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 Brothers, to Your Corners!

After tussling with each other a few times during the day, the two baby boy gorillas stood up, and moved away from each other, and that was that. They were all done knocking each other around,  and done showing those teeth and they went on to other activities. Like sitting near their respective moms. And maybe nursing a little too.

Here we see Bomassa looking bigger and taller on the right. He weighs a little less at the moment, but don't count him out just yet. His mother is substantially taller than is Apollo's mom, which might give him the genes to grow into the larger silverback. And when will that happen? Male gorillas typically reach maturity around eleven or twelve years old, and that's when their backs begin to silver. Follow ZooMuchInformation on Facebook for more.

RIP Nkosi Gorilla

Nkosi Gorilla, silverback and troop leader at the North Carolina Zoo has died in the prime of life. As you will recall, Nkosi did not come out last Monday, and was being kept under observation behind the scenes. I was not aware then of what was happening, and details continue to be unclear, but now the Zoo's Facebook page has this:

According to the Zoo’s Curator of Mammals Adrian Fowler, Nik became ill more than a week ago with symptoms that included headaches and loss of appetite. His condition had “waxed and waned” over the ensuing week until early Sunday morning when he “finally collapsed,”...

Things got so bad that euthanasia become the only option. There will be a necropsy, and hopefully we'll have answers as to what went wrong with this handsome, young, strong male. Born on  26 September, 1991 at the Columbus Zoo, Nkosi was not quite 22 years old and is survived by his mother Toni, daughter to Colo, the world's oldest living gorilla, and the first gorilla ever born in captivity. He was father to three, our own Bomassa and Apollo, both just one year old, and Columbus's Dotty, born in 2004. The boys are going to have a rough time without their daddy.

Seen below, Nik, as he was called by the keepers, consoled Olympia, tenderly stroking her face,  as she held Apollo after a scuffle. The jobs of the silverback are to breed, to protect his ladies and their babies, and to keep the peace within the troop.  His absence leaves a huge hole in the fabric of the troop. Nik's kindness, patience and magnificence in fulfilling his duties is unmatchable.

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.

Chillin' Gorillas

Baby Bomassa Gorilla and Silverback N'kosi hang out on a hot summer's day

Slilverback Gorilla Gets a Present

N'kosi got presents at  the baby gorilla birthday party this past weekend. He is the dad, after all, so he was absolutely central to the fact that we have two adorable little baby boy gorillas at the NC Zoo. Here he is, looking like he is getting ready to catch one of his presents. He did not really catch it, he just let it fall nearby. Nothing was going to happen to that box. It's not like N'kosi had to worry that anyone would take it. His food is thrown directly to him, and the ladies' food is thrown to a different area. The lady gorillas know not to mess with the silverback's provisions. Sharing is not a strong suit of the gorilla!

Someone had wrapped up a bunch of boxes and in beautiful paper. The keepers threw them down into the area, from the feeding platforms. For a minute, we onlookers thought our gorillas were going to be feasting on Ritz Crackers and breakfast cereal. When the gorillas ripped off the paper, you could see the markings on some of the boxes and one of them said Ritz Crackers on it.  It's the perfect weight of cardboard for this purpose.  The gorillas ripped those boxes right apart and found their treats with no problem at all and gobbled them up.  Inside were some loose carrots (N'kosi's favorite) and some popcorn.

Photographs of Baby Gorillas 

Flashback! This article has photographs of both boy gorillas when they were very small. At that time, I was totally unable to tell them apart.

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Apollo Playing with Daddy Gorilla's Colossal Hand

Last week,  after the big commotion upon the return of Acacia, little Apollo was thoroughly pooped when his mother finally calmed down and brought him over to the straw for a much needed rest.
For the next hour or so, he kept venturing over to one massive pile of silverback gorilla otherwise known as our own beloved N'kosi. Even the big boss himself had found the events of the day exhausting! For the longest time, Apollo just lounged on the straw, lying on his back, and reaching up to play.

Look at the size difference as Apollo reaches for a hand to play with

Just about all of Apollo's head easily fits in the hand of N'kosi, who tenderly curls his fingers round his son's head as Apollo winces

Apollo stays with his daddy for awhile. He's having a great time

Because of those opposable toes, you have to keep in mind that some of the four little hands you see here are actually feet!

As son of the dominant female, Apollo is thought to have some extra privileges with his dad. N'kosi is also very sweet and caring with Bomassa too, in my opinion, but Jamani was over in the bamboo while all this was happening, and Bomassa, as usual at his age,  was hanging out with her, so Apollo had Daddy all to himself.

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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.

Apollo Gorilla Comes to Visit Daddy

Silverback loves his babies!

N'kosi gets along great with his sons. The boys like to come over and hang out with their dad for a few minutes now and again.  Here comes that little ball of cuteness we know as Apollo, the son of the dominant female, Olympia. Due to this relationship,  the Gorilla Team and the Zoo Volunteers seem to think that Apollo is the favorite son. I am not entirely sure about that. I have seen plenty of affection directed towards big brother Bomassa, but here we see Apollo, at the age of not quite ten months, sauntering over. He looks like he is walking, though he is actually using all four limbs. Gorilla babies can walk pretty ably on two feet from a young age, and I guess that's because they have those marvelous long arms to steady them, so they can practice quite easily all by themselves. Anyway, Apollo walks on past and then N'kosi does what he does so often. He puts his finger near a certain region and then he smells it. In this way, N'kosi keeps track of the scent of both his boys.  Every time I have seen one of the boys with N'kosi, he has checked that aroma.

Bomassa Scales the Heights!

Major Milestone for Baby Bomassa Gorilla

Bomassa Gorilla of the North Carolina Zoo is climbing all the way up! Yes, that's our boy, all the way up there on the top left, mouthing on the stub of a branch. Directly below him, Acacia, set to become a first time mom this month,  gazes up at him. And on the right, some ways distant,  Jamani hangs out. She is not that concerned. Obviously, Bomassa has demonstrated to her that he is an able climber. This was all happening yesterday, July 3, between heavy downpours, so those logs are not even dry!

Acacia looks up at Bomassa while mother Jamani has a rest on the left

At fifteen pounds, Bomassa is a little smaller than his younger half-brother Apollo. But in terms of skill, big brother is way ahead. He started beating his chest some months ago; Apollo has yet to do so. Bomassa seems steadier on his feet, and seems to get around a little more quickly. It's possible that Apollo too is climbing up the structure everyone calls the tree, but I've not yet seen it.

Bomassa turns one year old soon. Follow him on Twitter!

You would think he would have trouble negotiating those big fat logs, but no.  His small arms, hands and feet  can handle them very well as he scales upwards. Of course he might reach down for his mom once in awhile, or check to see that she's nearby. 

Bomassa reaches down towards his mama

Once Bomassa goes all the way up on top, he can just sit and relax up there with his mom. His dad, the 21 year old N'kosi, makes a nest up there frequently. Visitors observing this often make allusion to the King of the Hill. But he's a self-assured silverback and does not seem to mind sharing the perch every now and then. With Bomassa climbing so skilfully already, at only ten months old, there's no telling what he'll be up to next time you come out and see him at the zoo!  

Jamani and Bomassa chillin' on the top of  the tree

Gorilla Infanticide

Bomassa is safe from Gorilla Infanticide. Bomassa and Apollo and the rest of their troop are Western Lowland Gorillas, species name Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla. In the wild, they live near the equator in Africa, in the forested lowlands of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Congo, Gabon, Angola, and perhaps the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At one point, they were found also in Nigeria, but now are extinct there, due to agricultural and industrial pressures on land which formerly provided the appropriate habitat. 

With black skin and no tails, the western lowland gorilla grows to be a very large animal, with the males reaching some 400 pounds and a height of about five feet eight inches or so. As we have mentioned right here in this blog, the females are only about  half the size of the males. The female chooses to mate only with the largest strongest male available, in order to protect her young. When the silverback of the troop is inevitably displaced by a younger, bigger, stronger male, the newcomer will sometimes begin his reign of the troop by snuffing out any nursing babies.  Lactating mothers can't get pregnant; the usurping male can increase his chances of being able to breed by killing the kids.  Bomassa, secure in the NC Zoo, is not going to have to experience that fate, thanks to the carefully managed Species Survival Plan. No additional grown males will be moved in to the Forest Glade.  Bomassa and his brother will continue to live undisturbed,  in the troop led by their own genetic father Nkosi, until they are about ten years old, at which point they will very probably be placed at another zoo, either to lead their own troops, or to join a bachelor troop.

Gorilla Size and Stature

Nkosi sits to the right of Olympia as she nurses Apollo

Gorillas amble around mainly on all fours, but they can stand upright to walk short distances. When Nkosi, head honcho at the Forest Glade exhibit at the North Carolina Zoo stands, he's only just a little taller than the average human male. We think of gorillas as being large, not because of height, but because of the breadth of their chests, the heft of their limbs and the volume of their heads. Of course the male gorilla has a particularly massive head, topped off by the famous sagittal crest, that bony line extending from the brow backward. But all adult gorillas have arms and legs much more substantial than the average human counterparts. Even the fingers of the females are huge. It is hard to know how those moms can so tenderly pick up the delicate arms and legs of their babies, having only their jumbo fingers to work with. But they do. Gorillas, regardless of their colossal body parts, are big sweeties.