![]() ![]() the Cross River gorillas, Eastern Lowland gorillas, and Mountain gorillas. “We’d drive them down the driveway, then drive them back, off load them and put them back in the house,” Burtis said, explaining the dry runs that were made back and forth from the troop’s habitat. Western lowland gorillas are the smallest of the four gorilla subspecies. Once on the truck, the gorillas were taken on short rides that led to their last one to their new home. To make them even more comfortable with the process, the gorillas were taught to push the button that controlled the device that lifted their crate to be rolled onto the truck. You’d think, ‘My God, that takes a long time.’ It does.” They literally would go into the transport unit while the wildlife care specialist would roll them out, reinforce them and roll them back in. “All of this was done under stimulus control, meaning they had choice to go into the unit,” Burtis said. ![]() The gorillas became used to being transported first by becoming comfortable with going inside a crate that was lifted onto a vehicle. “Everything we do here with the animals is only based on positive rewards,” she said, explaining how carrots, tomatoes and sometimes even smoothies were used as rewards to encourage certain behavior. Lifestyle Pets Fort Worth Zoo Gorilla Turns 52 and Becomes World's Oldest Silverback, Officials Say After years of delivering hijinks and happiness, Ramses now lives a behind-the-scenes. Gorilla gorilla gorilla First mating period, Females 10 to 12 years (in zoos a bit earlier), males 11 to 13 years, but actual sexual maturity at 8 years. Western lowland gorillas occupy the West-African lowlands and the mountain forests. Over that time, wildlife specialists also began working with Frank and Monroe so the move would not be traumatic.īurtis said wildlife specialists got the two gorillas comfortable with the move through operant conditioning based on the work of B.F. Did you know The gorilla is the largest and heaviest of the great apes. Park personnel about nine months ago began making modifications to a 3-acre area available for a new habitat for the two gorillas. “Monroe was starting to challenge the females, and Frank started to challenge Winston to the point we were no longer comfortable,” Burtis said. Wildlife specialists at the Safari Park knew it was time to make a change at the troop led by Winston. The program also works to ensure genetic diversity around zoos to help the endangered species survive, she added. “But that is our hope, to find situations where we can place silverbacks with females.” “Around 47 percent of gorillas are males, and not every one will become silverbacks that have the potential to breed,” Burtis said. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is one of 51 members of the Gorilla Species Survival Plan, and Frank and Monroe some day may be sent to another zoo that needs a breeding silverback. (Ana Ramirez/The San Diego Union-Tribune)įrank and Monroe probably will not have to work as hard to have their own family troops. ![]()
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