Rigo the gorilla..... » Melbourne Zoo

07-06-2007

marsha marsha marsha
does anyone know if the mcdonals gorilla website still exists for taronga?

07-06-2007

does, but its a funny link
best to do is google image it

08-06-2007

start a kibabalu thread - but rigo is waaaaaaaay better looking! he's the george clooney of gorillas.. *sigh*

09-06-2007

Kibabu doesn't have quite the same magnetism (or interesting history) as Rigo. If Rigo is mixed with the females okay I'm still a bit dubious about whether there will be the patter of tiny gorilla feet in the future, it rather depends on his fertility now and equally important, did he mate naturally in the far-off days when he lived with Yuska?

ZooPRo....?

09-06-2007

Not sure the lady would agree with you... she was covered in blood from a large number of bites, but she could walk unaided. Bokito was lucky he wasn't shot dead like a similar aged male at Dallas Zoo who escaped in almost identical fashion- he attacked a young boy. (Some of the more anthromorphic zoogoers complained that he was 'murdered' by the police).

Interestingly Bokito was the gorilla I told you about previously on this thread who was born at Berlin and there as an uproar (as with Mzuri at Melb) when it was announced he was going to be sent to China. He got as far as Rotterdam Zoo- the assembly point for the shipment of the 1.2 animals, but then they decided to send China a different male in his place, so he stayed at Rotterdam, became a successful father, and then got himself into the newspapers with this escape.

09-06-2007

what i find amusing was that i saw a news report that said that bokito has become a major celebrity since his escape and that public opinion has swayed away from the woman and towards the gorillas favour, the former being branded a "stalker"...

it even metioned how particuarly middle-aged to older women often becameenamoured with male gorillas as the represent the quintessential example of "matchoness"...

now that to me is very amusing. (and kinda disgusting too)...

09-06-2007

oh and i don't THINK rigo and yuska ever liked eachother much. mayb have mated though i just don't know. i think i remember zoopro saying that since they came from the same animal dealer and were the same age there is every possibility the two are indeed half-siblings from the same (no doubt massacred) troop. its a pretty whacky troop down here in melbourne. one gorilla thinks shes a chimp, another is embarassed about her missing hand, a silverback on parole...

10-06-2007

1. Regarding Bokito's new celebrity status since his escape. I imagine the lady 'stalker' won't be quite so keen on him after this.... Though everybody finds a full grown silverback gorilla an impressive animal ('wow' look at the SIZE of him,- the visitors go!)- I hadn't really thought about their special(more fundamental) appeal to middle-aged ladies before -but no doubt there's something in that- rather yucky to me too....

2. Regarding the Melbourne gorillas- if Rigo did mate with Yuska, he'll almost certainly be willing to mate other females(even so many years later) If he DIDN'T mate with her then he well may have had a 'platonic' relationship with her- it doesn't necessarily mean he won't be interested in mating with other females though.(At Twycross Zoo a young male was raised with one female whom he never showed sexual interest in, but when a younger female was later added to the pair, he started mating HER almost immediately and she quickly became pregnant. He still ignored the original 'sister' female however.)

However, at Melbourne the two most females most likely chosen to try and breed with Rigo are the ex Jersey ones- GAnne and Julia- both are difficult subjects. G.Anne was handraised in Oklahoma, America. At Jersey she never allowed the breeding silverback male Jambo to go near her. But both she and Julia( who as you said was raised with chimps..) knew Motaba as a younger male there before meeting him again at Melbourne, somewhere along the line they decided he was okay to breed with. What will be their reaction to Rigo, I wonder?

I think there are two sets of hurdles to overcome for successful breeding. One is whether Rigo shows any sexual or mating interest in the females. Two is whether he still fertile. Three is whether one or both of the females will respond. All answers have to be affirmative for a successful copulation to take place...

11-06-2007

the the want to expand ,my zoo and wildlife vocab, what is platonic'?

Platonic
11-06-2007

a platonic relationship is one where the subjects are good friends , but they do not indulge in sexual activity

11-06-2007

thnx i diodnt know tht- dam skool doesnt teach what is needed in life!

12-06-2007

Its like brother and sister... Many young pairs of gorillas taken from the wild in the 1950-70's were raised together without other gorillas and developed this relationship, with no mating ever occurring. But in many cases one, or both of them later bred when provided with new partners they weren't familiar with.

There's a pair at Chessington Zoo UK who are almost exactly the same age as Rigo and Yuska, and with a similar history, being imported from Africa together as small babies. Kumba, the male has never bred with the female Baffia, but he has bred with four other females he was introduced to later on, and has six offspring. So still hope for Rigo....

Have some faith!
17-06-2007

Hi guys. I am very curious....Do you guys honestly all belive that the zoo and keepers are out to make Rigo's life horrible? Do you seriously think that you know whats best for this animal who you dont know? And know more about an industry than people who are employed in it? Really, think about how much you care about Rigo, then think about the connection that people who work with him feel. Have a little faith!!!

18-06-2007

I don't understand what you mean. Who ever said anything about Melbourne Zoo trying to make Rigo's life horrible?. That's the stupidest statement I've seen on this forum so far...

18-06-2007

You might want to check your facts a little before posting gorilla girl. There are a number of members of this forum who have been employed in the zoo industry for many years. And if you care to dig a little deeper, you might find some of them have worked with Rigo in the past.