By Katherine Gould
This article appeared in the January/February 1998 edition of Zooscape. It is posted here with permission from the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. For more information about the Los Angeles, please visit their website at www.lazoo.org.
As guests approach the behind-the-scenes gorilla holding area, Evelyn and Rapunzel trundle over and press their faces against the mesh. They seem to understand that they are beautiful gorillas, and like vain princesses they want to be the center of attention. Evelyn blows kisses; Rapunzel follows a visitor as she walks beside the wall, reaching under with her fingers, trying to grab the edge of an overcoat.
"These two love attention," says Keeper Jennifer Chatfield.
When they start getting some attention, they are momentarily pushed aside by Sandy, a big, bossy female, older than the other two and so round she resembles a furry Hippity Hop. Having established her position as top gorilla, she recedes to the background and sits regally, watching as guests coo over the other two.
The three females share one half of the 1,700-square-foot gorilla holding area; Caesar, a 20-year-old silverback, inhabits the other half. The four gorillas have been separated by a wall of mesh for several weeks now, as part of the long process of getting to know each other.
All animal introductions can be dangerous, simply because animals sometimes don't get along and fight for dominance or to protect their territory. Gorillas, with their hierarchical social structure and immense physical strength, make introductions particularly hazardous. Males, in their efforts to prove their dominance, perform threat displays from the innocuous -- flashing teeth and beating chests -- to the violent. Keepers do everything they can to minimize the possibility of violence, efforts assisted greatly by the gorilla holding area.
Completed in 1996, the holding area was built with gifts from John F. Marshall and the Riordan Foundation and the generous support of our members. Essentially a giant cage constructed of 1/4-inch-thick steel mesh and separated into two spacious rooms, the building is strong enough to withstand the worst a 600-pound gorilla can dish out, but designed to make that aggression unnecessary.
"There's a certain amount of risk no matter what," Chatfield says. "This building just makes introductions a little more predictable."
Keepers put Sandy, Evelyn, and Rapunzel in one room and Caesar in the other, and allow the animals to see each other, smell each other, show curiosity, and get to know each other before they meet physically. Caesar can beat his chest and slam his bulk against the steel beams to display his strength with the females safely on the other side.
The three females, who came from separate groups have already been through this process themselves, with Sandy getting to know Evelyn and Rapunzel.
They are an eclectic group. Sandy is big and bossy, but a wonderfully devoted mother. Rapunzel is as close to an opposite of Sandy as you can get. "She's the sweetest gorilla you'll ever want to meet," Chatfield says. She is also something of a wimp. When she was first allowed into the holding area, she was afraid to walk on the thick bed of straw Chatfield had carefully laid out for her. She climbed around the edges for quite some time. When she finally got the courage to walk on the straw, she lifted each leg exaggeratedly with each step.
Evelyn is a vain little gorilla with a beautiful swath of red hair on her forehead. She will sit on a high platform in the holding area, looking down on the others. "The queen of all she surveys," jokes Chatfield.
Sandy established her dominance, but the other two largely ignore her. They aren't a particularly tight-knit trio, but they don't fight either. The existence of Caesar on the other side of the building hasn't really changed that dynamic. After several weeks separated by mesh, the four gorillas seem comfortable with each other. Caesar watches the women, occasionally displaying, and they are suitably submissive to him. Chatfield says she is prepared to open the doors between them soon.
Several months before, the Zoo's other silverback, Tzambo, and Angel, a female, were reintroduced to Cleo. Although everything was basically peaceful, there were times when Cleo would scream because Tzambo came too close. Angel, who had grown up with the much older Cleo, was caught between her loyalty to Cleo and her interest in Tzambo. The pretty, young gorilla didn't know which older gorilla to comfort. Eventually the group worked everything out and they are now living peacefully together in the central gorilla exhibit.
The pupose for moving gorillas around and establishing new groups is to create better breeding situations. Tzambo has shown interest in Angel and Cleo, but neither has become pregnant yet.
Caesar is extremely valuable genetically, as well as being one of the Zoo's most popular animals. He was the first gorilla delivered by cesarean section, and gained fame again last year when he had a brush with death after surgery to remove a tumor from the side of his face. Caesar hasn't fathered any children yet, but Chatfield hopes that the pushy Sandy will show him the ropes.
All of these changes have taken many months, and it may be months more before all the gorillas are once again comfortable in their groups and in their respective exhibits. Not to worry, says Chatfield. "Gorillas are plodders. They do everything slowly."