Posted by Woodland Park Zoo Communications
Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo
What’s the baby like? Is he wiggly? Does he move around a lot or mostly sleep?
Rachel: Sometimes he is very wiggly! When he is trying to poop he squirms a bit. He is just starting to like to lie on his back and stretch his arms and legs out, so he is a little wiggly when doing that kind of activity. He does like to climb up our bodies, and even does some of that when he sleeps. He is still young enough that he hasn’t really started moving around too much though.
Does he pull your hair or shirt?
R: Oh yes, definitely! His grip is a reflex and will grab on to almost anything he gets his hands on. We often wear baggy fleece vests that allow him to hold onto us better, but he has small hands, and they roam around grabbing onto whatever they find, shirts, hair, bare arms, face masks, glasses, etc.
What is that grip like?
R: His grip is VERY strong. Imagine being pinched as hard as possible, but there is no release, and he grips with his whole fist—so rather than two fingers pinching it is 10 at a time. This gets stronger every day also, so “yay” he is growing, but “ouch” that can really hurt a bit! I keep telling the newer animal keepers who haven’t hand-reared a baby gorilla before, just wait until he starts teething and begins biting, those bruises are really impressive!
How much is he eating/drinking?
R: He currently gets fed every two hours (12 bottles/day), and the current volume per bottle is 70 milliliters which is just under 2.5 ounces. That’s a total of 840 milliliters a day, which is just under 28.5 ounces. The volume of formula offered is based on his weight and stomach capacity, so as his weight goes up, the volume per bottle increases as well (this is based on a percentage of his weight, so there is generally a range to work within). We usually only add in a few milliliters at a time, and then make sure he is able to hold that volume down (with no regurgitation) before making another increase. There is a balance to finding that sweet spot where he is fully satiated and sleepy, rather than overfed and regurgitating or underfed and fussy.
What's his current weight?
What seems to be his favorite parts of the day?
R: Since I work the overnight shift, I can only speak to the evening side of things. But I know he seems to enjoy walking outside, feeling the sun and wind and looking at the big green blobs (trees). I often walk him around outside at night also, and he still seems to enjoy it and will calm down if he is being a bit fussy.
How are you all caring for him 24/7? What are all of the animal care team’s shifts like behind the scenes?
R: I’ll give you a run down of the night shift, but things are a bit different during the day when he gets more face-to-face time and interactions with the other gorillas. My shifts right now are from about 7:30 pm-6:30 am. There is a bit of crossover between caregivers at the beginning and end of my shifts, so we give updates, share any changes or big developments and pass along any other pertinent information.
He eats every two hours (right now on the odd hours; 9 pm, 11 pm, 1 am, 3 am, 5 am during my night shifts). I make sure there is enough formula made up to get through the night and early morning and add in any vitamins or medications he may need (currently he is only getting baby gas relief drops—but don’t worry, nothing is wrong with him!). We collect/swap out any remaining laundry (he goes through a LOT of blankets) and I get everything set up for the night. At the beginning of my shift, one of the daytime gorilla keepers passes the baby over to me and then they take off for the night to rest up for the next day.
The baby usually sleeps during the “hand off” and I get a little time to sit at the computer and catch up on emails and other stuff from the day. He often wakes up a little before his feeding time and will be rooting around. I then warm up some water, let his bottle float in the water to warm up and then feed him once the milk has warmed up.
Since he is being bottle fed, there is some air that gets in, which is why he is getting gas relief drops (very common for bottle-fed babies), and we burp him when he finishes eating. We then watch for any regurgitation, aspiration, hiccupping or other issues he may have while feeding. Luckily, he is proving to be very healthy and a great eater, sometimes babies have a hard time with bottle nipples, but he is doing great!
Once he finishes eating, he usually just goes right back to sleep. If he doesn’t wake up on his own, we just rouse him lightly, feed him and let him go back to sleep. Then we wash the bottles, make any notes on the feeding, note any defecations or urinations, clean up the area, and repeat this all night every two hours! If any of the gorillas happen to be awake and out of bed, I will sit with him near them and just let him soak up the environment, or let them watch him take his bottles, however this happens much less at night because the rest of the gorillas tend to bed down and not get up until the morning.
Typically, at his 11pm feeding, I will take a round of stats on him as well—respiration rate, heart rate and temperature. He has a check-in every morning with someone from our Animal Health Department, and they also take these readings at that time. With both ends of the day covered we get a better picture of his overall health trends.
As you’re aware, the entire hand-rearing process is happening in the gorilla unit, and this is critical for his complete immersion and integration back into a gorilla troop later on. By keeping him and raising him in the behind-the-scenes gorilla area, he is being exposed to all the sights, sounds, and smells of the other gorillas all the time—and he has been since day one. This will make reintroductions into his gorilla family much easier, since he will already be familiar with the environment, the vocalizations of the other gorillas, the feel of the materials in the living space, the sounds of doors moving, etc…
Basically, when I have the baby, I act like a gorilla as much as possible and get him used to life in a troop. I crawl around on the ground, make gorilla vocalizations to him, lay in a gorilla bedroom on a hay nest, let him crawl all over me and reposition him once he gets on top of my head, comfort him when he is fussy, feed him, clean him up, examine his body, let him stretch and build muscles, hold him close, and keep him safe. At this age, the most important things for him are food and feeling secure/safe; we hold him on our bodies so that he can feel our breathing, absorb our body heat and hear our heartbeats, just like a gorilla mother would do.
Thanks so much Rachel for this fantastic look at all the ways the gorilla team is providing the baby gorilla with comfort, warmth and dedication. Our animal keepers go above and beyond for creatures great and small—this precious baby is in good hands.
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Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo
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| The newest little gorilla baby is healthy, thriving, and growing! |
A lot of you have been asking for an update on our baby gorilla. You may recall 22-year-old western lowland gorilla Akenji gave birth to a baby boy on June 28. She showed no interest in the infant after he was born or in the following days, so our expert gorilla care staff has been caring for the baby 24/7 and providing everything this baby needs to get off to a good start in life.
"Our team in the gorilla unit is dedicated to providing this infant with the care, nutrition and safety he needs at this early stage, and we are continuing to assess the female gorilla surrogate options. Having a gorilla mother-figure is critical to his development and wellbeing, and we are committed to finding the right match so that this baby can thrive and grow up gorilla." says Martin Ramirez, Senior Director of Animal Care and General Curator.
We’ll have more information on next steps for this little nugget coming soon, but for now, here are the answers to some questions about what it takes to care for a gorilla infant, courtesy of interim animal care manager, Rachel Vass, who is currently working the overnight shift to care for this growing boy.
"Our team in the gorilla unit is dedicated to providing this infant with the care, nutrition and safety he needs at this early stage, and we are continuing to assess the female gorilla surrogate options. Having a gorilla mother-figure is critical to his development and wellbeing, and we are committed to finding the right match so that this baby can thrive and grow up gorilla." says Martin Ramirez, Senior Director of Animal Care and General Curator.
We’ll have more information on next steps for this little nugget coming soon, but for now, here are the answers to some questions about what it takes to care for a gorilla infant, courtesy of interim animal care manager, Rachel Vass, who is currently working the overnight shift to care for this growing boy.
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| This little, wiggly boy has a healthy appetite! |
What’s the baby like? Is he wiggly? Does he move around a lot or mostly sleep?
Rachel: Sometimes he is very wiggly! When he is trying to poop he squirms a bit. He is just starting to like to lie on his back and stretch his arms and legs out, so he is a little wiggly when doing that kind of activity. He does like to climb up our bodies, and even does some of that when he sleeps. He is still young enough that he hasn’t really started moving around too much though.
Does he pull your hair or shirt?
R: Oh yes, definitely! His grip is a reflex and will grab on to almost anything he gets his hands on. We often wear baggy fleece vests that allow him to hold onto us better, but he has small hands, and they roam around grabbing onto whatever they find, shirts, hair, bare arms, face masks, glasses, etc.
What is that grip like?
R: His grip is VERY strong. Imagine being pinched as hard as possible, but there is no release, and he grips with his whole fist—so rather than two fingers pinching it is 10 at a time. This gets stronger every day also, so “yay” he is growing, but “ouch” that can really hurt a bit! I keep telling the newer animal keepers who haven’t hand-reared a baby gorilla before, just wait until he starts teething and begins biting, those bruises are really impressive!
 |
| This little nugget has a very strong grip! |
How much is he eating/drinking?
R: He currently gets fed every two hours (12 bottles/day), and the current volume per bottle is 70 milliliters which is just under 2.5 ounces. That’s a total of 840 milliliters a day, which is just under 28.5 ounces. The volume of formula offered is based on his weight and stomach capacity, so as his weight goes up, the volume per bottle increases as well (this is based on a percentage of his weight, so there is generally a range to work within). We usually only add in a few milliliters at a time, and then make sure he is able to hold that volume down (with no regurgitation) before making another increase. There is a balance to finding that sweet spot where he is fully satiated and sleepy, rather than overfed and regurgitating or underfed and fussy.
What's his current weight?
R: He weighs in at 3.4 kilograms now, which is about 7.5 pounds. His birth weight was 4.4 pounds so he is growing at a very healthy rate.
What kind of "talking” or vocalizing is he doing?
R: He will laugh when tickled under his chin and on the sides of his neck. It is still just an automatic reflex, but it’s very cute to hear! He whines or cries lightly when he is hungry, but usually only when he wakes up early and wants to eat before the two hours have passed. Similarly, if he has squirmed into an odd position or is uncomfortable, he will whine lightly or squawk and we can readjust him to be more comfortable. He will sometimes grunt when pulling himself up, usually when he is rooting around and hungry. In general, he is not very vocal at this point, which is good … a quiet baby gorilla is a happy and healthy baby!
What kind of "talking” or vocalizing is he doing?
R: He will laugh when tickled under his chin and on the sides of his neck. It is still just an automatic reflex, but it’s very cute to hear! He whines or cries lightly when he is hungry, but usually only when he wakes up early and wants to eat before the two hours have passed. Similarly, if he has squirmed into an odd position or is uncomfortable, he will whine lightly or squawk and we can readjust him to be more comfortable. He will sometimes grunt when pulling himself up, usually when he is rooting around and hungry. In general, he is not very vocal at this point, which is good … a quiet baby gorilla is a happy and healthy baby!
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| Those beautiful eyes! |
What seems to be his favorite parts of the day?
R: Since I work the overnight shift, I can only speak to the evening side of things. But I know he seems to enjoy walking outside, feeling the sun and wind and looking at the big green blobs (trees). I often walk him around outside at night also, and he still seems to enjoy it and will calm down if he is being a bit fussy.
How are you all caring for him 24/7? What are all of the animal care team’s shifts like behind the scenes?
R: I’ll give you a run down of the night shift, but things are a bit different during the day when he gets more face-to-face time and interactions with the other gorillas. My shifts right now are from about 7:30 pm-6:30 am. There is a bit of crossover between caregivers at the beginning and end of my shifts, so we give updates, share any changes or big developments and pass along any other pertinent information.
He eats every two hours (right now on the odd hours; 9 pm, 11 pm, 1 am, 3 am, 5 am during my night shifts). I make sure there is enough formula made up to get through the night and early morning and add in any vitamins or medications he may need (currently he is only getting baby gas relief drops—but don’t worry, nothing is wrong with him!). We collect/swap out any remaining laundry (he goes through a LOT of blankets) and I get everything set up for the night. At the beginning of my shift, one of the daytime gorilla keepers passes the baby over to me and then they take off for the night to rest up for the next day.
The baby usually sleeps during the “hand off” and I get a little time to sit at the computer and catch up on emails and other stuff from the day. He often wakes up a little before his feeding time and will be rooting around. I then warm up some water, let his bottle float in the water to warm up and then feed him once the milk has warmed up.
Since he is being bottle fed, there is some air that gets in, which is why he is getting gas relief drops (very common for bottle-fed babies), and we burp him when he finishes eating. We then watch for any regurgitation, aspiration, hiccupping or other issues he may have while feeding. Luckily, he is proving to be very healthy and a great eater, sometimes babies have a hard time with bottle nipples, but he is doing great!
Once he finishes eating, he usually just goes right back to sleep. If he doesn’t wake up on his own, we just rouse him lightly, feed him and let him go back to sleep. Then we wash the bottles, make any notes on the feeding, note any defecations or urinations, clean up the area, and repeat this all night every two hours! If any of the gorillas happen to be awake and out of bed, I will sit with him near them and just let him soak up the environment, or let them watch him take his bottles, however this happens much less at night because the rest of the gorillas tend to bed down and not get up until the morning.
Typically, at his 11pm feeding, I will take a round of stats on him as well—respiration rate, heart rate and temperature. He has a check-in every morning with someone from our Animal Health Department, and they also take these readings at that time. With both ends of the day covered we get a better picture of his overall health trends.
As you’re aware, the entire hand-rearing process is happening in the gorilla unit, and this is critical for his complete immersion and integration back into a gorilla troop later on. By keeping him and raising him in the behind-the-scenes gorilla area, he is being exposed to all the sights, sounds, and smells of the other gorillas all the time—and he has been since day one. This will make reintroductions into his gorilla family much easier, since he will already be familiar with the environment, the vocalizations of the other gorillas, the feel of the materials in the living space, the sounds of doors moving, etc…
 |
| Our expert gorilla keeper staff cares for this baby 24/7, just like a mother gorilla would. He is in good hands! |
Basically, when I have the baby, I act like a gorilla as much as possible and get him used to life in a troop. I crawl around on the ground, make gorilla vocalizations to him, lay in a gorilla bedroom on a hay nest, let him crawl all over me and reposition him once he gets on top of my head, comfort him when he is fussy, feed him, clean him up, examine his body, let him stretch and build muscles, hold him close, and keep him safe. At this age, the most important things for him are food and feeling secure/safe; we hold him on our bodies so that he can feel our breathing, absorb our body heat and hear our heartbeats, just like a gorilla mother would do.
---
Thanks so much Rachel for this fantastic look at all the ways the gorilla team is providing the baby gorilla with comfort, warmth and dedication. Our animal keepers go above and beyond for creatures great and small—this precious baby is in good hands.
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You can help gorillas
A portion of every visit and membership to Woodland Park Zoo supports saving wildlife in the Pacific Northwest and around the world including protecting western lowland gorillas. The Goualougo Triangle Ape Project aims to preserve wildlife in the Congo Basin by studying gorillas and chimpanzees, the ecosystems and the forces that threaten their survival. Local communities and indigenous people assist in directly addressing the challenges that impact great ape survival in this region.Join the zoo by recycling old cell phones and other used handheld electronics through ECO-CELL to help preserve gorilla habitat. ECO-CELL operates a strict NO LANDFILL program and reimburses organizations for recyclable contributions. The community can bring used handheld electronics to drop-boxes located at both zoo entrances. Adopt a gorilla by becoming a ZooParent and help Woodland Park Zoo provide exceptional care for all its amazing animals and support wildlife conservation efforts in the Pacific Northwest and around the world.
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