Posted by Gigi Allianic, Woodland Park Zoo
Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo
One of the two male gorilla infants recently born at Woodland Park Zoo is currently under round-the-clock human care and showing signs of improvement after receiving bottle feeding to help address dehydration and increase his weight.
The mom of the baby western lowland gorilla is Jamani, who gave birth to her son on May 18. The other infant gorilla was born on May 24 to Olympia via cesarean section due to complications that indicated a non-productive labor. It marked Woodland Park Zoo’s first gorilla born via C-section in its 126-year history. C-sections on gorillas are extremely rare, with under a dozen performed worldwide.
The day after the C-section on Olympia, her baby was introduced to her. While she showed interest, Jamani picked up the baby instead and was caring for the two babies with Olympia nearby in the same family troop.
“Jamani has been pulling double duty caring for two babies. While it can be physically demanding, her maternal behaviors have been good. She has consistently been nursing and snuggling each infant to keep them sufficiently warm the way mother gorillas need to,” said Martin Ramirez, Curator of Mammalogy at Woodland Park Zoo. “However, after observing Jamani’s baby not having great nursing bouts and appearing thin and subdued, we made the decision to medically evaluate the infant.”
The zoo’s animal health team conducted a full examination on Jamani’s infant. “We are happy to have found that Jamani’s baby is free of congenital abnormalities, but he was moderately dehydrated and underweight at 2½ weeks old and needed some TLC because he needs to strengthen his nursing skills,” said Dr. Tim Storms, Director of Animal Health at Woodland Park Zoo. “Yesterday we began providing him formula with a combination of bottle and tube-feedings, and by this morning he was already showing great signs of improvement. For now, we are caring for him at the veterinary hospital and providing 24/7 care, focusing on improving his nursing, hydration and strength. Our goal is to return him to his gorilla family once he gains weight and is able to nurse well.”
The care for the pregnant gorillas and new babies has been a partnership between the zoo’s veterinary and animal care teams and human-care medical experts. This morning, Dr. Andrew Beckstrom, neonatologist and medical director at Swedish First Hill, and Erin Springer, occupational therapist at Swedish Medical Center, joined the Woodland Park Zoo team to help examine the baby and offer infant feeding expertise.
“When I saw the baby yesterday, he was a little bit dehydrated and not wanting to feed. After a night of rehydration and encouraging more structured feeding this morning, Jamani’s baby is looking so much better,” said Dr. Andrew Beckstrom, neonatologist and medical director at Swedish First Hill. “We see this fairly often with human babies when they don’t get enough breast milk or formula, either because there isn’t enough supply or they don’t have the ability to take in food on their own. They can become dehydrated and it creates a cycle. And so the treatment for this gorilla is the same—we create a structured feeding plan and slowly build him back to where he needs to be. I suspect this baby is going to do just that and I’m very hopeful about his progress.”
“I was able to do an oral motor assessment for this gorilla and look at his oral structures, check his sucking strength and assess his overall ability to transfer milk from a bottle. With his care team, we came up with some strategies to help him build his motor abilities and we’re already seeing some success today,” said Erin Springer, occupational therapist at Swedish Medical Center. “While this is my first time working with a baby gorilla, it was surprisingly similar to working with human babies in terms of his structure, size and cuteness.”
Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo
One of the two male gorilla infants recently born at Woodland Park Zoo is currently under round-the-clock human care and showing signs of improvement after receiving bottle feeding to help address dehydration and increase his weight.
The mom of the baby western lowland gorilla is Jamani, who gave birth to her son on May 18. The other infant gorilla was born on May 24 to Olympia via cesarean section due to complications that indicated a non-productive labor. It marked Woodland Park Zoo’s first gorilla born via C-section in its 126-year history. C-sections on gorillas are extremely rare, with under a dozen performed worldwide.
The day after the C-section on Olympia, her baby was introduced to her. While she showed interest, Jamani picked up the baby instead and was caring for the two babies with Olympia nearby in the same family troop.
“Jamani has been pulling double duty caring for two babies. While it can be physically demanding, her maternal behaviors have been good. She has consistently been nursing and snuggling each infant to keep them sufficiently warm the way mother gorillas need to,” said Martin Ramirez, Curator of Mammalogy at Woodland Park Zoo. “However, after observing Jamani’s baby not having great nursing bouts and appearing thin and subdued, we made the decision to medically evaluate the infant.”
The zoo’s animal health team conducted a full examination on Jamani’s infant. “We are happy to have found that Jamani’s baby is free of congenital abnormalities, but he was moderately dehydrated and underweight at 2½ weeks old and needed some TLC because he needs to strengthen his nursing skills,” said Dr. Tim Storms, Director of Animal Health at Woodland Park Zoo. “Yesterday we began providing him formula with a combination of bottle and tube-feedings, and by this morning he was already showing great signs of improvement. For now, we are caring for him at the veterinary hospital and providing 24/7 care, focusing on improving his nursing, hydration and strength. Our goal is to return him to his gorilla family once he gains weight and is able to nurse well.”
 |
| Dr. Andrew Beckstrom, neonatologist and medical director at Swedish First Hill gives the infant a thorough check and is pleased with the baby's progress. |
The care for the pregnant gorillas and new babies has been a partnership between the zoo’s veterinary and animal care teams and human-care medical experts. This morning, Dr. Andrew Beckstrom, neonatologist and medical director at Swedish First Hill, and Erin Springer, occupational therapist at Swedish Medical Center, joined the Woodland Park Zoo team to help examine the baby and offer infant feeding expertise.
“When I saw the baby yesterday, he was a little bit dehydrated and not wanting to feed. After a night of rehydration and encouraging more structured feeding this morning, Jamani’s baby is looking so much better,” said Dr. Andrew Beckstrom, neonatologist and medical director at Swedish First Hill. “We see this fairly often with human babies when they don’t get enough breast milk or formula, either because there isn’t enough supply or they don’t have the ability to take in food on their own. They can become dehydrated and it creates a cycle. And so the treatment for this gorilla is the same—we create a structured feeding plan and slowly build him back to where he needs to be. I suspect this baby is going to do just that and I’m very hopeful about his progress.”
“I was able to do an oral motor assessment for this gorilla and look at his oral structures, check his sucking strength and assess his overall ability to transfer milk from a bottle. With his care team, we came up with some strategies to help him build his motor abilities and we’re already seeing some success today,” said Erin Springer, occupational therapist at Swedish Medical Center. “While this is my first time working with a baby gorilla, it was surprisingly similar to working with human babies in terms of his structure, size and cuteness.”
 |
| Erin Springer, occupational therapist from Swedish Medical Center, assesses the baby's ability to suckle and get nutrition. |
Olympia’s baby was also examined, and both mothers are continuing to receive care and monitoring. “Olympia’s baby is doing well and has been returned to the care of Jamani. Both mothers are doing well, showing positive behavior and aren’t signaling distress. This is an unprecedented situation at Woodland Park Zoo. We’re remaining flexible and responsive to their needs, knowing that this day-to-day dynamic for the gorillas is fluid,” said Ramirez. “Our goal is not only healthy, thriving babies but we also want to see these babies growing up and living in a normal social environment with other gorillas in a family group.”
The gorillas will have access to their outdoor habitat, which may remain intermittently closed to guests to give the new moms and babies some space and time. Olympia and Jamani have a shared history. They both gave birth for the first time in 2012 to sons just weeks apart while living together at North Carolina Zoo and successfully raised them together.
The new infants represent the first offspring for dad Nadaya. In addition to dad and the newborns, Olympia and Jamani’s family troop also includes adult female Jumoke. Olympia, Jamani and Nadaya arrived at Woodland Park Zoo in 2022.
According to Ramirez, mother gorillas caring for and nursing two babies at the same time is rare. The zoo has been in regular consultation with the Gorilla Species Survival Plan experts to help ensure they’re on the right track, explained Ramirez. “To help promote lactation for both Jamani and Olympia, we’re following the recommendations of the Gorilla Species Survival Plan to supplement their daily diets with milk-boosting foods such as electrolyte drinks, avocado and oatmeal. We need to be prepared for any scenario,” added Ramirez. Species Survival Plans are cooperative breeding programs across accredited zoos and aquariums to help ensure healthy, self-sustaining populations of threatened and endangered species.
With the addition of the two newborns, Woodland Park Zoo currently cares for 13 western lowland gorillas living in two separate family groups. Stay tuned to Woodland Park Zoo’s social media and/or zoo.org/animals/zoobabies for viewing and other updates.
The gorillas will have access to their outdoor habitat, which may remain intermittently closed to guests to give the new moms and babies some space and time. Olympia and Jamani have a shared history. They both gave birth for the first time in 2012 to sons just weeks apart while living together at North Carolina Zoo and successfully raised them together.
The new infants represent the first offspring for dad Nadaya. In addition to dad and the newborns, Olympia and Jamani’s family troop also includes adult female Jumoke. Olympia, Jamani and Nadaya arrived at Woodland Park Zoo in 2022.
According to Ramirez, mother gorillas caring for and nursing two babies at the same time is rare. The zoo has been in regular consultation with the Gorilla Species Survival Plan experts to help ensure they’re on the right track, explained Ramirez. “To help promote lactation for both Jamani and Olympia, we’re following the recommendations of the Gorilla Species Survival Plan to supplement their daily diets with milk-boosting foods such as electrolyte drinks, avocado and oatmeal. We need to be prepared for any scenario,” added Ramirez. Species Survival Plans are cooperative breeding programs across accredited zoos and aquariums to help ensure healthy, self-sustaining populations of threatened and endangered species.
With the addition of the two newborns, Woodland Park Zoo currently cares for 13 western lowland gorillas living in two separate family groups. Stay tuned to Woodland Park Zoo’s social media and/or zoo.org/animals/zoobabies for viewing and other updates.
Comments
Post a Comment