Although she is “up there” in age, Vila is in excellent health, has a good appetite, and normal behavior. She does have some age-related issues, so she does get senior vitamins and medicine for arthritis, which works well: she has no trouble getting around.

Living in Southern California helps as well, as the temperate climate is very easy on an aging gorilla, and even though she is missing a few teeth, corn on the cob is one of her favorite foods and she never misses a kernel!

When Vila goes on exhibit in the morning, we always say she looks like a powdered donut because bits of hay always stick to her! She likes to play with or cover herself in whatever she can find inside (hay, excelsior, paper towels) and it shows. For some reason, these items don’t stick to the other gorillas with quite the same grip!

Vila’s only child, Alvila, resides at the San Diego Zoo as do several of Vila’s grandchildren and her great-grandson, Frank (see post Frank the Gorilla: First Year). Frank the Gorilla: First Year She also has two great-great grandchildren at the Park, Jamani and Ajari. Vila has been a surrogate mom to many others and a mentor to many (including Winston, who needed some instruction on proper gorilla behavior), establishing herself as a very integral member of the Park’s gorilla troop.

We fully expect Vila to add years and years to the longevity record!

Peggy Sexton is a senior keeper at the Wild Animal Park.

Although the San Diego Zoo has a significant amount of experience and a tremendous amount of success hand-rearing great apes, we recognized that we could only teach an infant gorilla so much about how to become a successful adult. We weighed the pros and cons of our level of interaction and determined the threshold for how much impact our influence would have compared to that of his family. We knew we could teach Frank some of the tools he would need to keep him healthy, but we knew we would never be able to teach him how to “speak” gorilla. The fact that the females in his family (mom Azizi and aunts Imani and Ndjia) were all inexperienced moms, we hoped that raising Frank as a team would allow them to get practice in the skills that make a mother successful. (Read post, It Takes a Village to Raise a Gorilla.)

As a bunch of self-described “primate nerds,” we looked for some of the more subtle signals that would indicate a mutual learning process. The most obvious was transportation and locomotion. Generally speaking, we look for milestones in physical aptitude, and we start with the most basic: knuckle walking, climbing, and riding on the adult females’ backs. Although the physical adaptations for knuckle walking already exist, it does take some practice to get it right, and most infants begin their first forays into walking with an open hand (or palmer) approach. It takes a few months of practice, but one can see the subtle movements that lead to a more curled under, traditional knuckle walk.

We waited and watched, and Frank grasped this skill right on time. The trick then becomes determining when to open your hands for climbing and gaining enough balance to knuckle your way up onto an uneven surface (logs, rocks, etc.). When you look at some of Franks photos, you can see how his hands are much more parallel with the ground than the adults’ hands are when he climbs. Although he is using his knuckles to make contact, he is still putting most of his weight on his palm and hands. Subtle, but really fascinating if you’re a primate nerd!

Climbing was a little bit easier and came on much more effortlessly than the whole knuckle-walking thing. We made sure he had plenty of climbing opportunities in his bedroom area, and of course grasping is one of the first physical skills that develop in infant primates. As soon as a baby primate is born, he or she needs to be able to grasp on to Mom even while sleeping. The transition from using this skill on Mom to using it on a rope or a tree is generally a smooth one. This was certainly the case with Frank, and we often marveled over how someone that was so ungainly on all fours could happily suspend himself by one hand. This has now evolved into some pretty tricky moves in which he can suspend himself by his right hand while beating his chest with the left. Then comes the need to coordinate the feet in the whole climbing process, sometimes keeping a firm grasp on one object with his foot while negotiating a gap with his upper body. This still results in a sloppy tumble about half the time, but he maintains the confidence to keep trying, which is another trait that is reinforced by his close relationship with his family.

Being transported dorsally (on the back) or ventrally (on the chest) by one of the females is also something that takes a team effort. The females do most of the work to get him into position, but he needs to recognize the signals and cooperate a bit when the position gets awkward. Most female primates develop their own style when it comes to transporting a baby, and these three girls are no different. Azizi is the master of the ventral hold and is not real keen on the dorsal hook up. Ndjia is pretty good with both, but often prefers what we call the “furry football” approach in which she carries him by the rump with his arms and legs wrapped around her forearm. It’s a bumpy ride and Ndjia’s limp (from a leg injury as a juvenile) makes it look pretty uncoordinated. It suits her personality, however, and it sets her up nicely for a perfect tumble in which she ends up laying on her back with Frank in perfect tickle position.

Aunt Imani gives Frank a lift.

Paul Donn hangs out with his little son.

Before Frank was born, it was not uncommon for the three females to spend most of the day in proximity to one another while Paul rested in his favorite nap spot on the other side of the exhibit. About two months ago we started to see a subtle migration of the females to the periphery of Paul’s nap spot. Now, more and more frequently we can see the troop within visual contact of one another and the females spending less time out of range from their silverback. Paul and Frank have an incredible bond, and when they are inside it is usually the two of them who spend the most time together, which in turn draws the females in closer due to Frank.

Once again, the little guy’s impact on the entire troop has been almost immeasurable and has been the key to our goal of allowing these magnificent animals to express natural, normal gorilla behavior so that we can share that special connection with our guests. Please join us for the San Diego Zoo’s Discovery Days: Absolutely Apes, presented by Bridgeport Education, September 17 to 20, and learn more about all of our amazing great apes. Frank is serving as the San Diego Zoo’s ambassador for the WAZA (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums) 2009 Year of the Gorilla celebration.

Greg Vicino is an animal care supervisor at the San Diego Zoo. He’ll be presenting a talk about Frank at during a Special Speakers program at the Zoo on Wednesday, September 30.

See video of Frank’s story

Read more posts about apes and monkeys

Spot-nosed guenon Abu

Swamp monkey Msafiri

As for the 14 monkeys now living in this part of Lost Forest, life has certainly been exciting! All of these moves were completed in just two days, which certainly put our training program to the test! Hard work and cooperative monkeys paid off, and everyone is adjusting very well to their new digs, especially our lively youngsters, Shaba, Layla, Deiriai, and Kasai. And just when things were starting to settle down, Marbelina gave birth to yet another baby, bringing our grand total to five kids under the age of three! With our three adult swamp monkeys outnumbered, spot-nosed guenons Abu and Patty are often seen keeping this kindergarten entertained. To better understand the dynamics in the lower exhibit, I’d like to introduce some of them:

Schmidt’s spot-nosed guenon Patty is our oldest resident at 25 years old. Although she is very tolerant and protective of the kids, she spends the majority of her day lounging around in the bamboo climbing structure. Spot-nosed guenon Abu, on the other hand, is a frisky 15-year-old male and spends most of his day entertaining the kids. It’s a wonderful sight to watch Abu patiently snack on treats while four young swamp monkeys mob him for leftovers. He is very active and probably our most visible monkey in the exhibit. One of his favorite pastimes includes rocking a swing at the top of the bamboo structure. He doesn’t sit IN the swing though; he reserves that for one or two of the swamp monkey kids!

Our adult male swamp monkey, Koni, is a favorite to many people who watched him grow up here at the San Diego Zoo, starting in the Children’s Zoo nursery! He was born in 1998 via c-section and spent the first few months at the nursery. He was successfully reintroduced to his family and grew up in this area. He’s lived in both upper and lower exhibits and knew right where all the best hiding spots were as soon as he came back. Having grown up with African spotted-necked otters, Koni is often seen playing with the otters that share this exhibit. Quick as lightening, he can grab an otter right out of the water! Don’t worry about the otters, though; they get Koni back by sneaking up for a quick goose when he’s not paying attention!

Swamp monkey Marbelina with her newest baby, Walialu

Next up, we have another adult female, 10-year-old Murrie. She came to us as a frisky 2-year-old and is now Mom to our two girls, Layla and Deiriai. A few years ago, Murrie sustained a nasty bite on the hand. The injury turned severe pretty quickly, and Murrie’s left hand was amputated. She made a full recovery and shows no signs of slowing down! Murrie is most often seen sitting in the climbing structure grooming her oldest daughter, Layla. Murrie actually gave birth to both of her girls the last time she was living in this area, and we are happy to have them all back with us.

Layla, our oldest juvenile, was born in August of 2006 (read Baby Swamp Monkey). She reminds me a lot of her mom: brave and defiant! Layla often leads the group during the hot afternoon pool time. She loves the water and is often seen diving in the pool right under guest viewing!

Our second-oldest swamp monkey kid is Shaba. He was born here May 2007, quickly teaming up with Layla to wreck havoc! Shaba is a very independent boy who loves to hang out with his best buddy, Abu. If trouble is brewing, Shaba and Abu seem to always be right in the middle of it.

Next in line is Murrie’s other little girl, Deiriai. Born September 2007, she spent just a few months here before the troop left. Deiriai is a very sweet little girl, but due to an altercation with another monkey, spent some time at the Zoo’s hospital (see Deiriai the Swamp Monkey) As a result of the hospital staff’s excellent care and attention, Deiriai is much friendlier to people than some of our other wild kids. I’m happy to say that our little girl made a full recovery and hasn’t looked back! Although a full year younger than her sister, Dee is always right where the action is.

Our second-to-last little guy is 1-year-old Kasai. He’s still adjusting to not being the “baby” anymore. Since Marbie is busy with her new infant, Kasai spends a lot of time with dad Koni. It’s heartwarming to see how good Koni is with all of his kids, and especially with little Kasai. This small tyke may be the bravest kid in the bunch, however, and is the first to run up to keepers for snacks! Kasai’s natural boy instincts also have him trying to keep up with his older brother, Shaba, and their rock-star big buddy, Abu.

This leaves us with our brand-new little boy, Walialu. Marbie gave birth late in the day on June 29, 2009, while still on exhibit. By the time we brought her into the bedroom, Wali was staring at everything and everyone around him. He hasn’t been with us long, but everyone has already fallen madly in love with this little guy and is sad to hear he will be leaving. If all goes as planned, Marbelina, Wali, Kasai, and Koni are scheduled to go to Metro Richmond Zoo in Virginia sometime in October. Marbelina has been on loan to the San Diego Zoo, and it’s time for her to head home. In exchange, we’ll hopefully be welcoming a new male to take the place of Koni. We’ll be busy yet again while everyone gets settled down, but as always, I’ll keep you posted!

Nerissa Foland is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

We have not yet confirmed the babies’ genders, but we suspect they are females. We let the mother take care of the babies, and we do not interfere unless there are complications. They stay close to their mothers, which makes them difficult to sex. Once the babies start getting more confident, they will spend more time away from their mothers when they are close to us.
Tevy’s baby gets around very well and is a great climber. Adamena’s baby is learning fast. This mother is very protective of her baby; she doesn’t let her baby travel too far away. Tevy, on the other hand, is an experienced mother and is very laid back.

The babies like to play with Zoe, who is considered a subadult (not a juvenile but not quite an adult). Tevy’s baby especially is fond of Zoe; she will follow her around and grab onto her whenever she passes. Zoe tolerates the babies and for the most part seems to enjoy interacting with them. Come watch them on the Sun Bear Trial in the Zoo’s Asian Passage zone.

Beth McDonald is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read Beth’s previous post, Keeping Up with Lion-Tailed Macaques.

Their food is presented differently every day, too. They get fed five times a day and, as a Zoo visitor, you can watch them hunt and manipulate their food and enrichment twice a day. The first feeding and enrichment is in the morning between 8 and 10, and the second is in the afternoon between 1 and 2:30. Don’t worry if you miss their release onto exhibit, because they can be found throughout the day foraging for food, hunting for insects, grooming each other, and interacting with their enrichment—such fun to watch!

Antoinette, Adam, and Etienne

Adam is the dominant male and is the oldest macaque in our troop, born at the Woodland Park Zoo in 1984. He has two distinct characteristics to his personality: easy going or mischievous. Adam is kind of aloof to or confused by the female dynamics of this troop. He is a very good-looking male lion-tailed macaque, and he is unmistakable on exhibit as he is significantly larger than the females.

Etienne is the dominant female, born at the Wild Animal Park in 1994. She is strong, VERY confident, and acts as if she believes herself to be the troop’s boss. No one challenges Etienne: she is “Number One” in the troop. Etienne rules mostly by dominance displays rather than aggressive threats. She walks with a strut and can easily be identified by the way she carries herself on exhibit. Etienne is very beautiful and has the shiniest coat.

Antoinette (pictured above) is just under Etienne in the troop’s social ranking, yet she is the largest of the females. She will displace lower-ranking females to keep her “Number Two” spot, mostly by aggressive threatening. Antoinette is always hunting, either for browse she can reach or insects she can find. She really enjoys playing with all the enrichment she gets. Antoinette can be identified by her large size and shorter tail. Born at the Wild Animal Park in 1992, she is the largest female. Antoinette has the same father as Etienne.

Marie is the oldest female, born at the Zoo in 1986. She is very wise and confident but stays out of the way. In her day, she was the dominant female of her own troop. Today, when challenged by the other females, Marie, who is the smallest and is out-weighed by several kilograms, will hold her own and not back down. Etienne is respectful of Marie, usually does not displace her, and will defend her, if necessary. Marie is significantly smaller than the others, and her middle finger on her right hand does not bend. She has the same mother as Etienne.

Jean is laid back and independent. She is leery of the other females and likes to stay on the outskirts. Basically, Jean does her own thing. Upon release to the exhibit after I’ve prepared it, Jean will head straight for the upper part by traveling on the ground instead of on the “furniture” in the exhibit. She is very submissive to Etienne, although she is the second-largest female. Jean has a box-shaped body. She was born at the Wild Animal Park in 1989.

Grace is the lowest-ranking female; she gets displaced by the other females, mainly because she does NOT stay out of their way. She includes herself in everything! Grace is very defensive, even when she is not being challenged; she will often challenge her keepers rather than the other females in the troop, and she seems to gain confidence by doing so. Grace has a bald patch on her back and a slight curve to her back. Born at the Zoo in 1987, she, Antoinette, and Jean have the same mother, Ginger.

Beth McDonald is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Read her previous post, Gibbon Siblings Reunited.

When we introduced them in March, it was like they were never apart. Chui caught on very quickly. He did everything Gaby did. She taught him how to play with some of his new enrichment items and showed him the best places to sleep, sunbathe, and brachiate (swing arm to arm). Now they seem to be attached at the hip! Gaby and Chui’s complete vocalizations can be heard throughout the Zoo.

If you have stopped by recently, I am sure you have seen both Gaby and Chui showing off their acrobatic skills and working their gibbon charm on all their visitors. If you haven’t made it down Center Street (formerly known as Bear Canyon) yet, now is the time. They are really amazing animals and a complete delight to see!

Beth McDonald is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Theory 1: It makes it easy for the mothers to find them, as young langurs like to explore. They can sometimes travel a little too far away from their mothers. Being bright orange, their mothers can easily spot and retrieve them.

Theory 2: The orange actually helps the babies blend into their surroundings. It seems hard to believe that bright orange could be used as camouflage, unless maybe the orange would make them appear as a bright-colored flower on a tree. Most predators are color blind and cannot tell the difference between orange and green.

Theory 3: The coloration lets the other troop members know a new baby has arrived and they need to all share in the caring for the infant. A baby langur can wear a mother out, so having a troop full of babysitters allows Mom to rest. The babysitters can also relieve the mother so she can get something to eat.

The theories I have mentioned are a lot more detailed than what you have just read. It is a matter of opinion as to which theory you believe to be the most likely. Silver-leaf langur babies turn from orange to silver at about three months of age, slowly changing color starting as early as just under a month old.

We now have two orange additions to our troop: one born on February 26, 2009, to Tevy and Aden, and the other on April 13, 2009, to Adamena and Aden. Tevy’s baby is already changing color around her face. So to see two bright orange babies, you will have to hurry to the Zoo’s Sun Bear Forest habitat, because Adamena’s baby is following close behind. They will both be silver before we know it!

Beth McDonald is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Read Beth’s previous blog, Silver-leaf Langurs.

Gigi at five months

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.

A red-cheeked gibbon mother with youngster

Gaby was housed with the family of red-cheeked/Gabrielle’s crested gibbons in the San Diego Zoo’s Sun Bear Forest: CJ, the dominant female, Max, and their baby, Bohdi. Since Gaby is Max’s sister, she had “visitor” status in the gibbon family’s home. The older Bodhi got, the more confident her parents became. Over time, Max and CJ no longer allowed Gaby in their home. This may seem cruel to us humans, but it is actually a sign of a very healthy family group.

The gibbon family moved to Illinois, a family of silver-leaf langurs moved in (see Beth’s blog, Silver-leaf Langurs), and Gaby moved to a temporary area off exhibit. We renovated an existing exhibit in Bear Canyon to suit Gaby, removing everything so we could start from scratch. We based our design on information given by keepers who have taken care of Gaby over the years. We used materials she prefers and the size of the furniture that she uses the most, and we attached all the furniture so that Gaby can exercise by brachiating from branch to branch without having to stop.

On April 17, we finished Gaby’s new home. She moved in first thing the next day. As soon as Gaby went outside we knew all of our hard work had paid off: she was swinging around, vocalizing and introducing herself to all the visitors. Gaby likes hanging around people, especially babies and children. She will interact with them all day by looking at them, talking to them, and showing off for them. Gaby appears to be very happy in her new home between the sloth bears and the grizzly bears. We know Gaby would love it if you came by and said hi.

Beth McDonald is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

We are very proud and excited to have these langurs. This group adds increased genetic variability to the North American population. They are from the Singapore Zoo, and their genetic make-up is highly valued. Langurs are very sensitive primates. Found in the rain forest canopy of Southeast Asia, they are difficult to study in the wild, so little is known about their natural behavior. They can be challenging to care for in zoos, and our priority has been to make them feel as comfortable and secure as possible.

The silver-leaf langur troop arrived in the San Diego Zoo’s Sun Bear Forest in August 2008. In an attempt to mimic their natural habitat, we filled their bedroom area with large pieces of ficus browse. This gave them places where they could “hide” while I cleaned their bedroom, keeping my head averted so as not to gaze directly in their eyes and making sure my movements were slow and smooth.

To help them adjust to the exhibit, we connected all of the branches and other perches into winding trails so the langurs would not have to jump. This helped them navigate around their new home comfortably; as they got more familiar with the layout, we gradually removed the connections!

I hoped that by “making friends” with the male, Aden, the rest of the troop would see that it was okay to have me around. Over the first few weeks, I spent time with Aden, talking to him and offering a favorite treat: peanuts! This helped build a bond with him that has spilled over to the rest of the family, and they seem to have adjusted very nicely to life in San Diego.

Be sure to stop by Sun Bear Forest and look for the striking silver monkeys with a long tail and wild Mohawk!

Beth McDonald is a keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Read Beth’s previous blog, A Gibbon Birthday Party.