Rigo the gorilla..... » Melbourne Zoo

16-05-2007

The last time I went to Melbourne I met one at the glass window watching the gorillas..., she was ever so nice- when she discovered my (fanatical) interest she brought me in some archival photos the next day of some of the group, including an interesting one of Mzuri, taken the day before he left for Jersey. They're all in one of my albums of course along with my own shots.....

Interestingly, the 'lady gorilla fan' phenomenon(spelling?) isn't so marked in UK- but its big in Germany!

And yes its universal that if the silverback of the group happens to be out of sight, visitors always home in the nearest female- "look at that big one, that must be the silverback..."

16-05-2007

That's pretty classic too- suddenly they don't want to know anymore.

19-05-2007

grantsmb - Thanks for the info. on gorilla behaviour. Totally amused and a bit of a tear to know that Rigo's son exhibits the same behaviour. Makes me feel better. Maybe he inherited it from his dad rather than an expression of frustration (which I always thought it was). I have not visited many zoos, only Melbourne and Taronga so your insight was appreciated. Our gorilla enclosure is very good and there would be lots of spots for him to retreat so lets cross our fingers.

20-05-2007

Last year someone I know visited Jersey and Mzuri/Ya Kwanza hurled a lump of wood at him- got him on the shoulder with it too! I think throwing things is just a habit some males have anyway- but frustration/annoyance will obviously make it far worse. Sometimes zoo authorities have actually been forced to move a silverback to another zoo or group because they throw stuff(principally faeces) at the public...(in Rigo's case they used the netting to overcome this problem)

I think that IF Rigo successfully integrates with the females, he'll settle down in the big enclosure and his 'macho' behaviour towards people will largely be a thing of the past for three reasons; 1. its a big enclosure where he has plenty of space/privacy 2. he is in a calm/happier situation with other gorillas 3. he is much older now- like people, older silverbacks are much quieter than the young 'bolshy' ones.

I hope I'm proved right in all this...

01-06-2007

Is there any update on Rigo's integration progress with the Melbourne group?

04-06-2007

mzuri always got a major kick out of a bit of public interaction - especially when he got into his early teens. he enjoyed charging past the glass and giving it a good slap right were some unsuspecting vistors head was gazing from. effecively getting a decent sized scream and reaction form everyone. you could see he clearly enjoyed it..

05-06-2007

That's typical behaviour of blackback and young silverback males- they seem at their most mischevious at that stage. As they grow older they become more calm and phlegmatic- tend to turn their backs on the public more. Any much older male that still repeatedly displays/ throws stuff etc towards the public I'd say was definately in a stressed situation(Rigo?)

Did you see the thread about the gorilla Bokito at Rotterdam who escaped and bit the lady? Seems she was one of those 'Gorillawomen' we discussed with a 'special relationship' but she may have got him annoyed too.

05-06-2007

yes i read that and to be honest i fnd it pretty funny (though only because neither ape nor human was seriously injured)..

i should go to melb again soon and see if rigo is living with the girls yet.

06-06-2007

please do...

07-06-2007

went to melbourne today. there was a sign at the rainforest exhibit informing the public about the introductions with rigo and apologising if "not all the gorillas are in the exhibit"...

and unfortunately they were not. i'm almost certain rigo was not on display nor could i see any of the other boys in the grottoes (when i peeked over the fence that now shuts this section off to the public)....

07-06-2007

oh and heres another thought....

ya-kwanza/mzuri (are we destined to forever hyphenate this apes name?!!!) was the first gorilla born in the world via AI. his father was rigo.

if rigo was so extremely important genetically - then i wonder why he was never used to AI any of the melbourne troop ever again. it wouldn't have solved the issue of rigo being alone but i'm guessing motaba would have raised the infant assuming it to be his own (unless of course he recognised it as not - and its not such as illy idea, research has shown that chimps are far better at recognising relatedness amongst individuals than people are, which makes sense when you think about it..). nonetheless i am happy rigo is going to live out a few more of his years (he's no spring chicken) with some girlfreinds. he has never met three of the girls before.

07-06-2007

His sperm count and/or motility (I can't remember which) was very low, and it was thought to be touch and go as to whether Yuska would get pregnant. Thankfully, she did. There was very little semen collected at the time, and there was none left in storage.

The procedure for collecting semen via electroejaculation in gorillas is a fairly invasive process, and results in considerable discomfort for some time after. It's not a procedure that would be done regularly, so if the chance of getting viable semen, in sufficient quantity is very low, that would be a strong consideration for not doing it again.

07-06-2007

ooooooouch! i can imagine....didn't think of that. best leave poor rigos bottom alone!

07-06-2007

rigo rigo rigo. im going to start a kibabu thread, lol

07-06-2007

the brady family hay- marsha