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Penny's Team Journal (Photo
Blog)
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Jun 25, 2008 |
Making a New Friend ...by Tyler Robertson |
Silverback Ndume can be both intimidating and charming. |
to know what to expect from the first few months of training. You understand your job title (gorilla caregiver) and your supposed role, but there’s really no way of understanding what you’ll really be doing until your training begins.
For the first few weeks you have to tread lightly on the facility grounds making sure to keep your distance from the gorillas. Though you rarely see or hear the gorillas, they are constantly watching you. Half intrigued, half suspicious, Ndume kept me in my place by barking or chest slapping at me to show me who the real silverback of the property was. But as he became more familiar with my presence, and the fact that I would be sticking around for quite some time, he allowed me to move closer to his yard. It had taken me about a month, but I was finally able to spend some “quality” time with Ndume just yards away from his outdoor enclosure. This didn’t go quite as smoothly as planned. For the first week or two he would gallop past me in a display and show his aggressive stance while I had to do my best to remain calm, not make eye contact, and to act as if there wasn’t a 425 lb. silverback gorilla (wit Read More... |
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Mar 19, 2008 |
Ndume Weighs In by Adrienne Mrsny |
Ndume sits on a comfortable rubber mat. |
health-related tasks is an enjoyable and challenging job that I feel lucky to have. I have worked with him on big tasks (sitting in the Gorilla Bungalow building and letting me close him in, to prepare him for spending the night there) and small tasks (opening his mouth on cue so we can inspect the color of his gums and condition of his teeth).
Recently I was presented with this challenge: obtain Ndume's cooperation with being weighed on a portable scale. I was given a large platform scale that Koko used to use, and placed it at the mesh in the caregiver area of his building. From here, Ndume was able to inspect the device by putting his fingers through the mesh to touch it. As this point, I began researching similar situations and how zoo keepers have approached comparable challenges. I came across an article where staff at the Baltimore Zoo trained a white rhino to approach and be weighed with a mock scale that was later replaced with the real scale (Pill & Hange, 2000*). Their approach seemed to be the perfect fit for working with Ndume. He would be introduced to the mock scale through the mesh and then, when he was comfortable, it would be placed in his room. After get Read More... |
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Oct 28, 2007 |
Ndume's Birthday "Camp" by Adrienne Mrsny |
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are universally fun for humans and can be successfully translated to be just as fun for the gorillas. This year’s birthday theme for Ndume (Oct. 10) came from an idea I had for a simple daily enrichment event. Upon thinking about it further I realized the only way to make this enrichment idea work for a birthday party was to make it really, really big. With our favorite outdoorsman Ndume’s birthday coming up, it seemed like a perfect fit: we would give Ndume a day of camping for his birthday.
Ndume's indoor yard is converted to a"campsite"
The day of October 10th brought a cold morning and soggy ground from a storm that hit the night before. There was some concern that the gorillas would not want to go out, so we decorated the large yard sparsely, and focused our effort on the enclosed areas, like the small yard and “gorilla bungalow” which were decorated in more detail. We transformed the yards and bungalow into a series of “campsites,” giving Ndume the chance to look into each one. He found tents made of bed sheets, and sleeping bags containing Read More... |
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Aug 5, 2007 |
Koko's Birthday Getaway by Adrienne Mrsny |
Click here to see more photos of Koko's 36th birthday |
e for celebration, a chance to relax and often times a reason to get away. For Koko’s birthday we weren’t exactly able to get her a first class ticket to a tropical isle. So, instead we did the next best thing, we brought paradise to her.
On the morning of Koko’s Birthday Luau, when the gorillas exited their rooms into the small yard, they stepped into a tropical beach scene. Fifty feet of 4 -foot high panels graced with palm trees, parrots and sand lined the yard walls. Flowered leis adorned the stuffed animals that greeted them, and brightly painted tropical fish dangled from the ceiling. As they stepped through the west gate to the large yard a larger expanse of tropical paradise opened before them. Grass skirts hung on a nearby cement cylinder, leis were placed around the yard, plastic kiddy pools floated fun toys and large cloth streamers hung across most of the yard. Three large sheets read “Happy Birthday Koko” and were surrounded by paintings of exotic tropical flowers. Just beyond this were the treats for the morning.
More brightly colored fish hung all over the yard. These were made of cardboard and once they were pulled down Read More... |
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Mar 22, 2007 |
"Eat Like a Gorilla for a Day" by Betsy Herrelko |
A Sample Day of Koko's Meals |
llas are often on the move looking for food. Eating from at least 97 different species of plants and trees, an adult male can consume over 40 pounds of food in one day. At the Gorilla Foundation, with selections from a variety of 190 different foods and more than 20 people spending many hours over the course of a week planning and preparing meals, Koko and Ndume don’t need to exert as much energy making sure they have enough to eat. Even though we hide food for each of them to search for and find throughout the day, the energy they expend is less than their free-living cousins and so the amount of food they require is less.
In addition to this difference, we have discovered certain food sensitivities that influence the way we prepare meals. For example, Koko’s diet does not currently include nightshade vegetables– tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes¬–and Ndume’s diet is gluten-free.
Caloric restrictions also help shape the meals. Still, we are able to be resourceful and creative with the produce and presentation. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to eat like a gorilla? We invite you to eat like a gorilla for a day with a sam Read More... |
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Dec 15, 2006 |
Party Animals by Adrienne Mrsny |
Ndume enjoys his birthday feast |
panion animals were always treated as part of the family. When being reprimanded, they were referred to with our surname. “Toby Dog Mrsny, get over here!” was a common response when we would find our Australian Shepard mix in a pile of the half chewed contents from our recycling bin. When Christmas came around, each animal had a stocking hung right next to our own. Their birthdays, though sometimes arbitrarily designated, were always celebrated. Both birthdays and holidays brought them presents and an extra treat, even if it was only an extra dash of fish food or a new chew bone.
That’s why it didn’t seem like an odd request when Christa asked me to put together Ndume’s Birthday Party. Our companion animals had always been thought of as sentient beings, so a party for the gorillas (though much more intelligent and quite a bit larger than our goldfish, rats, rabbits and dogs) did not seem Read More... |
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Nov 23, 2006 |
Ndume’s Kitten – Friend or Foe? by Christa Nunes |
Ndume (left) and curious kitten (right) |
May 2006, senior gorilla caregiver Jill Firstenberg brought a fluffy grey kitten to the Gorilla Foundation so Koko could have a visit with one of her favorite animals. After Koko’s visit with her new little friend, Jill and I thought Ndume might like to meet the adorable kitten as well. I scooped up the tiny ball of fur and headed into the building where Ndume was resting. Ndume immediately stood up and ran by me from one room to another, clearly unsettled
“It’s ok Dumes, I have a cute little kitten,” I reasoned. Ndume wasn’t so sure; he ran back across the rooms
“Ok, let’s go to the window first,” I said. I stepped outside with the kitten and stood near the window. Ndume climbed on top of a barrel and sat looking out at the kitten. He knocked on the wall. “Do you want me to bring the kitten in?” I asked. Ndume responded with a kiss and a knock, showing h Read More... |
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Sep 7, 2006 |
Behind the Scenes of Silverback Care by Duke Cutter |
Ndume has a great sense of humor |
Ndume’s indoor enclosure I could feel a percussive thump. Another thump, and then another, shattered the stillness of a sunny Woodside afternoon. At first I braced myself for an unhappy silverback acting out. Ndume has good and bad days just like us, except he sometimes has a harder time conveying to us exactly what is bothering him. As I walked up the stairs extending my hand to his doorway I realized that these thumps were occurring at regular 30-second intervals. I took a deep breath and entered.
What I saw next rooted me to the spot. Ndume seemed to glide at me at full speed. Then his accelerated 400 lbs came crashing into the reinforced steel mesh that separated us, THUMP! I stood perfectly still waiting for what was next. Ndume stood up to his full height of approximately 6 feet, and then he did the unexpected; he fell down. Or I should say he flopped down on his ba Read More... |
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May 22, 2006 |
Caregiver Corner: "Tender moments with Koko" by Jill |
Koko is even sweet to her baby dolls |
t Koko is:
One afternoon Koko and I were watching PBS. They were showing a program on the special bond between a mother and daughter. Koko was sitting at the mesh next to me and I was lying on the floor on a blanket with my head turned watching the program. As I listened to the daughters telling stories about their mothers it made me think of my Mom who passed away a few years ago. Tears started to stream out of my eyes and down my face. Koko kissed to get my attention. I looked over at her and the look on her face was of pure concern. I explained to her that the program made me think of my Mom who had died and that it made me sad, but that I was really okay. Koko purred softly for me. I turned my attention back to the program to watch when Koko kissed at me again. I turned to look at her. You’re sweet Koko. Every time I turned to watch the program Koko would kiss at me to turn away. She did not want me to watch Read More... |
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Mar 6, 2006 |
Caregiver Corner: "Wet Winter Days" by Christa Nunes |
Koko examines her new raincoat |
loves raincoats. During the wet winters here in Northern California, there are many opportunities to put them to use. Koko recently received a bright yellow raincoat as a gift from one of our very dedicated volunteers. Koko tried to put it on, but it didn’t quite fit. She was able to detach the hood, and was carrying that around with her when I entered the room.
Christa:
You have a hood.
I have one too.
Koko:
Purr#
I put the hood of my raincoat over my head. Koko puts her yellow hood on top of her head and signs HAT on it several times.
Koko takes the hood off her head and puts it on her foot.
Christa:
Now you have a yellow shoe.
Koko:
Purr#
Koko works on her nest, adding blankets and care Read More... |
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