Its possible they may wish to keep them, it rather depends on any future decision made about Jock. If it did work out like that, it would give Bristol four potential breeding females+ non-breeding Kera. I think it is far too early though to try and predict the outcome over the next few years. As to London, its possible they will want a new male before Jock's time at Bristol is up and the studbook coordinators may decide he has enough offspring by then anyway so would be retired from breeding somehow. Too early to say really.
Potentially, but our feeling is that it is a levelling off of the early desire to get out and almost anywhere will do, in combination with the now very mixed weather (first of all hot = sea-side, and now wet = indecision). The result is that many on-line bookings are being made much later, often the day or evening before or even the morning of the visit. A couple of interesting statistics to come out of July surveys, are a much increased dwell time, which might be due to the one way systems meaning people dont miss things; and/or that 56% of our survey replies had never been to the Park before. (sorry that this is very off-topic, and nothing at all to do with Bristol)
Golden lion tamarin twins have been born: Twin golden lion tamarins born at Bristol Zoo Mother Missy has given birth to twins four times now but this is the first time that both infants have survived.
@Pertinax could you please explain why Kera has been a non breeding female since her accidental breeding with Komale the son of Jock, Is her lack of breeding delibrate due to a reproductive problem,or is Jock simply not sexually attracted to her?
Kera was handraised and so is desocialised. It lasts for life usually. Either she doesn't respond to Jock's advances because she is scared of him, or because of her behaviour, he doesn't mate her, I am not sure which, it may be some of both but I suspect the former. I doubt it is because of her previous pregnancy though I do not know that for sure either. With Komale the relationship was different, so they mated. Now he has gone she's likely to remain unreproductive permanently I think.
@Pertinax this observation you have noted is a real blow to the European Endangered Spiecies Programme for Western Lowland Gorillas. It’s such a shame that Jock is not attracted to Kera in the same way that Komale was. Surely to aid her breeding Bristol Zoo could send Kera to Besse Bergan Safari Park in the Neaverlands to be reunited with Komale.
Kera was very ill when Afia was born by Caesarian section. I do not know any details about the gynaecology of her condition, but it might be too risky to allow her to breed again, even if she accepted Jock or another male. It would not be a very serious setback for the ESP, as her daughter Afia seems to be doing well and her family is also represented by her full sister at Barcelona, who has 2 daughters, and some of her half-sisters have bred too. Her brothers Kiondo and N'Dowe are in the bachelor group at Paignton.
As Gentle Lemur explained. Kera's not breeding in no way comprises the European breeding programme due to her genetic background. Plus there is a problematic excess of males being produced that are not required for breeding anyway. I'm sure she will simply stay as a non-breeding female at Bristol for the future. No harm in that. Incidentally, Komale is already a silverback at Beekes Bergen nowadays and they might not have the same relationship as when he was a younger male, even if she were moved.
@gentle lemur you forgot to mention that Kiera’s half-brother Kivu also resides at Paignton Zoo. If Kera’s problematic pregnancy and labour is the reason for her being non breeding,why have the Bristol Gorilla team allowed Kala to breed once again. I ask this as Kala’s last pregnancy and labour was even more dangerous than Kera’s. as Kala’s baby passed away at 5 days old,whereas Kera’s baby Afia is still alive at the age of 4 years.
Afia would not be alive if it wasn't for the keepers intervening. Kala is more important genetically than Kera, so one's first baby not surviving should not mean a female should be completely written off....Kala is still young, they have no idea if this is a future risk or not.
I did not forget about Kivu: I chose not to mention him as I thought I had written enough to explain why it is not particularly important for Kera to breed again. As I wrote previously, I do not know any details about the gynaecological health of Kera, or indeed of Kala: if you know that Kala was in greater danger than Kera, I would be interested to learn more. But I am certainly not going to second guess the experienced keepers and managers at Bristol about the welfare of their gorillas. I agree with @ShonenJake13 that Kala is more important genetically than Kera, because as far as I know, none of her siblings have surviving offspring.
The fact she has produced a baby naturally and successfully now indicates to me she will be able to breed okay from now on. Is her sister Mali still in the Sammi group in Howletts, or did she die?
So Kala's new baby at Bristol is the only 2nd generation descendant so far of the old female Kathryn at Hanover?
She had signs of pre-eclampsia which causes high blood pressure and can lead to life threatening seizures if it is severe. It can be fatal for both mum and baby. She endured a caesarean section and I believe her recovery was also complicated with sepsis, aneamia and persistant signs of excess protein in her urine. Having pre-eclampsia once does increase your risk for future pregnancies - it has a massive range of between 5-80% increased risk in humans depending on what stage it was diagnosed and any additional risk factors (eg high blood pressure / kidney disease / diabetes / obesity all increase the risk). Kala on the other hand had a low lying placenta (placenta previa) which was blocking the birth canal and prevented the baby being born naturally. There is an increased risk of placenta previa in subsequent pregnancies but my understanding is the increased risk is relatively low. You seem to be focusing on the babies only - there are risks involved for the mothers too.
@Zia do you know if Kera has fully recovered or has any permanent problems following her problematic pregnancy?
Read what I wrote again - I have no idea what her additional (if any) risk factors might be but as I said, just having pre-eclampsia once puts you at some level of increased risk for future pregnacies.
@Zia when asking about Kera’s health I didn’t mean with regards to pregnancy but in day to day life? Also does Kera’s problematic pregnancy mean she will pass away prematurely?
I think whatever Kera's situation is since her one pregnancy, and she seems fit and healthy nowadays, that living with Jock will provide a form of natural contraception and she won't breed again now. She looks absolutely fine on the occasions I have seen her since. I wouldn't expect it to have affected her lifespan either. I imagine she will simply stay there longterm as a non-breeding female now.
