I believe Mamfe died of a heart attack sometime in the night of last September. I was one of the last persons to see him alive, just the day before he died infact. 2 of the Gorilla deaths were this year: Yinka, I don't know how she died but she was about 36 years old. Sekondi (Yinka's son) I think died of a stroke. We still have Sekondi's father: Sam-Sam. Yinka and Sam-Sam were on loan from Edinburgh Zoo. James
twycross gorillas Now I heard a rumour that 'Mamfe' was very stressed by the sudden appearance of SamSam and Yinka from Edinburgh next door to his group. After years of quiet life he was suddenly galvanised in to action to 'defend' his group from the new 'rival' male. If so its not surprising if all this increased activity brought on a heart attack. If you saw them, do you think that's true? Was SamSam and Yinka nextdoor to Mamfe in Joe's half of the house? I heard Joe was moved temporarily- where was he kept? And could 'Mamfe' see 'SamSam' through the grille in the wall or was it covered over?
As far as i know, Mamfe could see Sam-Sam and Yinka through the bars looking into Joe's play area. I haven't heard the full story on how he died and your possibly right on what you said. When he died, we tried putting Joe in with the females next door but he wouldn't have any of it and he was put back. I believe we tried adding Sam-Sam to the females next door too, but now he is still in Joe's area. James
1. I know SamSam and Yinka were only supposed to be 'in transit' for Spain, but placing them so close to the others seemed a bad mistake- I do believe they ultimately paid for it with Mamfe's death... 2. Where was Joe kept while all that was going on? 3. I believe SamSam will probably stay at Twycross now. Is he living alone or is one or more of the females kept with him? I heard he gets on okay with Biddy but not the others. 4. Do you know what the plan is for the younger group?. Is it to wait until the new baby is older and then get a new male? (They really should breed from Asante as she's Eva's only offspring.)
To answer your questions mate: Sam-Sam and Yinka were put into Joe's enclosure as there was no other space to house them. When Sam-Sam and Yinka use Joe's indoor area, Joe is kept out of Sam-Sam's way in the sleeping quarters and the outside run. There are 2 doors - one for the indoor play area and the other for the sleeping quarters. Joe was always kept in his enclosure when all this happened, just out of Sam-Sam's way as I mentioned above. Joe will remain on his own as he likes the peace. I also feel that Sam-Sam will stay here at Twycross now. I really haven't a clue if he will move next door with the females as that group needs a breeding male after Mamfe's death. The other group is likely to get a new breeding male soon once Matadi is older and ready to leave as he can't stay. Matadi is 4 years old now, still a way to go yet. Ndoki is our new baby female, born May this year, she is likely to stay with us. If you want to talk more about Twycross Zoo, send me a PM. If you also want my MSN address, PM me about that too. I can tell you lots about the zoo. James
