Search

April 30 Update From a Great Ape House Keeper

Western lowland gorilla Mandara and her newborn, photo by Jonathan Kang
Photo by FONZ Photo Club member Janice Sveda

April has been a busy and exciting month at the Great Ape House! The gorillas have been enjoying the recent stretch of beautiful weather, spending the cooler mornings eating and playing in the yard and the hot afternoons resting in the shade. Kibibi experienced the excitement of her first Easter egg hunt on Easter Monday. Her family enjoyed colored eggs and egg-shaped piñatas among many other treats.

Kibibi has been growing so fast. She has much more hair now covering her body, and she is up to eight teeth! On Sunday, she had her first taste of solid food. She licked and gently chewed on a piece of papaya from Mandara’s dinner. Though she did not actually eat any of it, she seemed to be very interested in the taste.

Kibibi has been a wild girl lately, moving all around and making efforts to climb down off of her mom, Mandara. Keepers have seen her drop her feet to the ground when she is riding on Mandara’s belly in an effort to reach the ground. She also has made a habit of grabbing on to the mesh of the enclosure while Mandara is being fed and trying to pull herself out of her mother’s grasp while she's occupied with her dinner. Although it seems that Kibibi is ready to gain some independence, Mandara is not ready to let her go too far just yet. She has been letting Kibibi sit on the ground nearby, but always holds on to her hand, even when there are no curious siblings around.

While Mandara still carries her daughter on her belly and occasionally on her back, she has very recently started transporting her on her arm. Visitors may see this new mode of travel because it seems to have quickly become the new norm.

Share