitors and often comes close to check people out.  She is still on the outs with Olympia. She gingerly moved over to where a lot of straw was lying. Suddenly she grabbed a big pile, and ran off like a shot, so fast that I could not even capture the action. It almost seemed like she is nervous that Olympia would have something to say about this. But Olympia and the other gorillas were off nosing around in the weeds and probably did not even see Acacia making her grab for the straw.

Acacia Gorilla, born January 14, 1995

Baby Gorillas in Action

Here's a video of the gorillas of the North Carolina Zoo taken by b palmento, a major fan of the adorable Bomassa and Apollo and the rest of their family. Some nice basic footage which shows you how the gorillas behave on an everyday basis. A few notes, so that you know a little bit about who is who and what is happening. The video starts with Jamani coming down from the tree, Bomassa on her back. Then we have Olympia following, with Apollo on her back. Next we see Acacia enter from stage right. At about 1:30 we see Acacia approaching and climbing the tree. At 1:52 we see Jamani give a little hop as Olympia barrels in from the right. Olympia is dominant, and sometimes Jamani appears a little scared of her and makes sure to clear out of her way. Jamani is the biggest of the three lady gorillas. Therefore her deference to the smaller Olympia is surprising, an interesting dynamic to observe. At 2:54 we see Apollo hopping down from the rock he has climbed. As the son of the dominant female, he is always asserting himself over his big brother. So he climbs up on the rock to the get the upper hand. But then our sweet Bomassa bares his teeth and strikes out, causing Apollo to leap down and go away. Highly unusual! If you have been reading this blog for a little while, you know that Bomassa sometimes runs to mama for safety. It's nice to see him standing his ground against that little tyke Apollo!

For even more interesting videos about the gorillas check out the YouTube stream of b palmento.

Lovin' on Auntie Gorilla

Acacia Takes Bomassa for a Little Cuddling Session

and his mom Jamani did not mind a bit! They were all sitting on the log, chomping down on some browse, branches full of nutritious leaves.

Bomassa was in the middle, between his mother Jamani on the left, and his "Auntie" Acacia. With no actual genetic connection, these gorilla ladies are related only in that they are part of the same troop. But in any gorilla troop where there are babies and females (either older sisters, or fully grown unrelated aunties), there is likely to be some surrogate care-taking going on. The females might be practicing to be mothers themselves one day, or they might have children already. Either way, for some gorilla ladies,  those maternal instincts kick in and they step up to help out with the nurturing. We've been seeing for months now that Acacia is warm-hearted towards Bomassa. So it was no surprise when Acacia turned around, and took hold of the baby and skilfully hoisted him up to ride on her back. Mother Jamani  is perfectly comfortable with Acacia taking Bomassa away for a little while and did not even look up!  Mom just kept right on munching on those leaves, and did not turn her head to watch Acacia behind her,  as she hurried off with the baby, rushing away on all fours, circling towards the pond. The pond is empty of water now and earlier Acacia had placed a huge pile of straw in there just a little while earlier. It's a perfect place to curl up and take a nap, or to sit with a warm little bundle of gorilla baby charm. She sat down in the straw, placed the baby in her lap, adjusted her legs and they both got comfortable.

Bomassa sometimes closed his eyes and sometimes looked up at his auntie's face. He stayed and stayed, happy in Auntie's lap for a good twenty minutes or more. Several times she shook her lap playfully, bouncing Bomassa ever so gently, throwing her head back and looking at the sky. She seemed to be cherishing the experience. It's awfully nice to see Acacia getting the opportunity to build a relationship with Bomassa. She was once the dominant female in the troop, when it was just she and Jamani, but when Olympia moved in, Acacia was deposed. Now there is great antagonism between those two adults. I have never once seen Acacia approaching Olympia's baby, Apollo, nor have I seen Apollo go over to play with his Aunt. One wonders if Olympia has done something to discourage the two from getting to know each other. Thank goodness for Apollo's big brother Bomassa. And how nice for Acacia that Jamani is comfortable with sharing her precious little son!

How Can you Replace a Silverback?

That's a tall order. Finding a new silverback is particularly hard when the individual in question was as popular and loving as Nkosi, dad to Apollo and Bomassa.  As you'll recall, Nkosi was overwhelmed by and died from a massive bacterial infection just after the boys turned a year old. Things appear to be going well at the North Carolina Zoo now, and everyone is getting along pretty well. But it's not natural for female gorillas to live together and raise their baby boys absent a silverback. Zoos try very hard to replicate the conditions found in the wild, and therefore, it will be important to find a mature adult male at some point, and bring him to the zoo to join the troop. As of now, the timing has not been decided, but research is underway.

Unreplaceable! Nkosi gave a ride to his son Apollo. A very rare occurrence among silverbacks

Many factors will go into this decision, including genetics, temperament, age, availability and more. In order to preserve the option of further breeding, it will be important to bring in a male unrelated to at least some of the females. You can see by looking at the family trees of all the NC Zoo gorillas, that this was taken into account in the past. Acacia Gorilla's family tree shows every one of her forebears, all the way back to those gorillas originally brought in from the wild.  We've already done a tree for Bomassa, and one for Apollo. Each of those, in turn, incorporates the family tree of their father, Nkosi, and also of their respective moms. 

If you look at all three charts, which you can do right here in this set at Flickr, you will find no repetitions whatsoever, other than of course, the fact that our little gorilla boys Apollo and Bomassa share their paternal side. The three female gorillas at the North Carolina Zoo are not in any way related to each other, but more importantly, none of them was related to Nkosi, who was brought in specifically for babymaking! Careful planning went into making sure that no inbreeding would result from any of the potential matches. But there are other considerations, as well. For example, all the gorillas in the reconstituted troop need to be able to get along well. It will take quite a while for the NCZoo and the volunteers at the Gorilla Species Survival Plan to find the right silverback. No matter who they settle on, he will never truly replace the beloved Nkosi, but hopefully things will go well for all concerned.

Gorilla Roll Call at the North Carolina Zoo

If there was such a thing as gorilla roll call, it might have gone something like this yesterday morning, with the visitors calling the names, and the gorillas answering back:

Jamani!
Present.
Oh, yes, we see you slinking off near the wall.

Olympia!
Present.
All righty, no need to be so grouchy this morning.

Bomassa! Ah, sticking with your mom today, I see you clutching onto Jamani's back. Present. Good.

Acacia! Acacia! Where's Acacia? You can go ahead and take that lettuce in the straw, under the glass. Don't be so timid.
Present.

How about little Apollo? Right!  Apollo, we see you, your mom just scooped you up.
Present. Good, all ladies and babies accounted for.

And where's our big man?

N'kosi! N'kosi!
hmmm.......
N'kosi!  Where's N'kosi? Where's our silverback today?
MISSING!

N'kosi did not come out Monday to join the rest of the troop. At first we visitors heard there might be some medical tests underway. This is quite routine and happens on a regular schedule. Excellent preventative care is administered by on site corps of veterinarians. But later we heard that N'kosi was under observation. That could mean just about anything. We are not sure if he was hurt, or if he had come down with an illness (gorillas can get colds and flu just as we do). Or maybe he had a little problem with some routine testing and did not bounce back right away. We just don't know. We did not observe any frantic activity among the zoo staff. A team of vets walked in, stayed awhile, and walked out again, quite calmly.  So it's probably not anything particularly worrying.

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But just try telling that to our Gorilla Ladies! They're not buying it. Monday, they acted as I have never seen them act before. They normally emerge in the morning, roam around for awhile in a very relaxed manner, pick up some food, and head over to an area prepared with straw. That's where they lie down and have a nap. Today, they did a very small amount of roaming, and never came over to lie down in the straw. Instead they stayed near the door for most of the day. That's the doorway  way back in the rear, from which N'kosi might emerge. During the short times that the ladies were roaming, they were skittish, nervous, looking over their shoulders at each other. The moms were keeping their babies very close, and the babies were making sure to stay close, too. Here's Apollo in the middle of a running jump. His mom is moving off, and he is building up the power to catch her and jump on her back so he can go too.

When the ladies came out, they did not seem very hungry and did not pursue their typical routine of gathering food. In fact at the end of the day, some of the lettuce lying near the window was still there, untouched. Jamani could be seen holding her son Bomassa, and walking a sideways crab walk, with her back to the wall as she headed toward one of the cave type doorways. Those are small areas where the gorillas can feel protected. Olympia normally lets Apollo roam nearby. But today she picked him up more than once and carted him off. Several times, she appeared to charge Acacia. When a gorilla charges, he or she runs past another gorilla. The idea is to scare, not to harm. And Acacia, when she wanted to go somewhere, would run. There seems to be a very big difference between an aggressive charge, and a scared evasive maneuver. On a normal day, our little Acacia would just walk calmly to her destination, but not Monday. No, Monday, she felt impelled to drum up the energy to run past the other ladies.  Acacia came over to the straw a few times, but never lay down. She would pick up some of the food which was lying there, but would look around very carefully before doing so.

Why? What was happening? Social structure. The gorillas depend profoundly on the social structure of the troop. The silverback is the lynchpin of that dynamic. In addition to breeding, and keeping his family members safe from outsiders, it's N'kosi's job to enforce peace within the troop. When he is not around, the ladies start to get nervous about interference from the other ladies. They just can't relax and be themselves when something is amiss. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if they are just worried about their Number One. No one can read the mind of a gorilla, but the fact that all the ladies spent most of the day quite close to the backstage doorway makes me think maybe they were missing him and wanted to stay as near as possible hoping to find out soon that N'kosi is all right.

Struggle for Dominance in the World of the Female Gorilla

Acacia Returns Strong and Healthy

but not without considerable  fanfare. What follows is a pictorial account of the roughest day I have ever observed at the gorilla home at the North Carolina Zoo. Recall that Acacia had a difficult labor Saturday July 6, with a caesarian section performed Sunday July 7. This resulted in the live birth of a beautiful baby boy gorilla, who unfortunately died two days later.  Afterwards, Acacia had a period of confinement, in order to give her time to heal.  This is the story of Acacia rejoining the troop.

Acacia returned Monday July 15, looking healthy after her surgery of a week earlier

Olympia, dominant female in the troop,  wasn't taking any chances.  Apparently she was determined to make sure that Acacia remembered who's in charge. Here she is, grabbing Acacia's head

Though not apparent here, Acacia is only a little bit of a thing.  She may be a tiny, as gorillas go, but she is not about to be intimidated by Olympia. So she raises her fist and prepares to give chase. This is far from typical for Acacia, who usually stays out of the way and keeps to herself

GO ACACIA! She bares those teeth and starts running,  and Olympia is off like a shot, baby Apollo clinging with all  his might

N'kosi, left gets involved now,  but Acacia, right, is unwilling to leave her defense up to him or to anyone. Smart girl, she continues to defend herself with a show of her teeth.

N'kosi grabs Olympia. He's fine with her fighting for top position over the other ladies, but he will not tolerate Olympia going too far.  One of his most important jobs is to keep the peace within his troop, and he's an expert

Olympia has calmed down, and N'kosi stays nearby for a little while,  to make sure she keeps it under control. The series of scuffles subsides now, after having gone on for  close to an hour, with screaming like I have never heard. This screaming is rare at the gorillas area!

During the entire time of the conflict, neither Bomassa,  nor Apollo, pictured here, ever once left the relative safety of his mama. They both remained firmly attached either to stomach or to back, even as the moms ran around chasing each other at top gorilla speed. What  a tiring ordeal for our boys! When Olympia finally came over to the straw by the window to lie down for a rest, Apollo limply crawled off her and just flopped. His eyes rolled back in his head, almost like he was about to faint. I've never seen that boy look so weary! Sometimes a baby gorilla will get badly hurt during a scuffle of this type; had Apollo  sustained some internal injury or something?  No.  I kept a watch and twenty minutes later our sweet Apollo was rested enough to get up and play again in the straw near his mother.

Hours later Olympia picks up Apollo and they go off near the wall. Jamani, left,  had been lying low during the commotion. She knows how to keep out of trouble. Even after all that time she continued to tread lightly. Usually she just strolls right on by Olympia when she wants to move to another part of the area. But not today. Jamani rose up on two feet and  ran past Olympia, keeping a wary watch on the dominant female,  just in case of another outburst.

Perhaps being the youngest, Jamani is the most submissive of the ladies, even though she is by far the largest of the three.  Bomassa, out of sight, is securely attached to Jamani's back as she hobbles by. Olympia, seated right, is unworried at this point. She has won the struggle of dominance once again. She is calm and confident and keeping Apollo safe.

Jamani gets by without incident and returns to calmly walking on all fours. You can see Bomassa now. N'kosi comes out of nowhere. He's noticed that Jamani is nervous and he is not happy; he stares down Olympia to make sure she is not going to try anything further

 After her reprimand, Olympia does not go off sulking. She gets up and walks right along with N'kosi, left.   That's the whole point of dominance. Olympia has fought for and has won the top spot. Her prize is that she and her son Apollo get to stay under the umbrella of the protection the silverback provides. But Bomassa, who knows that N'kosi has at heart the best interest of all the ladies and both his sons, looks ahead, perhaps wondering when the adults are going to calm down and get back to normal again.

Acacia is out of sight now. She has found a private little corner and is keeping to herself.  She had been the dominant female years ago, when it was just Acacia and Jamani and N'kosi living together. But when Olympia arrived from Atlanta, Acacia was immediately demoted.  And then, after her difficult labor and her surgery, and during her healing period, Acacia was apart from the troop and presented no threat to Olympia for an entire week. Olympia was clearly very nervous upon Acacia's return. Today Acacia has lost the perceived challenge, and  Olympia has reasserted her position.

Sad Days for Acacia Gorilla of North Carolina Zoo

Sweet Acacia Has Lost Her Baby

Acacia Gorilla, February 2013

Acacia  had such a long labor and required surgery.  I was afraid for the baby, and afraid for her, and then when the baby was born strong and healthy, and when Acacia quickly came out of anasthesia, there was such a sense of  relief. My next hope was she would recognize that baby as hers, and take naturally to mothering the little angel. How amazing that she got through all those hurdles. News articles seem to indicate that after zoo personnel bottlefed the baby for two days, Acacia was doing very well with the idea of being a mother and gladly accepted him in her arms. She's had plenty of good modeling from Jamani and Olympia, that's certain. And I know Acacia would make a fantastic mother, too. She is very gentle and loving, as is evident when she cuddles so tenderly with Bomassa.

But then sometime on Tuesday night, after the baby had been returned to Acacia, something terribly sad happened, and the baby smothered. It's not entirely uncommon for a mother gorilla, particularly a first time gorilla mother, accidentally to roll over on a very small baby such that he can not get air. This is what zoo personnel believe has happened. We are all  so very sad that this has been the end result for Acacia and the amazing little baby boy gorilla we have all lost.

It really is a very sad event. And yet, not uncommon. Even in the wild, gorilla moms sometimes roll over on their young in their sleep, and lose their precious babies to suffocation or to crushing.  Acacia will be hurting very badly over this, just as any one of us would upon losing a child. Gorilla mothers are known to carry their babies around with them after a death, sometimes for days, until they can come to grips with the loss. I do not know how Acacia is reacting just now because I've not yet been out to talk to zoo personnel and the volunteers. We may know more later, but for now, let's simply hold Acacia and her lost little dear in our hearts and wish them well.

JOY! A Healthy Baby BOY!

Saturday was a fun day at the Forest Glade at the North Carolina Zoo. The place was packed with families enjoying their Fourth of July weekend. Unfortunately the gorilla exhibit was closed, but the volunteers gave the good news to the waves of disappointed visitors as they kept arriving in greater and greater numbers. The family was unavailable because they were busy behind the scenes with Acacia, rallying her on as she labored to deliver a baby!  Visitors were delighted to learn all about the process, and made the connection-gorillas, at the time of a birth, are very much like people! Baby Bomassa was cuddling with Acacia and trying to make her feel better through her contractions. And N'kosi was standing guard and making sure no one bothered her. And by no one, we mean Olympia, lol. One of the volunteers was saying that Daddy N'kosi would be coming out any minute with a box of cigars to hand out. Or would it be carrots!  That's Nick's favorite, after all.
But it did not happen quickly at all. Poor thing. She had started labor at around 7:30 in the morning and was still in that condition at zoo closing time, and all the way through to Sunday morning. Things appeared to be going well, but eventually it was just taking too long, and she needed to be sent off for care. Zookeepers rejoiced when the sonogram showed a beating heart; preparations were made for surgery when it became clear this was the best option. Acacia is a very small gorilla and this being her first delivery, that birth canal was perhaps just a little too narrow for the simple delivery we all had hoped for.

Surgery was successful and Acacia was doing well when I left the zoo Sunday at closing time. She had woken up from anasthesia and was recovering well, as the mother of a healthy and strong baby boy. Naturally,  I have no mother-and-newborn photos to show you, because all this has happened behind the scenes. The hope is that Acacia will be able to nurse through her recovery and keep and raise the baby, but of course, she's got an incision now, which will need to heal. This won't be easy for her, but let's hope she can manage. It would break my heart if Acacia were unable to mother her own baby. In the gorilla world, the moms have increased status and seem to get a little more respect in the troop and  I would like to see Acacia follow that path. She's been a bit of a loner in all the time I have been visiting, often going off by herself when the two moms Jamani and Olympia are busy looking after Bomassa and Apollo. I have been hoping this birth would result in Acacia being able to join in the important work of mothering.

Acacia has been an affectionate auntie for Bomassa

Olympia might be willing to care the new baby if needed

And what if Acacia is unable to nurse the baby, or rejects the baby due to the pain of her incision? The good news is that Olympia, pictured here, has shown herself to be willing and able to nurse two babies simultaneously. She once absconded with Bomassa and nursed him AND her own baby Apollo for a full five days, after all.  And she is still nursing Apollo, so she's got plenty of milk. Zookeepers believe there is every chance that Olympia would immediately assume mothering duties for Baby Gorilla if Acacia refuses to do so.
 
Let's keep Acacia and Baby in our thoughts this week in these critical early days!

Practicing to be a Mom

Every so often, Bomassa goes over and pays a visit to Acacia. She's a very sweet auntie to him. Pregnant, and due to deliver her very first baby some day this month or next, Acacia should be ready for motherhood. After all, she has recently observed the successful births of two baby gorillas and this ought to help her to know how to respond when the big moment comes.

Bomassa comes to see Acacia

Acacia herself was hand-raised, meaning that for one reason or another, when she was born in 1995 in Oklahoma City, her mother Fredrika was unable to raise her. Zoo visitors sometimes wonder if Acacia has any consciousness that she is about to have a baby. Surely in a second or third pregnancy, a mother gorilla would have an awareness, I would guess. But for the the first baby? They also are curious as to whether she feels left out of the party. After all, both of the other lady gorillas at the North Carolina Zoo have babies. Hopefully all goes well and soon Acacia will have a healthy baby of her own to care for.  Do you think it will be a girl or a boy?

Acacia Gorilla is Getting Big

Gorilla gestation lasts eight and a half months

Using that information,  and a pregnancy test conducted awhile back, NC Zookeepers have a pretty good guess on a due date for our precious Acacia. They gave her a physical last week, including sonogram. Result:  confirmation that July looks promising.    But look at that huge belly already!  Gorillas have a bit of a gut naturally. Their intestines  are extra long.  All that extra tubing allows them to extract nutrition from the tough stuff they are always munching on, including tree bark, tough leaves,  and other fibrous substances.  Those intestines don't exactly  fit into a nice flat belly,  so even a very fit lady gorilla sports a bulge. In pregnancy, this effect is even more pronounced. 

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Fingers crossed. Born January 14, 1995, Acacia is 18 years old and this will be her first baby.  For a first time mom, delivery can be a rough experience, not always successful.  Assuming all works out, what do you think we'll have? Another half-brother for Apollo and Bomassa? Or will we get a little girl gorilla this time?

A Visit from the Other Side of the Country

Announcing Zoo Baby Blog's First Ever Guest Post!

Post and pictures by Delbert Warner

Last fall, Windy Sawczyn posted the most adorable pictures of baby gorillas with their mothers on Google+.  She then intrigued me with the Zoo Baby Theft Caper informing those of us reading her post of how Olympia had stolen Bomassa from Jamani.  It was scandalous!  Since you are reading this, you know the whole story and the events that have occurred since then.  If not, go back and catch up.

Bomassa holding up his sweetie feeties

I'll take minor credit for this blog.  You see, I had been following along with another blog that Windy wrote and I am a fan of her writing style and her photography.  So I encouraged Windy to start a blog about the gorillas at the North Carolina Zoo. Luckily for us she did.
        I have enjoyed learning all about this wonderful gorilla family and have been captivated by their faces.  The babies are indeed adorable, but I have to say that the adults have strong personalities and expressions of their own.  I live on the opposite side of the US, so for all this time, I have been an admirer from afar.  Until last week.

Apollo mimics his mom Olympia

I happened to be in North Carolina on a work assignment and found a window of opportunity to go to the zoo for a short visit last Friday.  The weather was sunny, but still pretty cold this time of year. That's OK, I don't mind the cold.  I had to travel two hours to the zoo and two hours back to the airport that day leaving me only a couple of hours to be there.  So I contacted Windy to see if she had any tips to share helping me to utilize my time wisely.  She provided me with two important pieces of information.  The first was that I was visiting on Good Friday and the zoo was expected to have a huge attendance that Easter weekend.  The second piece of information was that the gorillas would not be allowed out until is was around 45 degrees outside.  So I wavered about my decision to go, but Friday morning I got up early and made the commitment.

Bomassa mimics his mom Jamani

Still coming out of winter, it was a relatively beautiful two hour drive there while I anxiously kept my eye on the rental car's outside thermometer.  For the first hour and a half, the temperature stayed between 28 to 30 degrees.  Still too cold, but I still had hope.  I also hoped there would be a decent parking spot.  I don't remember being so excited to go to a zoo since I was a young boy.  I was very excited during the last few miles as the temperature warmed to just over 40 degrees.  I arrived at around 9:30 AM to find plenty of parking available.  (I'm sure there were lots of parents still juggling their kids in order to arrive later).

I walked quickly to the ticket booth, passing as many families as I politely could and purchased my entry.  After a quick trip to the restroom, (it was a two hour drive) I headed straight away for the gorillas.  The expanse of the zoo amazed me.  It was beautiful there and I can only imagine how much more so it will be in the summer.  I was hoping the gorillas would be out when I reached them,  and there they were!  I mean right there up against the glass with me on the other side.  Both Olympia and Jamani were there with their boys Apollo and Bomassa.  All of them were very active.  If the glass were not there, I would have been able to reach out at arms length and touch them all.

The father, Nkosi was on the exercise structure when I arrived, but he wandered around a lot and came up to the the viewing area from time to time for a visit.  It was incredible!  I cannot put into words what this experience was like for me.  I encourage you to do the same someday.  Keep in mind that that these boys are growing, so it would not be wise to postpone your own visit for too long.  You may miss out on the adorableness of their young age.

There is a future option.  There is another pregnant mother in the compound.  Her name is Acacia.  I think she is due in August.  She seemed to like to be alone.  She did wander by me at another viewing window and then went over to a pond, bent over, and drank.

I'm not a big fan of zoos, but I have to say that this was the best zoo experience I have ever had.  And Olympia, she is still at it!  I saw her grab at Bomassa more than once during the few short hours I spent there.

---Delbert Warner

Acacia keeping to herself by the wall, Nkosi front right, walking behind Olympia and Apollo

Baby Bomassa Gorilla would love to have you follow him on  Twitter

Preggers!

Acacia the Invisible Gorilla

Seriously, no one pays much attention to Acacia these days.  She is not the silverback of the gorilla troop in the Forest Glade at the NCZoo, nor is she one of the moms;   therefore, she inspires little excitement. In the past when I have visited, I have seen people nonplussed by the most beautiful and sociable gorilla in the zoo.  She sports such a graceful countenance and often comes close to the glass to interact with the visitors. Yet, as people approach the enclosure, they say WOW about whatever gorilla they see, which is sometimes Acacia and sometimes not. Then they will stare in wonder for a little while at Acacia, or whoever, until eventually, someone pipes up and screams, Oh there's a BABY!  And then everyone rivets their attention on one of the boys.  Often there are further peals of joy when someone finally spies that there is indeed a second baby.  And because the moms are usually holding or being held by the boys, moms Jamani and Olympia get a fair amount of attention as well.

But this could all change in the coming months, for the zoo has just announced that Acacia is expecting!  In June or July, there could be another gorilla baby to inspire the delight of zoo patrons. Let's hope for the best. for Acacia. For unknown reasons, it's quite common for a first time gorilla mom to lose the baby, sometimes as a stillbirth. So we have a ways go on this one. But wouldn't it be great. I am hoping for a girl!

Who's Who at the Zoo?

The Gorilla Troop at the Forest Glade
In the wild, there can be up to some thirty gorillas living in a troop, but here at the Forest Glade enclosure at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, there are currently six:

• Nkosi-Adult Male (The Silverback)
• Acacia-Adult Female 
• Olympia-Adult Female and mother
• Jamani-Adult Female and mother 
• Bomassa-Baby boy, son of Nkosi and Jamani
• Apollo-Baby boy, son of Nkosi and Olympia

Olympia sits on the right holding Apollo, and Jamani stands on the left, with Bomassa secure on her furry back.  It would be difficult to get a picture of all the gorillas at one time, but the moms hang out pretty close to each other quite often, so that's an easy shot. When are you going for a visit? Bring your camera! These animals are pretty photogenic.

Acacia Goes off Birth Control

Acacia the gorilla might get pregnant this year.

Acacia is the eldest of the three female gorillas living at the North Carolina Zoo.   In the past, she has not been designated for breeding because she has a very well-connected family tree.  She is one of many children of the very prolific Tatu, who himself has more than a few siblings sired by Jambo. Acacia is therefore related in one way or another, to quite a few gorillas in captivity.

Who decides when a captive gorilla will breed? 

The transer and the breeding of captive gorillas are strictly overseen by  the gorilla Species Survival Plan program under the AZA.  The goal of any SSP is to maintain a genetically diverse,  healthy and self-sustaining population of the various species.  All these years, the gorilla SSP has decided not to try to breed Acadia because of the fear of inbreeding. The problem would not effect her children so much,  but it would become an issue for their mating. It would be quite difficult to try and find unrelated gorillas to serve as mates for any of Acacia's babies  But now, suddenly, at age seventeen, Acacia has been taken off of birth control. Why?

The breeding season of 2011-2012 has had a very low yield, with only Bomassa and Apollo and two other gorilla babies born in all of the AZA zoos by midyear 2012. It is unusual to have only four successful gorilla births in a year. More gorillas are needed, so the SSP decided to go ahead and give Acacia a chance. She's not related to Nkosi, the silverback she lives with, and further, she's got an excellent opportunity this year to observe how mother gorillas behave with their babies, which is crucial to the successful raising of those young ones.  So the medicine (which incidentally is the exact same kind of birth control used for women) was stopped and now we are waiting to see what happens. Zoo volunteers told me they have seen Nkosi make a few attempts. While I was standing there, Acacia refused an opportunity, but other times she was willing. So you never know. We could learn any day now that Acacia is pregnant. How will they know for sure? The zookeeper will administer an EPT pregancy test.