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About Author: Janet Hawes

Posts by Janet Hawes

4

Visit the Mob

By
Janet Hawes
– April 11, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants

Tinka the parma wallaby graduated from nursery care on February 1, 2012 (see Wallaby Tinka Hops Away). Her introduction to the parma wallaby mob of five adult females has been a resounding success!

Now the mob has taken up residence in an exhibit across from the Zoo’s new 4-D theatre, between Elephant Odyssey and the west end of our popular Skyfari aerial tram. Senior Keeper Elisa Evans says that Tinka is the first wallaby to greet her on the morning check. She is still friendly and super sweet. Although Tinka has grown a lot, you can still pick her out of the crowd, or mob, as a group of marsupials is called. Tinka’s fuzzy coat is grayer in color, and she is still a bit smaller than the rest of the girls.

Please stop by and visit Tinka. She will be just one of the gang, as it should be, sunbathing, feeding, or simply hopping around in the tall grass. We are so proud of her!

Janet Hawes is a lead keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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11

Wallaby Tinka Hops Away

By
Janet Hawes
– February 8, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Uncategorized

Tinka bonds with an adult female parma wallaby.

Be sure to read Janet’s previous post, Wallaby Baby Catches Up.

New Year 2012 brought big, bold changes for our little parma wallaby, Tinka. She made the transition from living in the nursery to staying in the main Zoo with no problems. Now it was time for us to finish preparing Tinka for life with the adult parma wallabys. First, we paired Tinka with a female we call #104. Starting with just one gentle animal was a good way to ease Tinka into a larger social setting. This furry and friendly adult was a good match. We were pleased when the two seemed to bond right away, so we let the pair spend 24 hours a day together.

Next, it was necessary to make several adjustments to Tinka’s diet. On January 11, Tinka received her last bottle feeding; now she would have to rely solely on solid food. Often, when we are transitioning an animal from a liquid diet of formula to solid food we offer various temporary, transitional diet items just like you would a human toddler. Transitional foods help the animal accept solids more readily, and for Tinka these included fresh, leafy greens like lettuce, kale, and spinach along with browse and herbivore pellets soaked in water. Next, we had to gradually delete treats and offer Tinka only the adult diet: dry pellets. True to form, Tinka adjusted without incident. Her weight continued upward as she consumed her new, abbreviated menu.

Our final step—this was the big one—was to permanently wean Tinka of access to her beloved and comfy artificial pouch. There was no doubt that Tinka was ready for this step; judging by her size, there was simply no way she would fit into a female’s pouch, as her weight had climbed to 3.5 pounds (1.5 kilograms)! Still, life without the pouch she grew up in would clearly represent a big change.

Tinka spent her first night without an artificial pouch on January 28. We stationed a heater, called a pig blanket, under a cozy shelter in the pen to keep her warm. Pig blankets are special heated mats used for livestock. Electric coils inside the sturdy, plastic mat keep the substrate warm. We placed one of her familiar blankets nearby on the first night for added comfort. Once again, Tinka did not disappoint us and quickly adjusted beautifully.

Tinka, now a soft, fuzzy, and friendly wallaby, was ready for her final graduation: living with the rest of the “ladies” in the wallaby group. By this time, construction on the Zoo’s new Australian Outback area had begun in earnest. The old enclosures were being removed to make way for beautiful new ones. There was to be lots of noise, dust, and commotion, three things that the shy wallabies don’t appreciate. Therefore, the wallaby group was moved to a temporary pen to make them more comfortable during construction. Tinka joined them on the morning of February 1, 2012.

We packed Tinka into a transfer crate and drove her over to the new quarters. Her companion, #104, was crated, and keepers followed close behind. The new area consists of a large, flat outdoor pen with an attached, covered barn structure. Keeper Joann Haddad moved the parma group outside into the pen and closed the barn door in preparation for Tinka’s arrival. When we arrived, the barn was clean and empty for Tinka to explore alone. I sat with her inside the barn to get her settled as the adults waited on the other side of the barn door in the sunny yard. Tinka came out of the crate calmly and sniffed around. She was alert and curious about the new digs. After a few minutes, we placed #104 in the barn area with us. Things were going well, so we continued the introduction. Keeper Joann slowly slid the barn door open. Light streamed across the floor as Tinka hopped from the shade into the sunshine outside. Female #104 stayed close to Tinka as the others stopped by to check Tinka out.

We are proud that Tinka took this last step with as much courage as she had all the previous ones. That small, hairless, and fragile joey that depended on our very best care is now grown up. Our time with Tinka has ended, but her adventures are just beginning. Thank you, Tinka. It’s been a real pleasure, and we wish you well.

Janet Hawes is a lead keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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10

Wallaby Baby Catches Up

By
Janet Hawes
– January 9, 2012Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Uncategorized

Tinka peeks out of her larger pouch.

Be sure to read Janet’s previous post, Wallaby Baby: New Coat, New Adventures.

We knew that Tinka, a parma wallaby, was small for her age since her arrival in the San Diego Zoo’s Neonatal Assisted Care Unit. All along, one of our main focuses was to encourage her to eat and gain weight. We surmised that since her mom had been so ill, either the quantity or quality (or both) of Mom’s milk wasn’t enough for the baby to attain a normal size. We weighed Tinka every morning before her first bottle, and we found that she gained weight nearly every day. Though her weight climbed, it was never enough to compensate, and she remained 30 to 50 percent of normal size range. The statistics we had on normal baby parma growth ended at around 200 days. Now we were in uncharted territory, unable to determine exactly how Tinka was doing.

We noticed that Tinka’s muscular tail and legs were looking more substantial. She developed an endearing little pad of fat under her chin, characteristic of the species. We decided to check with some other zoos to see if there was any weight data available on joeys Tinka’s age. Cooperation between zoos in sharing information like this is vital. There aren’t many zoos that have an organized hand-rearing program. Fewer have experience with marsupials, and even fewer still have had experience with parma wallabies. We were lucky to find that the Cleveland Zoo had raised a parma wallaby recently, had kept excellent records, and were willing to share them with us.

Tinka and Janet enjoy some play time in the nursery.

When we compared Tinka’s weight to the animal from Cleveland, we were surprised with what we found: our little girl was now 80 percent normal size! Tinka had been experiencing what is known as compensatory growth, which occurs when a small animal “catches up” to normal weight. We were delighted with this finding.

By now, Tinka was consuming solids well, jumping out of her pouch as soon as a fresh food pan was placed in her enclosure. Her favorite food was freshly chopped greens. She had become so wide (especially across the backside) that she was having trouble wiggling into her small pouch. Her fore end made it through the opening easily, but the back end was a struggle! We provided her with a larger, roomier model made from the same design. Tinka, our once-fragile neonate was now a healthy parma youngster. It was time for her to graduate from the nursery.

Tinka hops out of her nursery bedroom.

One of the most common questions I am asked as a nursery keeper is, “Don’t you miss them when they are gone? Aren’t you sad when they leave the nursery?” My answer is always the same. When an animal is ready to move on, it means that we have fulfilled our role. The aim from the start was not to make the animal into our pet, and the focus was never about the relationship between the animal and the keeper. Instead, the focus is on graduating a healthy, well-adjusted animal that will go on to lead a productive life. It is impossible not to look back on rearing an animal without some sense of letting go. But that was the plan all along, and now it was Tinka’s time.

The koala keepers prepared a nice temporary space for Tinka in an off-exhibit area. We outfitted it with some logs and hay and hung a heater above one of her pouches. Though she was used to visiting with the adults and spending time in a pen by herself every day, she returned to the nursery for overnight stays. On December 26, Tinka left the nursery for the last time. That evening, nursery keepers went out to visit Tinka in the early evening to check on her, and she seemed fine. Tinka was settled and stress free the following morning, having spent a comfortable night tucked in her heated pouch.
Tinka continues her socialization. A gentle adult female was selected to serve as a companion, and Tinka spends her days in a warm and sunny pen behind the Zoo’s parma wallaby enclosure. Soon, Tinka will be introduced to all the “girls” in the group. We have decreased her feedings to just one abbreviated bottle in the morning, and her weight continues to climb.

Janet Hawes is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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11

Wallaby Baby: New Coat, New Adventures

By
Janet Hawes
– November 8, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Uncategorized

Tinka enjoys a special milk formula from the safety of her manmade pouch.

Be sure to read Janet’s previous post, Parma Wallaby Baby: Life in the Pouch.

We had been keeping Tinka’s environment quiet, comforting, and secure to simulate the environment of her mother’s pouch. Now the emergence of Tinka’s new coat meant that it was time for her to begin stepping out in the world. It was also time for us to change some of our care techniques.

The first step was to change her milk formula. Finding just the right milk formula at the proper time is one of many complex responsibilities of our Nutritional Services Division. Just imagine creating a healthy diet for hundreds of species of exotic birds, mammals, and reptiles, both here at the San Diego Zoo and at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park! It is a tall order but is probably most complicated when dealing with exotic neonates like Tinka. We are inordinately lucky to have a staff of on-site nutritionists at our disposal, and ours are the best in the world.

Biolac is the name of the product that we use to bottle-feed pouched mammals like Tinka. This dry powder is specially formulated and balanced to provide all essential nutrients needed for growth and good health. Biolac comes in three formulations to match stages of development, much like some products for human babies.

Since her arrival in the nursery, we had been feeding Tinka powdered Biolac M100. The powder is carefully measured and mixed with water. The first-stage powder is intended for joeys in the most unformed, hairless state. Now that fur had developed it was time for the switch to the next formulation, called M150. It is important not to make drastic diet changes quickly, so our Zoo nutritionists helped us design a plan for switching Tinka over slowly. We added only 25 percent of the new powder every four days to ease the transition until it was complete. Tinka did fine, and her weight continued to climb.

Tinka’s teeth were coming in, a signal that it was also time to introduce solid foods and begin the weaning process. To wean an animal, we gradually decrease the number of bottle feedings given per day and offer solid foods to replace them. The natural diet of the parma wallaby includes leaves and grasses, which are high in plant fiber. Wallabys rely on bacterial fermentation to help them digest their food. If Tinka were being reared by her mom in the natural situation, she would be exposed to bacteria every day. To simulate this natural process, we do a series of transfaunations. We take a tiny amount of fresh poop from the adult group and feed it to the baby. This process inoculates the joey’s gut with the beneficial bacterial that is necessary for proper digestion. Once the transfaunations were complete, we began offering Tinka some solid foods. The adult diet is composed mainly of a pellet made for wild herbivores. We were surprised that Tinka liked her pellets from the beginning, sometime preferring the softer soaked ones, and other times munching on the hard, crunchy dry ones.

Tinka enjoys the outdoors.

Along with the solid food, social time was added to her daily routine. Each day we brought Tinka out to a nice roomy pen behind the adult parma wallaby enclosure. This off-exhibit area was perfect because it was big and sunny with trees and dirt, all new to Tinka. The best part was that after Tinka was used to the pen area, we could open a small partition and allow her to socialize with an adult female parma wallaby.

From the beginning, Tinka loved her excursions outside the nursery. She stretched out in the warm sun and enjoyed the freedom of hopping around and exploring. We could not believe how fast she could move around and how coordinated she was. Tinka’s brief nose-to-nose encounters with the adult female parma wallaby were brief but positive. When the two animals spotted each other, they did a rapid headshake movement, complete with a hilarious ear vibration. This traditional greeting, performed when parmas meet, was all new to Tinka, but she displayed it perfectly on her own without ever having seen it before.

Gone were the days of the incubator environment. Tinka was living in a cozy box pen in the nursery with only a heat disk necessary to keep her pouch warm. Tinka’s new coat made it possible for her to explore a new exciting world and to form new relationships.

Janet Hawes is a lead keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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5

Parma Wallaby Baby: Life in the Pouch

By
Janet Hawes
– October 14, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Uncategorized

Tinka peeks out of her surrogate pouch at six months of age.

Read Janet’s previous post, A Pocketful of Fun: Parma Wallaby Baby.

We use developmental markers rather than birth dates to determine gestational age in marsupials.  Some of these markers include eyes open or closed; ears pinned or erect; and the presence, location, and amount of body fur. When she arrived in the San Diego Zoo’s Neonatal Assisted Care Unit, Tinka’s eyes were opened, but her ears were still pinned to her head, and she had thin, pink skin with no body fur whatsoever. These markers told us that Tinka was very young and vulnerable. We were careful not to be too confident about her survival.

Janet attends to Tinka in her pouch.

We were grateful to gain the valuable experience of caring for a marsupial this young and unformed. In those first few weeks, we said each day “I can’t believe she is still with us!” Tinka gained weight very slowly and slept soundly in her pouch between feedings. We kept things in the back room where she was housed very quiet and peaceful for her to simulate the environment inside her mom’s pouch. We carefully bathed her sensitive skin, monitored the environment, and kept our voices low and her bottle feedings on time as we patiently waited for signs of development.

Peek-a-boo, Tinka!

The first subtle sign of change came in mid-July, when we noticed her right ear standing up a bit better. Her left one stubbornly lagged behind and remained pinned, giving her a comical, lopsided look for a while. Next came a few downy-soft whiskers above her eyes and around her muzzle. By the end of July, there was a subtle darkening of the skin along her back, on her muzzle, and top of her head. Then, a miracle of sorts: Tinka began to sprout fine peach fuzz in the darkened areas. We were delighted with these developments but remained downright superstitious about naming Tinka. She was still so tiny and helpless; we had a long way to go.

A bottle with a special nipple is used to feed tiny Tinka.

Tinka became somewhat of a princess, resting in her cozy pouch just waiting for the next bottle and more attention to arrive. She used her tiny hands to push away an unwanted bottle or kicked and hissed when grooming went on a little long. We offered Tinka water by a syringe to prevent dehydration, which she alternatively loved and gratefully accepted or utterly rejected by a lofty turn of the head. We discovered that she had many interesting ways of communicating her likes and dislikes (the latter category being larger than the former!) with her caretakers. She had us all willingly stepping and fetching.

By mid-September, Tinka’s peach fuzz had become fur. We looked back on those early photos of her when she was pink and totally naked and couldn’t believe she ever looked like the strange pterodactyl-like creature.

Janet and Tinka have a bonding moment.

Now Tinka could stand and hop around a little on her own. She began using the small vertical slit in the pouch to enter and exit as she pleased, although her first attempts were upsetting because getting out was easier than getting back in. We helped her a few times, and she soon got the hang of it.

Our Tinka was growing up, and now it was time to switch gears. Life in the pouch was about to change…

Janet Hawes is a lead keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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10

A Pocket Full of Fun: Parma Wallaby Baby

By
Janet Hawes
– October 4, 2011Posted in: Animal Stories, Animals and Plants, Uncategorized

This photo was taken just 10 days after Tinka was found on the ground, ejected from her mother's pouch.

We are very pleased to be able to show off our beautiful little parma wallaby baby here in the San Diego Zoo’s Neonatal Assisted Care Unit. Though little Tinka (an Aboriginal name meaning “daylight”) has been with us now for nearly three months, we have kept her out of the public view to provide the proper care for her.

Here's Tinka when she was still in her mother's pouch at about six weeks of age. Photo taken April 7, 2011.

Our veterinarians and nutritionists were keeping a close eye on Tinka’s mom, who was losing weight and had some health problems. They knew that this female had a young joey (baby) in her pouch, so she was monitored closely for several weeks. (It was estimated that the joey was born on February 22, 2011, and crawled up into her mother’s pouch soon after, as all marsupial joeys do.) On the morning of July 5, keepers found a tiny female joey weighing only 71 grams (only a little over 2 ounces!) lying on the ground at the morning check. The hairless baby had been ejected from her mother’s pouch and was dirty and cold. Veterinarians were alerted and the animal was immediately transferred to the Zoo’s Jennings Center for Zoological Medicine.

Meg Sutherland-Smith, D.V.M., was on hand to attend to Tinka. She examined the baby, carefully rinsed the dirt from Tinka’s eyes, ears, and mouth, started her on antibiotics, and gave her some fluids. Tinka was soon strong and stable enough to be transferred to the Neonatal Assisted Care Unit in the Zoo’s Children’s Zoo for further care.

Pouch young like Tinka that have been orphaned or rejected provide us with some special challenges. Since marsupials are born very tiny and unformed (about the size of a kidney bean), they continue to develop inside the mother’s pouch after birth. Once ejected from Mom’s pouch, we must offer a substitute because these fragile youngsters will not survive without it. We provide an artificial pouch developed and designed by the Melbourne Zoo in Australia. The pouch provides a place where the baby feels safe and secure. It is suspended in an incubator so the young animal will be kept warm and moist. Since the skin is hairless, fragile, and thin, we must care for and maintain it. We apply a special lotion and take care to keep everything immaculately clean.

Next, since these petite babies have such a tiny, narrow palate and shallow suckling response, they require a unique nipple. The marsupial nipple is soft, long, and narrow. In addition to the special nipple, we also have to provide a particular artificial milk formula. This formula comes to us all the way from Australia and is formulated specifically for marsupials.

To further simulate the environment of the pouch, we must keep the environment calm. Lights are dimmed and voices are kept low. Young joeys can be prone to stress, so we try to take tender, empathetic care at all times. We disturbed Tinka only at bottle-feeding times, which took place every three hours around the clock for weeks. We tenderly bathed her sensitive skin, applied lotion, and monitored the incubator environment carefully.

Tinka soon learned to communicate with us with a series of soft vocalizations and body gestures. A miniscule hiss meant that she was not pleased with our cautious labors, and a shove with her miniscule hands told us she had had enough formula. We soon found out that for one so small, Tinka has a lot of personality and an opinion on every subject!

Janet Hawes is a lead keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Little Guenon and Mother.

Note: Janet will send us another post describing Tinka’s development. In the meantime, we have a video of Tinka, now 7 1/2 months old, if you would like a “sneak peek.”

Update: Ten new pouches for Tinka have been purchased! Thank you to all who contributed on our Wish List!

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11

Little Guenon and Mother

By
Janet Hawes
– April 27, 2009Posted in: Apes and Monkeys

Gigi

Gigi at five months

Installment #6
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.

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0

Little Guenon, Big Step

By
Janet Hawes
– March 12, 2009Posted in: Animal Stories, Apes and Monkeys

Installment #5
Read Installment #4: Little Guenon, Big Sister

Gigi snuggles with Mimi.

Gigi snuggles with Mimi.

Things continued to go well for Gigi. The relationship between Gigi and her sister, Mimi, was consistently positive, as was her relationship with brother Dru. Most of the time, mom Fifi was patient with and even affectionate toward Gigi. However, we occasionally saw Fifi separate the two girls when they played with each other or sat together, encouraging Mimi to nurse from her briefly. Sometimes, Fifi would carry Mimi away from Gigi. It seemed as if Fifi was unsure about this new relationship that took up so much of her older daughter’s time. Even though we didn’t always understand the dynamics of what was going on with the new family, the Wolf’s guenons did and were working things out among themselves.

Our next step was to prepare Gigi for spending the nights with her family. The guenons often sleep in a cozy hammock suspended from the ceiling. The hammock is made of clean, soft burlap and is large enough for several guenons to sleep together. To encourage Gigi to sleep in a hammock, we strung one up for her in her nursery in the Children’s Zoo and moved all her favorite items into it. Gigi got the “hang” of the hammock and began to use it every night.

Gigi’s first sleepover with the guenons occurred on February 13, 2009. This was Gigi’s last big step. Instead of returning Gigi to the nursery in the late afternoon, nursery keepers fed Gigi her last bottle of the day in the guenons’ bedroom area. We were happy to see that, after drinking her warm bottle that night, Gigi climbed into the hammock to sleep with her sister. The next morning, Gigi appeared rested and had even gained some weight. Our Gigi was a full-fledged member of the guenon family!

These days we have new challenges with Gigi, which are the kind of challenges you really want to have. Sometimes Mimi is holding on to Gigi with such loyalty and devotion that it is difficult to separate the two for weigh-ins or feedings. Gigi has a few more lessons to perfect, like how to forage for food quickly. Until she does, she is briefly separated from the family so she can get enough of the choice food items before a savvy member of the guenon family snatches them up.

As we drop Gigi’s last few bottle feedings, we reflect upon her success. Gigi lives her days surrounded by her cohesive and intelligent family. She continues to gain weight and confidence as she grows. We are proud of Gigi and wish her well.

Janet Hawes is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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0

It Takes a Village to Raise a Gorilla

By
Janet Hawes
– March 11, 2009Posted in: Animal Stories, Apes and Monkeys

Frank and his Aunt Imani

Frank and his Aunt Imani

At the San Diego Zoo, 11-year-old lowland gorilla female Azizi was trying hard to care for her firstborn baby. Frank, a healthy male, was born September 4, 2008. Azizi, who was hand reared, was cradling the infant and keeping him close to her body to provide warmth. Though Frank weighed in at a whopping 2.46 kilograms (almost 5½ pounds, big for a newborn gorilla), he still had not been observed nursing by the second day of life. Animal care staff intervened to assess the situation. Frank’s blood glucose was low, as was his body temperature. After correcting for these conditions, we returned him to his mother, but Azizi refused to pick him up. Clearly we had to take over for Azizi, at least temporarily, but we were determined to only help Azizi with Frank while promoting and preserving their early bond. We were careful to never separate the two as we cared for Frank. (See blog, Gorilla Born at the San Diego Zoo.)

Instead of bringing Frank to the Zoo’s nursery facility, we decided to set up a satellite nursery inside the gorilla building close to Azizi so that the two would maintain as much contact as possible. Rather than hand rearing this infant as we have done with previous gorilla infants needing assistance, we decided to try a “rear assisting” program, letting Azizi raise Frank while we simply helped her. Nursery and mammal keepers would work together to provide support for Azizi until she could take over full time.

For the first five days, Frank needed to be housed inside an incubator to maintain his body temperature. After that, we set up a crib and a play area in the hallway where Frank could see and hear his family and they would be constantly aware of him, too. As humans, we do not fully understand all the information that is transmitted from mother or family member to the infant gorilla in the first days and weeks of life. There are no doubt many important lessons that an infant gorilla would miss if reared by humans. As much as we could, we were determined to let the gorillas raise Frank so that he could fully benefit from their care.

Frank was a strong baby, and he ate and gained weight well. Because we were so confident with Azizi’s early maternal care, we were able to give Frank back to her earlier than we have with previous gorilla infants cared for in our nursery. On day 16, we gave Azizi a chance to hold Frank. She was a bit clumsy at first, but little Frank was held and surrounded by his gorilla family.

Each week we increased the time that Frank stayed with his family. Highly intelligent, he soon learned to come into a small room for his bottle feedings. Now it wasn’t only Azizi who was enjoying the new addition to the gorilla group, as the other two adult females were gradually allowed to hold and play with Frank. Both 13-year-old Imani and 14-year-old Ndjia were excited to get a chance to interact with him. Frank’s dance card was full as all three females vied for his attention. Even Frank’s father, Paul Donn, allowed Frank to approach. A gentle (though huge) finger was always extended as a greeting. By 5½ months of age, little Frank was spending all night with the gorillas and was reliably coming to animal care staff for bottle feedings.

Keepers gradually introduced Frank to the huge, lush exhibit at the Zoo’s Gorilla Tropics so that he would be comfortable in the area. On the morning of March 6, 2009, Frank made his exhibit debut with his family. It was his aunt, Imani, who carried Frank outside into the exhibit for the first time. Frank was relaxed as he explored the exhibit or was carried about by his trio of eager gorilla “mothers.”

One might never guess that this confident little six-month-old gorilla was rear-assisted by a dedicated staff of animal services personnel who had his best interests at heart. We could never have accomplished such a successful project without an awesome and gentle family of gorillas to give him back to.

Janet Hawes is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Watch video of Frank’s first day on exhibit with his family
See more photos of Frank in What’s New?

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0

Little Guenon, Big Sister

By
Janet Hawes
– March 3, 2009Posted in: Animal Stories, Apes and Monkeys

Installment #4
Read Installment #3: Little Guenon, Big Exhibit

Gigi was adjusting well to her daily visits to the San Diego Zoo’s Monkey Trails habitat, so we began to increase the time she spent with her family. Her day was now challenging and full. Following a morning weigh-in, Gigi received the first of four bottle feedings at 6 a.m. Then she was packed up and taken to Monkey Trails by 6:30 a.m, not to return to the Children’s Zoo nursery until late afternoon. Her family was anxiously awaiting her arrival and gathered to welcome her. Gigi spent each day in the company of guenons; even her bottle feedings were accomplished remotely without handling. Gigi nursed from her bottle, which was fed through the wire mesh, then went happily about her other activities. Many improvements to her relationships began to surface.

The Wolf’s guenon family was given free access to the exhibit during Gigi’s visits. They had free choice to hang out with Gigi in the bedroom area or to go into the exhibit at any time. They overwhelming chose to stay inside with Gigi. Her dad was tolerant but dignified, surveying his growing family calmly. Brother Dru was a model big brother. He played often and roughly with his sister Mimi. Their play consisted of well-planned attacks against each other, often times from precarious heights punctuated by retreats and tumbles executed throughout the day. However, when Dru played with Gigi, he checked his own behavior and enthusiasm appropriately. When Gigi reached out for Dru, he responded with great care and restraint.

Mom Fifi was constantly in touch, not carrying Gigi as we had hoped, but paying nearly constant attention to her youngest daughter and her activities. Big sister Mimi was the guenon that we were most concerned about. From the beginning, Mimi had shown some rough behavior toward her little sister. Looking back on the time that Mimi displaced Gigi at birth, we were concerned that Mimi would continue to view Gigi as a threat. We could only hope that over time, Mimi would mellow as she realized that Gigi would not replace her or dilute her relationship with her mother.

Gigi was becoming increasingly brave. She left her “safe” place more often and for longer and longer periods of time. Gigi began to hop, play, and climb inside the bedrooms, gathering food items and reaching out to her family. She could reliably be seen sitting on top of Dru’s tail, or suspended above her mother’s head practicing an occasional surprise overhead drop. Eventually, Gigi became brave enough to leave the bedroom and enter the exhibit all by herself. Leticia Plasencia, a senior mammal keeper, was on hand the first time this happened and was able to observe the outcome. Gigi enjoyed the exhibit for some time, playing and exploring. Eventually Gigi decided she had enough and wanted back inside the bedrooms for a rest. Faced with the daunting task of making her way back inside alone, Gigi cried for help. Wisely, keeper Leticia decided to wait and be patient rather than rush in to help Gigi too quickly. Leticia realized that Gigi had the skills and experience to solve the problem on her own. Eventually, Gigi settled down, found her way back into the bedroom by herself, and was calm. She had now mastered the important skill of coming and going on her own as she pleased.

Wild animals are famous for making us feel foolish by doing exactly the opposite of what we expect them to do. We expected that an experienced mom like Fifi would take care of Gigi eventually, but the guenons had a different plan. On one of Leticia’s frequent trips to check on the introduction, she witnessed an unexpected turn of events. Surprisingly, it was Mimi who was carrying her little sister Gigi! The two were instantly and inexplicably inseparable. Later that same day, Mimi carried her new buddy into the exhibit with the family. Mimi took her to several places in the exhibit, including the top of the highest rock area. All was calm, and Gigi enjoyed a long play session in the sunshine. From that day forward, the relationship between the two girls shifted. Mimi stepped into a new role as mentor and began to show consistent support for her sister, Gigi.

Janet Hawes is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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