Gigi at five months
Read Installment #5, Little Guenon, Big Step
By early March 2009, Gigi was making the transition to Wolf’s guenon life well. She was obviously fully accepted by devoted sister Mimi, tolerated by her stoic father, and her older brother Dru was as gentle and tolerant as we could reasonably hope for. Things were not perfectly harmonious, though. There were times when Gigi’s mom, Fifi, would show some behavior that was concerning to us.
Fifi is an excellent mother and was attentive to both her previous offspring, Dru and Mimi. The family of Wolf’s guenons at the San Diego Zoo’s Monkey Trails exhibit was very cohesive and united, but some of the family dynamics changed when Gigi joined the group. There were times when Gigi was being held or carried by sister Mimi that Fifi would either tolerate well or ignore. Other times it seemed to irritate Fifi when sister Mimi was carting Gigi about so carefully. At these times Fifi would forcibly separate the two girls and then scold Gigi. We were also distressed to see that Fifi would discipline Gigi roughly by grabbing at her in the morning as she lay in her sleeping hammock. Fifi never hurt Gigi, but we weren’t sure what was prompting this behavior.
To address the problem, we tried to limit or eliminate any extra attention or special treatment that Gigi received from us and tailor our daily routine accordingly. Our goal was to make Gigi a full member of the family, without any special privileges. At this point we were separating Gigi from her family briefly each day to give her a bottle, weigh her, and allow her some time alone with solid foods. We suspected that the times when Gigi was separated from the family might be encouraging Fifi’s negative behavior. First we deleted Gigi’s bottles as soon as we could. Next we eliminated her time alone to eat solid foods while carefully monitoring her weight using a remote scale that did not require handling. Fifi soon calmed down after the special privileges lavished on Gigi were discontinued.
On exhibit, Gigi was sometimes included in family activity and other times she was observed sitting or playing alone. We would see Fifi grooming Gigi one minute, then chasing her away the next. We surmised that while Gigi was fitting in well, there were still some subtle lessons (at least they were subtle to us humans) that Gigi still needed to perfect. Even knowing this, it was difficult to observe little Gigi as she struggled to keep up with her family.
We are happy to announce that things are changing for the better now. On April 7,2009, keeper Chad Summers saw a long five-minute nursing bout between Gigi and her mother! (Fifi is still producing milk for Mimi) This was truly a welcome and exciting development. Since the first nursing bout was spotted, we were delighted to see several more.
Curatorial administrative assistant Barbara Nichols is an avid fan of Gigi and a trusted observer. Barbara has followed Gigi’s progress regularly and takes a daily stroll to visit and observe Gigi and her family. Recently Barbara noticed that Gigi was spending more and more time with the family and less time alone. She also noted some new behavior: Gigi has now begun to carefully watch Dru and Mimi closely as they play wildly. Gigi follows Dru and Mimi with her eyes as they wrestle, play fight, and display their incredible agility. Clearly, Gigi is studying up. The most recent nursing bout seen by Barbara was different and was perhaps the most exciting yet. Barbara said that instead of Fifi sitting calmly while Gigi nursed; she saw Fifi put her arms around Gigi in a full embrace, holding her close and tight.
That hug from Fifi is the final snapshot, an image that we have hoped to see from the beginning of this project. Gigi’s bravery and determination have finally paid off; she is now truly part of a whole family. Gigi, way to go!
Janet Hawes is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
Update: The San Diego Zoo is very sad to announce that Wolf’s guenon Gigi died on September 1, 2009. Although Gigi’s integration into a social group was going well, she was caught in the middle of an aggressive interaction between two other monkeys and was injured. Animal care staff immediately rushed the little monkey to our veterinary hospital, but her injuries were too severe, and we made the difficult decision to end her suffering.
We know that many of you have been following her story and will be sad to hear of her passing. Please share your condolences with the animal care staff who have been working so closely with her and are feeling her loss.
Thank you for another great update about sweet Gigi and her ups and downs as she struggles to be accepted in her family. I can picture everything you describe and as usual, felt a little teary by the end. I can’t help but pull for Gigi to be cared for by her family, and particularly, her mother, and hope that things continue to go well for her. When Fifi couldn’t quite find it within herself to offer the tender nurturing that Gigi needed, the wonderful keepers were there to sensitively fill the gap and bolster Gigi’s confidence. You are awesome!
That’s wonderful, Janet! Thanks so very much for letting us know.
This story just made me teary eyed. I hope Gigi’s mom continues to reach out to her and accept her, these latest signs are very encouraging. Please keep us posted as to how she is doing.
Awwww that was such a sweet thing to read and visualize. I hope Gigi’s Mom continues to hug her because all any of us hope for, to be accepted and truly loved by our Moms. Thanks for sharing.
whew you got me scared there for a second…thank god
Thank you so much for this happy, encouraging update. When I visited the zoo and the Wolf’s guenon exhibit a few weeks ago, I was disturbed that adorable Gigi seemed to be left alone while Fifi, Dru and Mimi were grooming each other. But I also observed a determined, confident baby. Barbara Nichols was there and explained the family dynamics. I had previously read the blogs and made it a point to see the family. Please keep us posted. And thanks to all who have cared for Gigi and did so much to make this reintroduction work.
Thank you for the wonderful update. It is great to know that Gigi is now a full ‘fledged’ member of her family with all the rights and privileges from family and keepers that go with that acceptance. She is a strong and brave little monkey, and with her mom’s milk with continue to develop into a strong independent girl. With the extra love, attention, and especially nourishment from Fifi, she will soon be ready to join the wild play between her brother and sister. Way to go Gigi!
What a perfect ending to a perfect story. I am so happy for little Gigi and glad that they are now one big family. Long may they continue. She’s a lovely little thing and deserves to be happy.
I just now read the latest up-date on little Gigi and her family! so happy to hear that things have turned around for the better now. I can’t believe that mama is actually nursing her and holding her close. I wonder what prompted the change of heart! we will probably never know for sure, but we’ll embrace it!
tomorrow is mother’s day and gigi’s mom deserves a gold star and some praise for becoming the mama she should have been to that darling baby right from the beggining! the animal world is full of surprises!
Not only is Gigi happily back with her family, but her mother is spending more time with her and actually giving her hugs! Yayyyyy. It was only a matter of time—how could her Mom not love the darling Gigi?!
Oh now I am so sad. Just when all looked like it was going so well for Gigi and Fifi. I just came back to this post as it was the last one about Gigi and read the note about her. Thank you for providing details about how she died so at least we know it wasn’t something between her and her family. It must be very hard for the staff and keepers who were interacting with her daily. And for Barbara Nichols. I’m so sorry for all of you. Darling Gigi was loved by many. Please accept my condolences however belated.