Olympia Gorilla Throws a Punch

Friction Among the Gorillas Last Week

I am not sure what was going on, but Olympia, the dominant female gorilla at the North Carolina Zoo was ultra testy last time I visited. More than a few times, she approached adult female Jamani in a threatening way. And what does that mean for gorillas? 

Olympia right, Jamani left, with Bomassa on her back

When gorillas go on the rampage, they bare their teeth and they charge, but they don't necessarily engage for much contact. Here you can see that as Olympia throws a punch at Jamani, she is not even looking at her target. And then, just as quickly as she started, she is done, and running past. The goal seems to be to show displeasure, but not to get involved in a huge battle. 

Olympia left, Jamani right, Bomassa on her back

What could be the problem? You can see that Bomassa is right there on his mom's back, and that Apollo is right at the base of his mother's feet. As far as I could tell, the only times that Olympia was going after Jamani were times at which Apollo was hanging out nearby Jamani and Bomassa.  I wonder what it's like to be a little boy gorilla clinging to a mother in the midst of defending herself!

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.

Gorilla Scuffle

Baby Boy Gorilla Play

Whenever the boys are together these days at their home at the North Carolina Zoo, they are both showing their teeth and using those big hands of theirs to show the other who's boss. Mothers-of-People-Boys who come to the window always remind us that the gorilla boys just playing. Jamani continues to stay nearby, just in case things get out of hand.  Look at the size of those teeth in their mouths!

Apollo left, Bomassa right, looking at his mother's arm