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September 1 Update From a Great Ape House Keeper
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The National Zoo’s youngest gorilla, Kibibi, is getting bigger and bolder by the day. Over the course of the summer months we have watched her grow from a cautious infant who took in her surroundings from the safety of her mother’s arms into a highly mobile and highly motivated little gorilla exploring her world in every way.
She continues to play in the yard near her mother Mandara, pulling up roots, munching on leaves, and scaling over tree branches. When her seven-year-old brother, Kojo, comes to join in her playtime she will immediately grab onto him, at times even running several feet to get to him. The Mandara-Kojo-Kibibi trio can often be seen in the gorilla yard after breakfast, lazily lounging and playing together.
Many of the other relationships between the baby and her family continue to grow as well. Kigali has been regularly allowed to sit with Mandara and hold onto Kibibi. Even Kwame has been seen once or twice holding the baby, although these meetings were actually initiated by Kibibi herself. Kibibi is still unsure of her father, Baraka, who is about 40 times her size, and will squeal if he gets too close to her. Observing the evolution of these relationships has been one of the most interesting parts of Kibibi’s social development.
Kibibi is getting to know the gorilla keepers as well. The gorillas’ afternoon feeding is a great time for her to take us in and study us. To her, of course, we are the “girls with the grapes” so she is always very interested in what we are doing and what we may have for her. From an animal husbandry standpoint, this quiet individual time with her and her mother is very valuable. It allows us to do a thorough visual check of her to make sure there are no evident health issues. We're also beginning to slowly desensitize her to human touch so that it becomes normal to her as she continues to grow. Eventually she will learn the same behaviors that the adult gorillas have been trained to do, such as presenting body parts on a verbal or hand cue, which allows us to care for the apes better. The positive relationship that Mandara shares with the gorilla keepers is crucial in allowing us to build a positive relationship with Kibibi too.
Another interesting development we have seen in the past month or so is Kibibi’s propensity for creating noise and rhythm. She has been seen steadily banging on plastic spools, enclosure walls, overturned rubber tubs, and anything else that makes a good sound. She will do this on and off for many minutes at a time and it seems to be yet another way she has discovered to interact with her environment in a fun way.
