However, six months later, the symptoms returned, with vomiting added to the list of concerns. “We were able to give him fluids, and he bounced right back,” Peggy explained. Blood tests and a physical exam were performed under brief anesthesia in the gorilla bedrooms, but nothing rang an alarm. “If they don’t drink, they dehydrate quickly,” Peggy said. In April 2017, keepers noticed Winston appeared a bit lethargic and was not eating or drinking. While animals typically hide symptoms of illness, the keepers are so in tune with the gorillas that they can spot when something seems “off.” They observe each troop member carefully on a daily basis. The Safari Park’s gorilla team’s attention to detail goes beyond what each ape likes or doesn’t like. Winston oversees a troop of seven gorillas-three adult females, two young females, and two adolescent males. He’s decided a little “cush for the tush” is a good thing. “He pushes all the fluff to the side, clearing a spot on the ground to sleep on!” However, with age comes wisdom (and a need for comfort), and over the last couple of years, Winston has begun pulling some bedding under his rump as he settles in for the night. “He’s anti-nest,” Peggy said, with a laugh.
As the troop begins settling in for the night, the gorillas pull and pile and fluff the bedding until it reaches their personal standard of “just right” for sleeping. At the Safari Park and the Zoo, keepers place bedding material in the bedrooms once they have cleaned them. In their natural habitat, gorillas use vegetation to create a soft sleeping spot, called a night nest, each evening. This allows for range-of-motion exercise that helps older gorillas like Winston, who has a touch of arthritis. Keepers use the thorns of a Dovyalis tree to place kale and other foods in the gorilla’s habitat, encouraging the great apes to stand and stretch as they feed. It’s a very gentle, understated way of letting us know he wants our attention for something.” “If we are focused on another gorilla or are very busy, he’ll quietly rap on a wall or door to get our attention. Winston’s powerful appearance belies his way of interacting with his keepers. In fact, when a new keeper joins the gorilla team, they start out by working with Winston because “he likes everyone” and is the most accepting of all the gorillas, when it comes to new people. “He has such a sweet disposition,” Peggy said. That first impression quickly dissolved as Peggy and the other keepers began caring for Winston.
“His craggy face-to be honest, it was a little scary!” “When he stepped out of the travel crate, we all gasped,” she said. Peggy remembers the first time she saw Winston when he arrived in 1984. Mature male gorillas have a larger saggital crest on their skull, giving them a characteristic, higher domed head than females.
0 kommentar(er)
