The Journal of the American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

Special Issue Dedicated to Gorillas | February and March 2014 | Volume 41, Nos. 2 & 3

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33 ABOUT THE COVER

34 FROM THE PRESIDENT

35 COMING EVENTS

36 ANNOUNCEMENTS

38 NATIONAL CONFERENCE

40 THANK YOU SPONSORS

NUTRITION

41-43 A Discussion of Biscuit-Free Diets for Gorillas

44-47 Feeding Browse Year Round in a Northern Climate

48-52 Home Grown Paradise

BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

53-55 Facilitating Gorilla Husbandry with Established
Training and Enrichment Programs

56-58 TRAINING TALES; You Want Me to Do WHAT for
Carrots?! Training 1.0 Western Lowland Gorilla on
the Chow-Free Diet

59-61 Keepers Lend a Helping Hand: Training Leo for
Treatment of his Chronic Condition

62-63 Training a Gorilla for Cardiac Ultrasound:
the Challenges and the Reward

64-65 Advancing Gorilla Care Through Positive
Reinforcement Training: Two Case Studies

66-68 The Heartbeat Behind the Chestbeat: Training

Gorillas for Stress-free Monitoring of Vital Statistics

CONSERVATION

70-73 Helping Cameroon’s Western Lowland Gorillas

74-75 A Hole-in-One For Conservation: Hosting a Gorilla
Golf Fundraising Tournament

76-79 Africa's Most Endangered Ape: Using technology
and partnerships to save the critically endangered
cross river gorilla

REPRODUCTION

80-83 Behavioral Changes Associated with Pregnancy
and Infant Development in Captive Gorillas

GERIATRIC

84-85 Where the Silver Ends and the Gray Begins: Caring
for Geriatric Silverbacks and Older Female Gorillas

VETERINARY

86-89 Providing Optimal Wellness for a Captive Gorilla
with Pica

90-94 Managing a Critically III Western Lowland Gorilla
{Gorilla gorilla gorilla) with Cholangiohepatitis
and Intestinal Hemorrhage during the Disease
and Recovery Phases

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AMERICAN

ASSOCIATION
of ZOO KEEPERS

MISSION STATEMENT

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

The American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc. exists to
advance excellence in the animal keeping profession,
foster effective communication beneficial to animal care,
support deserving conservation projects, and promote
the preservation of our natural resources and animal life.

About The Cover

This month's cover comes from Mehgan Murphy of Smithsonian's National Zoo.
The photo features Mandara, the mother of six offspring at Smithsonian's
National Zoo, sub-adult male Kwame, and young female Kibibi. Both Kwame
and Kibibi are offspring of Mandara. Mandara is named after a mountain range
in Cameroon, and she is the dominant female of the National Zoo's group.

Gorillas are managed as intensively as any species in the zoo industry. This
issue of the AKF highlights some of the outstanding and innovative work
being performed by MZK members to conserve the sustainability of gorilla
populations both in situ and ex situ. From advancements in nutrition, to
behavioral management, new innovations in veterinary care, to the conservation
of wild gorillas, this issue of the AKF highlights the diverse skills that AAZK
members use to conserve wild gorillas and advance care and welfare for our
zoo population.

Dedicated issues of the AKF are very popular throughout the zoo industry,
because they are a great example of the passion and dedication that zoo
professionals have for animal care and conservation. The editors would like to
thank all of the authors who took the time to share their expertise. The sharing
of information and knowledge is critical to the advancement of professional
animal care. We would also like to thank our sponsors, the Cleveland Chapter
of AAZK, Fort Worth Zoo, Georgia Chapter of AAZK, National Capital Chapter of
AAZK and Rocky Mountain Chapter of AAZK. Your support made this publication
possible. Thank You! The Editors

ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

TO CONTACT THE AKF EDITOR:
Shane Good, Media Production Editor
P.O. Box 535, Valley City, OH 44280
330-483-1104
shane.good@aazk.org

AAZK Administrative Office

American Association of Zoo Keepers
8476 E. Speedway Blvd.

Suite 204
Tucson, AZ 85710-1728
520-298-9688 (Phone/Fax)
E-mail: Ed.Hansen@aazk.org
Chief Executive/Financial Officer: Ed Hansen

MEDIA PRODUCTION EDITOR
Shane Good

ASSISTANT MEDIA PRODUCTION EDITOR
Elizabeth Thibodeaux
ENRICHMENT OPTIONS COLUMN COORDINATORS
Julie Hartell-DelMardo, Saint Louis Zoo
Casey Plummer, Caldwell Zoo
Ric Kotarsky, Tulsa Zoo & Living Museum
ATC COLUMN COORDINATORS
Kim Kezer, Zoo New England
Jay Pratte, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo
Beth Stark-Posta, Toledo Zoo
CONSERVATION STATION COORDINATORS
Amanda ista, Milwaukee County Zoo
Mary Ann Cisneros, Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden

Animal Keepers' Forum is published monthly by AAZK, Inc. Ten dollars
of each membership fee goes toward the annual publication costs of
Animal Keepers' Forum. Postage paid at Tucson, AZ.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT: Bob Cisneros,
San Diego Zoo, San Diego, CA 92112-0551

VICE PRESIDENT: Penny Jolly, Disney’s Animal Kingdom,
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-1000

Kelly Wilson, Detroit Zoological Society
Royal Oak, Ml 48067

Deana Walz, The Living Planet Aquarium
Sandy, UT 84094-4409

Wendy Lenhart, Philadelphia Zoo
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Articles sent to Animal Keepers’ Forum will be reviewed by the editorial staff for
publication. Articles of a research or technical nature will be submitted to one or more
of the zoo professionals who serve as referees for AKF. No commitment is made to the
author, but an effort will be made to publish articles as soon as possible. Lengthy articles
may be separated into monthly installments at the discretion of the Editor. The Editor
reserves the right to edit material without consultation unless approval is requested in
writing by the author. Materials submitted will not be returned unless accompanied
by a stamped, self-addressed, appropriately-sized envelope. Telephone, fax or e-mail
contributions of late-breaking news or last-minute insertions are accepted as space
allows. Phone (330) 483-1104; FAX (330) 483-1444; e-mail is shane.good@aazk.org. If
you have questions about submission guidelines, please contact the Editor. Submission
guidelines are also found at: aazk.org/akf-submission-guidelines/.

Deadline for each regular issue is the 3rd of the preceding month. Dedicated issues may
have separate deadline dates and will be noted by the Editor.

Articles printed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the AKF staff or the American
Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc. Publication does not indicate endorsement by the Association.

Items in this publication may be reprinted providing credit to this publication is given
and a copy of the reprinted material is forwarded to the Editor. If an article is shown to
be separately copyrighted by the author(s), then permission must be sought from the
author(s). Reprints of material appearing in this journal may be ordered from the Editor.
Regular back issues are available for $6.00 each. Special issues may cost more.

FSC

MIX

Paper from
responsible sources

FSC® C1 12081

COIVlIVlITTEES/COORDINATORS/
PROJECT MANAOERS

BY-LAWS

Chair - Ric Kotarsky, Tulsa Zoo
GRANTS COMMITTEE
Chair - Shelly Roach, Columbus Zoo
BEHAVIORAL HUSBANDRY COMMITTEE
Chair - Julie Hartell-Denardo, Saint Louis Zoo
BOWLING FOR RHINOS NATIONAL PROGRAM MANAGER
Patty Pearthree, Cary, NC
ETHICS

Penny Jolly, Disney’s Animal Kingdom
CONSERVATION COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS
Amanda Kamradt, Zoo New England
Christy Poelker, Saint Louis Zoo

AWARDS

Janet McCoy, The Oregon Zoo
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Melaina Wallace, Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Ellen Vossekuil, Utah’s Hogle Zoo
SOCIAL MEDIA

Sean Walcott, SeaWorld San Diego, Project Manager
CONFERENCE PROGRAM MANAGER
Victor Aim, Oakland Zoo
ICZ COORDINATORS
Norah Farnham, Woodland Park Zoo
Sara Wunder Steward, Busch Gardens Tampa

MEIVIBERSHIP SERVICES

Data Transfer Forms available for download at aazk.org
AAZK Publications/Logo Products/Apparel
available at AAZK Administrative Office/Tucson or at aazk.org

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 33

FROM THE PRESIDENT

"Only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care, we will help. Only if we help, we shall be saved.”

— Jane Goodall, Jane Goodall: 40 Years at Gombe

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dedicated AKF issues remind us all too well that our profession can at times be very specialized,
requiring a certain level of subject matter expertise in order to give proper care to the animals
in our charge. Whether it's great apes, big cats, aquatics, entomology, hoofstock, birds, or
reptiles, concentrating on a focused discipline provides a skill level that carries beyond basic
animal care. As readers of this issue will see, innovations in animal care are a product of such
concentrated knowledge.

Before going any further, I may need to clarify myself here; specialized knowledge and general
knowledge are complimentary functions of the animal care profession. And, without waxing
philosophical here, the generalists are specialists of a different nature. Ask any shift keeper who
works as relief to multiple areas and they will tell you it takes a special skill as well as versatility to be able to move from one area to the next,
working with different animals each day.

Our Association values both specialized and general animal care knowledge and is working towards both a quantification and qualification of
these skills. Over the next couple of years, our focus on professional development will adopt both conference venues and distance learning
formats in order to provide opportunities for members to focus on specialized skills sets at both the conference and on-line settings. Plans
are underway to offer 12-hour workshops at our conferences, presented over a 3-4 day period, supplemented by an online summary and
assessment. These workshops will provide specialized skills in such disciplines as:

• Hospital/Quarantine Keeper

• Ungulate Keeper

• Avian Keeper

• Carnivore Keeper

• Small Mammals Keeper

• Reptile/Amphibian Keeper

• Primate Keeper

The issuance of certificates for each of these skill levels achieved will both quantify (the number of hours of instruction) and qualify (through
assessment) each individual who participates in the workshops. The online review and evaluation will indicate that the user has a proficient
subject matter knowledge based on a passable score. Your certificate, once issued can then be sent to your director, curator, or mianager. The
take home value of your professional development will no doubt have a greater institutional value through this qualification and your immersion
in a specific topic of animal care will greatly benefit your animals.

In addition, we will also offer the same type of workshops covering the core elements of zoo keeping and advanced skills in zoo keeping. These
will establish foundational tracks for the future of standardized learning in our Association. Upcoming plans also include online access to these
workshops as well as a summary course, assessment, and certificate. Individual professional development will take on a new direction and
meaning, providing animal care professionals with the opportunity to track and plan their future as well as utilize these skills both in the field
and on paper.

Whether specializing in a particular discipline or working in a general field, AA,ZK endeavors to provide standardized training in a vi/ay that
benefits the individual, the institution, and the profession. It's an argument easily made: standardized professional development is beneficial to
all, whether specializing based on taxa or developing stronger generalized skills.

That's our commitment to you and we're sticking to it.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and input. E-mail me at bob.cisneros@aazk.org , I v^ould love to hear from you.

34 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

COMING EVENTS

Post your
upcoming
events here
e-mail

shane.good@aazk.org

April 13-18, 2014
ABMA’s 14th Annual

Conference

Dallas, TX

For more information go to:
theabma.org.

April 29 - May 2, 2014

African Painted Dog
Conference
Chicago, IL

This conference will be hosted
by the Chicago Zoological
Society at Brookfield Zoo.

For more information and to
register please visit:http;//www.
czs.org/czs/ APDconference

June 20-26, 2014

International Gorilla Workshop
Atlanta, GA

Sponsored by Zoo Atlanta
For more information go to:
www.igw2014.wordpress.com.

NATIONAL

• ZOO KEEPER

WEEK 20-26 JULY 2014

SUPPORTED BY

Fostering professionalism
in animal care
among Zoo Keepers

ASSOCIATION
oF ZOO KEEPERS

August 4-7, 2014

September 8-12, 2014

12**' Annual Symposium on

AAZK National Conference

the Conservation and

Orlando, FL

Biology of Tortoises and

Hosted by

Freshwater Turtles

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Orlando, Florida

For more information go to:

For more information, go to

greaterorlandoaazk.org.

turtlesurvival.org.

September 10-15, 2014

International Wild Waterfowl
Association Conference
Salt Lake City, UT
For more information go to:
http://www.wildwaterfowl.org.

September 12-18, 2014

AZA National Conference
Orlando, FL
Hosted by:

Disney's Animal Kingdom,
The Seas, and
SeaWorld Orlando.

For more information go to:
aza.org.

October 6-8, 2014
3rd International
Flamingo Symposium

San Diego, CA

Hosted by SeaWorld San Diego
For more information contact
laurie.conrad@SeaWorld.com.

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 35

2014 AAZK AWARDS
NOMINATIONS OPENED

The American Association of Zoo Keepers AAZK
Awards Committee is accepting nominations for;

* Lifetime Achievement Award

* Jean M. Hromadka AAZK Excellence in Animal
Care Award

• The Lutz Ruhe Meritorious Achievement —
AAZK Professional of the Year Award

• Lee Houts Enrichment Excellence Award

* Certificate of Merit for Zoo Keeper Education

• Certificate of Excellence in Exhibit Renovation

* Certificate of Merit in Conservation

• Mazuri Animal Nutrition Award

AAZK is now streamlined

We must ha¥e your e-mail address!

If you are a member of AAZK but have never given us
your e-mail address, required to log onto the Members' Only
section, please log on to AAZK.org and complete the form to retrieve your
username and password to keep your membership information current.
Submitting your e-mail will verify your identity with MZK.

A valid e-mail address on file with AAZK means you will receive electronic
reminders regarding membership expiration and access to Members' Only
information —a cost savings to help keep your membership dues affordable.

AAZK policy prohibits sharing of members' electronic contact information.

Need Help? Ed.Hansen@AAZK.org

Awards will be presented at the 2014 AAZK
Conference in Orlando, Florida. The deadline for
nominations is 1 May 2014. Information concerning
the qualifications, nomination procedure, selection
procedure and an explanation of the awards may be
obtained at janet.mccoy@aazk.org.

AMERICAN

ASSOCIATION

of ZOO KEEPERS

Membership with the
American Association of
Zoo Keepers includes a
subscription to
Animal Keepers’ Forum
and free or discounted
admission to many zoos
and aquariums in
the U.S. and Canada.

To download an application
or to apply online, please visit
AAZK.ORG.

AAZK is a nonprofit
volunteer organization (U.S.
501 c3) made up of professional
zoo keepers and other interested
persons dedicated to professional
animal care and conservation.

Don't miss one issue of your AKF and help
save AAZK money In returned/forwarding
postage costsi

Simply log on to AAZK.org and update your
membership information.

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36 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

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w .

The 41st Annual
AAZK National

Conference

Orlando, Florida
September 8-12, 2014

“Keepers Making a
World of Difference"

Hosted by Disney’s Animals,
Science and Environment
and the Greater Orlando
Chapter of AAZK

FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS |

We are pleased to host the 2014 National AAZK Conference and our theme “Keepers Making |
a World of Difference” will highlight how zoo and aquarium professionals work to advance
animal care and conservation. t

o 5

Papers:

Authors will be allowed 15 minutes for a presentation with five minutes of Q & A immediately *
following. Abstracts should focus on the conference theme including innovative approaches and *
best practices in the areas of husbandry, animal welfare, conservation, education, enrichment
and training.

Posters:

Posters will be on display throughout the conference in the Vera Cruz C Exhibit Hall with a
scheduled Q & A session to be determined.

Guidelines for Abstracts:

Abstracts should be no more than 250 words and submitted as a Microsoft Word® document
via e-mail to: pdc@aazk.org

Please include the following information:

• Name of the authors and presenter

• Institution/Affiliation

• Position/Title

• Title of Work (please specify poster or paper)

• AV requirements .__j

• Contact information (please include e-mail) ]

Deadline for Abstracts is 1 May 2014

Authors will be notified, regarding acceptance, by 1 June 2014. All papers must be received §
by 15 July 2014 to be included in the conference program. Please contact pdc@aazk.org with 3
any questions. ^

VENUE/ ACCOMMODATIONS

Disney’s Coronado Resort - Combines the beauty, fantasy and unique cultural elements of
colonial Spain, Mexico and New Mexico. Complete with a Mayan pyramid with a sparkling
swimming pool at its base.

The room rate is $150 per night plus tax and is available from September 6th through September
12th. If you are staying for the AZA Conference, please let the hotel know when you register,
so you can keep the same room and rate.

Please call 407-939-4686 or go to: http://www.mydisneymeetings.com/aazk2014/ to make
a room reservation.

TRANSPORTATION

By Air

Conference delegates should fly into the Orlando International Airport (MCO).

Be Magically Whisked Away

Board Disney’s Magical Express buses at Orlando International Airport and we’ll get you and
your bags to your Disney Resort hotel. Begin your vacation the moment you step off the plane.
Bypass baggage claim and avoid the hassle and cost of driving or finding ground transportation.
With this special benefit of staying at select Disney Resort hotels, get from the airport to your
accommodations in comfort and have your bags delivered directly to your room. You’ll also enjoy
a complimentary ride back to Orlando international Airport on the day of your departure. Please
note that pets are not permitted on Disney’s Magical Express but service animals are.

Walt Disney World © Resort Luggage Delivery Service

This feature of Disney’s Magical Express is available forflightsarriving between 5:00 AM and 10:00
PM daily. Your luggage will travel separately, and it may take up to 3 hours after your check-in at
your Disney Resort hotel for your luggage to be delivered to your room. With this in mind, please
pack any valuables, medications or anything you need immediately upon your arrival in Orlando
in a carry-on bag. You do not need to be in your room to receive your luggage.

38 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

For your entire stay, enjoy Disney transportation throughout the V^alt
Disney Vtorld Resort. Disney transportation arrives steps from your door
to get you to and from the Disney Theme Parks, Water Parks and a !ot
more. There is nothing easier.

Secure your spot on the Disney’s Magical Express motorcoach when you
call to make your Disney Resort hotel reservation or book online.

U.S. and Canada Reservations: (407) WDW-MAGiC or (407) 939-6244

Driving

Resort Address:

1000 West Buena Vista Drive

Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830-8403

(407) 939-1000

Complimentary Self Parking Available

Specialty Priced Theme Park Tickets for AAZK Delegates
Visit http://www.mydisneymeetings.com/aazk2014/

Click on the tab “Purchase Specially-Priced Tickets Now” and then click
on the “See Ticket Options” tab.

PRE- Am POST-CONFERENCE TRIPS

Our Pre-Conference Trip is going to Busch Gardens and is being hosted
by the Tampa Bay AAZK Chapter with details to follow.

Our Post-Conference Trip is an invitation to attend part or all of the AZA
Conference. Perhaps you are interested in attending a TAG meeting.
Meetings are scheduled the two days following the end of the AAZK
Conference. Daily and Full Registration discounts will be available,
with details to follow.

PROGRAIVI

Lunch, Morning and Afternoon Refreshment Breaks will be provided
(Except Zoo Day) Our Program and Icebreaker details are still being
finalized with details to follow.

REGISTRATION

Online Registration will be opening in March

Full Registration:

0 Members: $235.00 (includes all paper sessions, icebreaker,
Zoo Day, Awards Lunch, Banquet, T-shirt, Conference Packet and
$5.00 Carbon Offset Fee)

0 Spoyse: $235.00 (includes all paper sessions, Icebreaker, Zoo
Day, Awards Lunch, Banquet, T-shirt, Conference Packet and
$5.00 Carbon Offset Fee )

0 Non-members: $285.00 (includes all paper sessions. Icebreaker,
Zoo Day, Awards Lunch, Banquet, T-shirt, Conference Packet and
$5.00 Carbon Offset Fee)

What is the “Carbon Offset” Fee?

For each conference registration, $5 is going to be used to offset your

carbon cost of attending the conference. Details will follow.

Conference Badges must be worn at all times to enter the conference areas.

0 Daily Registration
AAZK Member/Spouse: $75.00
Non-member/Spouse: $85.00

0 iceBreaker Only (Non-registered Parties)

AA.ZK Member/Spouse: $75.00
Non-member/Spouse: $75.00

0 Awards Luncheon Oniy(Non-registered Parties)

AAZK Member/Spouse: $75.00
Non-member/Spouse: $75.00

0 Banquet Only (Non-registered Parties)

AAZK Member/Spouse: $75.00
Non-member/Spouse: $75.00

0 Zoo Day Only (Non-registered Parties)

AAZK Member/Spouse: $75.00
Non-member/Spouse: $75.00

Tentative Schedule (Subject to Change)

September 8 icebreaker

September 9 Papers, Workshops, BFR Presentations/Ratly and

Silent Auction

September 10 Papers, Workshops and Awards Luncheon

September 11 Zoo Day

September 12 Papers, Workshops, Town Hal! and Banquet

EXHIBITOR INFORMATION

Our Exhibitors will be in the spacious Vera Cruz C Exhibit Hall. Our Poster
Presentations will also be displayed here.

Registration deadline is Aygyst 15, 2014.

After that date registration fees will include a late fee on full or daily
registrations.

0 Full Conference Registration with Late Fee
AAZK Member/Spouse: $285.00
Non-member/Spouse: $335.00

0 Daily Registration with Late Fee
AAZK Member/Spouse: $95.00
Non-member/Spouse: $105.00

Prices

The Exhibition Rates for the 2014 AAZK Conference are:

Non-Member $250.00

Member $125.00

Conservation Partner $75.00

Conference and/or Workshop Sponsor $0.00

AUCTION

Do you have an item for the Auction? All monies generated from the
silent and live auctions will go to AAZK National to help support the
Association and the programs that benefit YOU. Please leave room
in your suitcase to bring an auction item. A few examples include zoo
memorabilia, animal themed items, jewelry, gift certificates, animal and
human artwork and photographs, books, husbandry and enrichment
tools and items for children.

For more information on the 2014 National
AAZK Conference, please visit our website at:
www.greaterorlaiicIoaazk.ofg

For questions please write us at
aazk20Mconfereiice@yahoo.com.

See You Real Soon!

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 39

THANK YOU

for supporting this dedicated issue of the Animal Keepers' Forum

A Discussion of Biscuit-Free
Diets for Goriiias

Dr. Elena Hoellein-Less
Associate Curator of Animals
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

Many of you may have heard the term “biscuit-free diet”
mentioned around your zoo, particularly if you work at an
institution that houses gorillas. In this article, I discuss what a
“biscuit-free diet” is, what the pros and cons of going biscuit-free
are and how to implement this type of diet if it seems like a good
fit for your apes.

The premise behind the biscuit-free diet was to create a diet
that more closely mimicked properties of wild gorilla diets. Wild
western lowland gorillas consume foods that are lower in caloric
density than zoo diets, but high in fiber and water content. They
need to consume a high volume of these food items in order to
meet their daily caloric and nutritional needs. These diets are
not only high in fiber; they are very high in a specific type of fiber
called neutral detergent fiber (or NDF) that is fermented in the
gorilla’s large voluminous hindgut. Wild gorilla diets are also
low in simple carbohydrates. In particular, dietary starch is very
low in wild gorilla diets. Although wild gorillas are seasonally
frugivorous, they consume approximately 30% of their diet as
sugar during the fruiting season, but only 2% of their diet as
sugar during the longer, non-fruiting season (Shelly Masi, pers.
comm.). In contrast, zoos feed gorillas diets that are relatively
calorically dense and low in volume. Items such as commercially
available biscuits and items such as potatoes, yam, pasta, and rice
are not only high in calories (so gorillas can get their caloric needs
from a small amount of food), but they are high in dietary starch,
which is not a natural component of their diet. Additionally, zoo
gorilla diets provide about a third of the NDF that wild gorilla
diets provide. Biscuits are formulated to provide about 25% NDF,
but gorillas consume upwards of 75% NDF in the wild. Finally,
the commercially available fruit (and other types of produce) that

Mokolo eating greens

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 41

Bebec going "biscuit-free"

zoos feed is very high in sugar compared to wild gorilla fruits and
much lower in NDF. Commercially available fruits may provide
as much as 80% sugar and are fed year-round, meaning that
gorillas in zoos are consuming greater amounts of sugar than
their wild counterparts.

The biscuit-free diet was designed to increase the volume and
NDF of zoo gorilla diets while decreasing the starch content.
The biscuit-free diet involves the removal of commercially
produced biscuits from the diet; however, there is more to this
diet than the removal of biscuits. Not only does removing biscuits
reduce the overall starch content of the diet, it frees up calories
which allows zoos to feed large amounts of low calorie produce,
particularly in the form of leafy greens such as endive, dandelion
greens, kale, etc. Although these greens are cultivated to contain
higher amounts of sugar than more natural items like browse,
they are much lower in sugar than other produce items such
as fruit. Because the large amount of produce does add sugar
to the diet, higher sources of sugar in the diet such as fruit are
reduced significantly to keep the total sugar content of the diet
from increasing. It is recommended that zoos eliminate other
starchy produce items such as potatoes, yams, pasta or rice to
reduce overall dietary starch. Greens are a great forage item, but
unfortunately they do not contain the NDF that is essential to
gorilla diets, previously provided by the biscuits. Feeding browse
is a great way to increase NDF, but as many zoos do not have
access to this year-round, alfalfa hay can make a great substitute.
However, it is imperative that gorillas consume the stems, and
not just the leaves, of the alfalfa hay. For anyone considering
this diet, it is essential to at least replace the NDF gorillas were
consuming on their biscuit-based diet, whether it is through

browse, alfalfa hay, or another source. Finally, it is recommended
that zoos provide a chewable multivitamin to replace the role
of biscuits as a multivitamin in the diet. In the overall goal of
achieving a more natural diet, it is strongly discouraged to feed
items gorillas would not typically encounter in the wild such as
dairy products. The resulting diet is higher in volume, equal to
or higher in NDF depending on the amount of alfalfa consumed
and lower in dietary starch.

One might wonder why mimicking properties of the wild diet,
particularly high volume, high fiber and low starch, is important.
Providing a higher volume diet to zoo-housed gorillas will allow
for greater feeding opportunities. Zoo gorillas typically spend
half the amount of time that wild gorillas spend feeding and
replace that time with inactivity. Inactivity can potentially
lead to boredom. Providing greater feeding opportunities can
be enriching or stimulating to zoo gorillas. Providing a higher
fiber diet, particularly in the form of NDF, is important because
gorillas are specifically designed to physiologically ferment NDF
in their hindgut. Fermentation of NDF in the hindgut of gorillas
releases short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) which provides energy to
the gorilla. Simple carbohydrates do not meet this need. Finally,
diets high in starch are associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes
in humans. As gorillas are not physiologically equipped to process
starch nor have it in their natural diet, they may be especially
prone to these health problems. Therefore, mimicking a natural
diet can have important implications for behavior and health in
zoo gorillas.

So this diet sounds great in theory, but does it work in practice?
The answer is yes and no, meaning that some zoos had great
success with this diet and for others there were definite pros
and cons. We tested this diet at five different AZA institutions.
Behaviorally, we found that an undesirable behavior in zoo
gorillas, regurgitation and reingestion (R/R), was reduced by this
diet change and was eliminated completely at one institution.
R/R is defined as the voluntary retrograde movement of food from
the esophagus or stomach into the mouth, hands or a substrate,
and its subsequent consumption. This is the first research study
to successfully eliminate this behavior. At some zoos, feeding
increased to 50-60% of time which is comparable to wild gorilla
feeding levels. However, some zoos exhibited no increase in
feeding. None of the gorillas became more physically active
during the study. Although many increased behavioral activity,
i.e. feeding, they did not spend more time moving around their
exhibit or climbing. We saw an increase in coprophagy, or eating
feces, for many of the gorillas. Finally, only one institution had
gorillas that performed hair plucking behavior and this behavior
was reduced after the diet change.

So why was there so much institutional variation? Beyond
the obvious fact that gorillas have distinct personalities and
institutions vary in husbandry practices, there were two key
issues that explain success with this diet: consumption and
managing weight loss. At most of the zoos, consumption of this
new diet was not an obstacle. The gorillas readily consumed all
diet items including all of the alfalfa hay. These were the zoos
where we saw the greatest reduction (and elimination) in R/R and
the greatest increase in feeding. At a couple of the zoos, gorillas
would eat only small amounts of the greens and in some cases did
not consume any alfalfa hay. At these zoos, an increase in time
spent feeding was not observed. More importantly, not consuming
the entire diet, particularly the alfalfa, meant that gorillas were
getting less NDF than they were getting on the biscuit-based
diet. Not getting enough fiber could increase the risk for health
problems. It is unclear why institutions had varying success

42 ANIMAL KEEPERS' FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

with consumption. Anecdotally, those institutions that struggled
with consumption generally hand-fed more of the biscuit diet and
therefore gorillas may have not had the foraging habits needed
to maintain this type of diet.

Regardless of consumption, all gorillas lost weight on this diet.
Even gorillas that ate eversdhing still lost weight. This was likely
because of the low caloric density of the food items, as well as high
fiber content of the alfalfa. Zoos had to feed increasing amounts of
produce in order to stabilize weights. At zoos where consumption
was not a problem, the only consequence of this was an increasing
cost of an already expensive diet. At zoos where consumption
was a problem, institutions could not simply increase the amount
of produce fed, but rather had to find other diet items to feed to
stabilize gorilla weights. Some zoos resorted to items such as rice
and oatmeal, both of which are high in starch and calories, thus
making the nutritional content of the biscuit-free diet no better
than the biscuit-based diet. Others fed items such as almonds
which were found to specifically increase R/R. Other items such
as avocado and beans appeared to work well, but again inflated
the overall cost of the diet.

As mentioned previously, no increase in physical activity was
observed. Therefore, simply feeding a higher volume diet is not a
good way to promote physical exercise in gorillas. A high volume
diet paired with efforts to make the gorillas work harder to obtain
diet items may be useful in increasing physical activity in the
future, if zoos have the exhibit complexity and/or time to make
this happen. The increase in coprophagy also deserves further
exploration. Current theories are that there may have simply
been increased fecal output from the high fiber diet, that gorillas
had to reconsume undigested alfalfa hay, that gorillas were eating
the feces because of a nutritional imbalance, or that coprophagy
was a feeding-motivated behavior increased because of the lack
of ability (or unwillingness) to perform R/R. Interestingly, hair-
plucking behavior was reduced at one institution after the biscuit-
free diet change. It is unknown why this occurred; however, some
possibilities might be that the increase in time spent foraging
decreased the desire to hair pluck (a behavior which mimics
foraging behavior). There also could have been a physiological
or nutritional reason that this behavior may have decreased.
One example is that starch increases systemic inflammation in
humans. A low starch diet may decrease overall inflammation
leading to a lower desire to perform self-directed behaviors.

At three institutions, we obtained serum samples before and
after the diet change to examine health parameters such as
cholesterol and insulin levels. Many of the gorillas appeared to
be insulin resistant (if human reference ranges are used) prior to
the implementation of the biscuit-free diet. ‘Insulin resistance’
is a condition in which the body produces insulin but tissues,
specifically muscle, fat and liver cells, do not appropriately
respond to the presence of insulin with the uptake and utilization
of glucose. Insulin resistance often precedes the development
of diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease in humans.
The biscuit-free diet was successful at reducing insulin levels
regardless of consumption issues in gorillas placed on the biscuit-
free diet. This was not surprising as dietary starch is considered
a risk factor for the development of insulin resistance in humans.

Overall, the biscuit-free diet can lead to improvements in health
and behavior in zoo gorillas. If gorillas consume all of the diet
items, there can be many pros to this diet including reduction or
elimination of R/R, increased time spent feeding and lower serum
insulin levels. Hov/ever, the cons may outweigh the pros. First,
this diet costs about four times as much as the biscuit-based
diet to feed. Because of the low caloric density of the diet, zoos
should plan to feed gorillas double the calories of their current
biscuit-based diet. There should be a contingency plan in place in
the event that gorillas are still losing weight even v/ith a biscuit-
free diet that is double in calories. Ideally, this would include
leaving some extra cushion in the budget to allow for an increase
in produce/alfalfa until gorillas stop losing weight. If gorillas
reach a limit in the amount of produce/alfalfa they will consume,
other items such as avocado or beans could be an alternative.
It is recommended that zoos avoid feeding items high in starch
such as rice or that promote R/R such as almonds. Secondly,
gorillas should consume all diet items. Specifically, if gorillas do
not consume all of their alfalfa (including stems) this diet may
be worse for gorilla health than a biscuit-based diet. Third, it is
not enough to just eliminate biscuits. Starchy root vegetables
and fruit should be reduced to keep simple carbohydrates low.
Alfalfa hay and multivitamins need to be fed to replace the NDF
and vitamins found in biscuits. It is strongly recommended that
zoos work with a nutritionist to balance any proposed biscuit-free
diets. Finally, it is essential that zoos obtain regular weights on
their gorillas. It is important to record if gorillas are losing or
gaining too much weight and to adjust the diet accordingly. If
weight loss is observed, it is recommended to drastically increase
food amounts to prevent large scale weight reduction. If these
four points cannot be accomplished, it is NOT recommended for
a zoo to move to a biscuit-free diet.

In our multi-institutional biscuit-free study, the zoos that met
the four parameters in the preceding paragraph still continue
to feed biscuit-free diets and are pleased with the results. Zoos
that had issues with the diet have moved back to a biscuit-based
diet. Researchers at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo are continuing to
research ways to reduce dietary starch and increase NDF in zoo
gorilla diets in ways that may be cheaper or easier to maintain.
One of our current research efforts focuses on testing a low starch
(high NDF) commercial biscuit. This may provide an easier way
for zoos to reduce starch in gorilla diets, but it remains to be seen
whether this diet change will have the behavioral and health
benefits of the biscuit-free diet.

Mokolo and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
still use the biscuit-free diet.

AAZK.ORG ■

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 43

Heidi Manicki Claffey, Keeper Grade III
AM Vella-Irving, Keeper Grade Ml
Toronto Zoo

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Shalia eating apple silage
y of jKen Arditi, Toronto Zoo 2012

The Toronto Zoo’s current gorilla group consists of 3.3 individuals.
This species has been part of our collection since the zoo first opened
in 1974. Enrichment has always been an important part of our
gorilla program. Our group is very food motivated and therefore it
is very difficult to find non-food-related enrichment that they are
interested in. In the past, we have offered them a lot of fresh and
dried fruit, fruity cereal bits, popcorn, etc. as enrichment items.
Unfortunately, this combination provided the perfect conditions for
all day regurgitation and reingestion (R&R) sessions. Our number
one question from the public was, “Why are the gorillas throwing
up their food and eating it again?” Some people even thought the
gorillas were ill. After growing tired of constantly explaining this
behaviour, we were motivated to eliminate, or at least greatly
reduce this behaviour. We noticed that on days that browse was
offered, the occurrence of R&R was greatly decreased. We just
needed a way to provide browse on a daily basis.

Providing the gorillas with browse was historically considered
an extra treat and delivery was not a regular occurrence. Only
during the summer months were we guaranteed fresh browse due
to tree pruning done around site. Fresh browse delivery during
the rest of the year was sporadic at best. During the winter it
was especially difficult to obtain browse because of the climate
conditions. Due to the snow, it was difficult for the gardeners to
access the trees to be pruned. When the snow would melt, the
conditions were such that trucks and equipment would become
stuck in the moist earth, which created a whole new problem.
We also do not have enough trees around the zoo site which are
suitable for supplying a sufficient supply for all of the animals
which require browse. The indoor tropical pavilion plants can
only be pruned to a certain extent. Needless to say, our browse
program was lacking.

When our current nutritionist, Jaap Wensvoort, joined the zoo
in 2008, we had many conversations regarding the need for
regular browse delivery. He realized the importance of keeping
animals enriched with browse and v/ent to great lengths to
explore all possible options. Jaap became very enthusiastic and
proactive with gathering browse for the zoo animals and took
this on as a project. This was the first time in the zoo’s history
that the nutritionist took such an active role in developing a
browse program. At first, Jaap sourced out a supply of fresh
corn stalks. We began giving the gorillas fresh corn stalks three
times per week in addition to the sporadic browse delivery by our
gardeners. Initially this worked quite well for enrichment but it
soon became apparent that the corn stalks were causing a new
problem of constipation. When we decided the corn stalks were
not working for the gorillas, other options were explored. Jaap
finally came up with a solution that was beneficial to all involved.
The local owner of a non-utilized apple orchard was approached
and asked if we could use the trees for browse. This was a win/
win situation. The zoo received free browse and currently efforts
are being made to classify the orchard as a working farm, which
could benefit the land owner in regards to taxes. This orchard has
become very important to our browse program and our animals.

Now that we had access to a lot of browse, the next challenge
was to find the manpower to harvest it. Traditionally, the job
of gathering browse was left to the horticulture staff. The job of
pruning this large orchard, in addition to their regular duties,
proved to be too time-consuming for our already busy gardening
staff. We had to come up with a solution that provided enough
people with the time to harvest the browse.

The staff of the Wildlife Nutrition Centre jumped in to help, but

it was not enough. Often, Keeper staff members are helping for a
few hours and Jaap managed to obtain grants to employ summer
students. All these people are now involved in the collection of
3-4 truck loads with fresh browse per week.

The helpers have always been able to collect enough browse
to provide the gorillas with plenty of fresh browse to consume
during the summer and into the fall months. This was great
for the gorillas as they received more browse than they could
consume, with roughly up to 30 kg being offered to them per day.
However, there was still the problem of providing browse during
the winter months. How could we store some of this fresh browse
that was being collected during the summer months and keep it
fresh so that it would last throughout the winter? Jaap devised
a system v/hich included the “Browse Press”, a unique hydraulic
press mounted on a trailer. The nutrition staff and helpers could
preserve browse by ensiling it, which could then be stored for use
during the months that fresh browse was not available.

Firstly, we needed containers in which to store the browse.
Through a staff connection, we were able to obtain food-
grade plastic drums which were of no use anymore to the
pharmaceutical companies which previously used them to
store, and ship medication. We also bought used drums from a
recycling company. Two sizes of drums were obtained. We use a
120 litre-sized drum, which can hold 45 to 55 kg of browse silage,
as v/ell as the 30 litre-sized drum which can hold 14 to 18 kg of
browse silage. We are not keen to use the 200 litre drums as the
compaction appears not to be sufficient and they deform too much
in the pressing/packing process.

The Browse trailer (with browse press mounted on it) is loaded
with empty drums and brought to the orchard. Pruning is done
systematically and only once every three years. Branches are cut
and sorted into various sizes. Usually a chain saw or pole saw
is used to cut branches up to 10 cm maximum in diameter and
then with loppers. Smaller branches are pruned from those into
usable sizes. The heavy branch from which the smaller pieces
were cut is set aside and is used later in the winter season as
stick browse. Fruit is included in the silage, but at the end of the
seasons the inclusion of large apples is limited. When packing the

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 45

120 litre driims, branches of approximately 30 to 120 cm long and
a maximum diameter of 1.5 to 2 cm are used. When using the 30
litre drums, shorter branches of 10 to 50 cm in length are used
with a maximum diameter of approximately 1 cm.

The branches are placed into the drums and bent to fit by hand.
They are then pressed down with the hydraulic press plate. Once
the drum is full, it is closed with a lid and clamp and then moved
forward onto the trailer, ready to be transported back to the zoo.
Another empty drum will then be placed and secured under the
press plate for filling.

The hydraulic press is powered by a power pack, connected to
heavy duty batteries, mounted on the front of the trailer. The
loading bay of the trailer holds the ero.pty and full drums. The
press is operated by a handheld switch. (Note: All technical
details, including capacities are available from the Toronto Zoo
Wildlife Nutrition Centre, jwensvoort@torontozoo.ca).

At the end of the browse collection session, full barrels are then
transported to the storage area at the zoo. Over the next day or
two, the drums are sealed with wrap-around plastic to ensure that
no air can enter the barrels during the storage period.

split into two groups with one group watching the giraffes receive
browse, while the other group will observes the gorillas feasting
on their fresh browse. It is always very gratifying to see the smiles
on the faces of the volunteers while they watch the gorillas eat the
browse that the helpers have put so much labour into obtaining.

Barrels should always be stored out of direct sunlight. Once
a barrel has been opened, it is essential that all the silage in
the drum is fed off within a few days (1-2) if the ambient day
temperature is above 10 ° Celsius. When the nights are not cold,
the contents will become moldy rather quickly (within 1-3 days).
If mold is present, the silage cannot be fed as the molds produce
harmful toxins. We have yet to open a container to find mold but
we have found yeast growing on the silage which is harmless.
A good way to assess the difference between yeast and mold is
through the smell test. If it smells fruity then it is fine to feed.
If it smells moldy, no smell at all or there is just a “nose to it”
much like the smell of moldy bread, then do not feed it. Since our
winters are quite cold, it is not a problem for us to have the drums
open as the daytime temperatures are unlikely to go above 4 to
8 ° Celsius, and the night-time temperatures are even colder. In
the transition time to warmer temperatures we use the smaller
barrels which fit into a small fridge for good keeping.

Obviously, more manpower
was required, and Jaap
managed to tap into a program
called “Green Teams”. Major
companies around the Greater
Toronto Area have a mandate
to do something “green” and
they provide volunteer service
to organizations that require
help. These employees get paid
by their employers but instead
of working at their regular jobs,
they volunteer their services
for one day at places like the
Zoo. After waivers are signed,
the helpers are taken to the
orchard. Under supervision of
Wildlife Nutrition Staff, they
spend a morning pruning the trees and packing the branches
into the provided barrels. Enthusiastic students, keeper and
horticulture staff will often help out as well. In the afternoon,
the helpers are brought back to the zoo and are treated to a fresh
browse feeding demonstration accompanied by a keeper talk.
Since the group of helpers are traditionally quite large, they are

The silage has a pleasant
fermented scent similar to that
of apple cider. The leaves appear
brown in colour but are actually
quite moist. The bark also
retains moisture which makes
it quite desirable to the gorillas.
In fact, the gorillas mainly eat
the bark, and of course the
fruit, however we have noticed
they often tend to leave a lot of
the foliage. However, they v/ill
consume every last bit of bark
of the silage offered, even on
the smallest of branches. This
is different v/hen fresh browse
is fed, as then the gorillas eat
all the leaves as well as the
bark. This browse-eating activity occupies the majority of their
day which makes for a quieter and more content group. Once
the sticks have been stripped of their bark the gorillas will
then use the branches as tools as well as for nesting material,
thus providing further enrichment. The Toronto Zoo Gorilla
diet was already made to contain low amounts of biscuits

46 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

and biscuit-related feeds by previous Nutritionist Michelle
Shaw. While the daily amount of browse was increased, Jaap
additionally reduced and eliminated much of the commercial fruit
(oranges, grapes, etc.) from the diet and replaced some with less
sugary fruits like green beans and cucumber. We have observed
that the incidence of regurgitation and reingestion has been
reduced significantly since the elimination of commercial fruits
and with introduction of daily
fresh browse or browse silage.

We think this is because they
are kept busy for a greater
period of time during the
day and have less of a “sugar
buzz”. As well, we feel that
the roughage not only makes
them feel fuller but it also
may be uncomfortable to
regurgitate all or part of the bark and leaves. As part of their
daily routine, the gorillas get fed several times a day and we
make sure that each time they receive a renewed supply of
either fresh browse or silage. A larger drum of silage will last us
approximately four to five days and a smaller drum will last us
approximately two days.

In another development, a browse farm (i.e. land owned by the
Ministry of Natural Resources but given the use to for the Toronto
Zoo Browse Program) has been planted by Zoo staff and Green
Teams and is already used to collect fresh browse and for making

browse silage. One hectare with rows of poplar and willow were
planted there, unfortunately the gorillas do not like poplar but
other animals at our zoo do. Willow is also collected and offered
but our fussy gorillas prefer it fresh as opposed to the silage form.
At the Toronto Zoo site the horticulture staff has been proactive
in planting trees to be used for browse in the future. Ironically,
the zoo was built on the site of an apple orchard. Many years ago,

the gardeners used to obtain
browse from the remaining
part of the orchard but that
was made unavailable to
us after it was bought by
developers and houses were
built on the land.

In conclusion, due to the
success of this program, the
gorillas receive silage everyday from November to May and fresh
browse from May to October. We feel the benefits of the browse
are so important to the gorilla’s well-being, that we no longer
consider it an optional enrichment but rather a daily requirement.
Everyone understands the importance of this program and that
is why we have gone to great lengths to ensure that there will
always be a steady supply of browse on hand now and in the
future for the animals at the Toronto Zoo.

Photos courtesy of Jaap Wensvoort, Toronto Zoo, unless noted
otherwise.

...the incidence of regurgitation and reingestion
has been reduced significantiy since the
elimination of commercial fruits and with
introduction of daily fresh browse...

Shalia eating apple silage.
Photo courtesy of Ken Ardill, Toronto Zoo, 2012.

* V

Michael Stern,

Assistant Curator of Primates
Denver Zoo, Denver, Colorado
Contact: mstern@denverzoo.org

ABSTRACT

Heart disease is recognized as a major
cause of death in captive Western
Lowland Gorillas {Gorilla gorilla gorilla),
and it has been suggested that altering
the captive diet to more closely mimic
wild diets could help curb this problem.
Aside from increased fiber and decreased
sugars and carbohydrates, are there
specific plants eaten by wild gorillas
that may have health benefits? Several
species of Aframomum, recognized both
by indigenous people and western science
for its medicinal properties, are eaten
by wild gorillas. Chemical compounds
isolated from Aframomum possess
antifungal, antibacterial, antiplasmodial,
anticarcinogenic, antiviral and
antihypercholesterolemic properties. For
all of these reasons, Aframomum is a
wonderful candidate for addition to captive
gorilla diets. This paper explores the
potential health benefits of Aframomum

for gorillas and details the cultivation of
Aframomum at the Denver Zoo.

THE GRAINS OF PARADISE

Widely known as “Grains of Paradise,”
plants of the Aframomum genus are
members of the Zingiberacea family,
a type of wild ginger. Numerous
species can be found all across sub-
Saharan Africa. Traditional uses
of Aframomum include treatment
of anemia, cardiovascular diseases,
chickenpox, coughs, diabetes, diarrhea,
dysentery, fevers, leprosy, malaria,
measles, migraines, rheumatism,
sleeping sickness, smallpox, snakebites,
toothaches & dental decay, tumors,
worms, wounds, to control postpartum
hemorrhage, and as both an aphrodisiac
and for fertility control (Dokosi 1998,
Iwu 1993, Kadiri 2009, Olowokudejo et
al. 2008).

48 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

As early as the 13‘*' Century, Aframomum
was being carried across the Sahara by
traders and sent to Europe via Tripoli.
The Italians were the first to refer to
“Grains of Paradise”, the name given
because of its magnificent properties but
unknown origins (Simon et al. 2007). In
the 14*'’ and 15“’ centuries, Aframomum
production became more important
economically and Africa’s Northwest
coast along the Gulf of Guinea became
known as the Grain Shores (BLE 2013).

Recently, Aframomum has been studied
more rigorously in order to put scientific
proof behind some of the traditional
claims. Compounds found in Aframomum
species include diterpenoids,

sesquitepenoids, arylalkanoids and
flavonoids (Tane et al. 2005). One
compound, [6]paradol, has been shown
to inhibit tumor production in mice
(Surh 2006). Like other types of ginger,
Aframomum also contains gingerols,
which are chemically similar to various
anti-inflammatory compounds (Dybas
2007). Western pharmaceutical and
cosmetic companies seem very interested
in this fact, and have begun developing

both drugs and beauty products with
Grains of Paradise as a prime ingredient
(Dybas 2007). It’s also been shown that
ingestion oi Aframomum seeds by people
can lower several cardiovascular indices,
indicating its potential usefulness in
managing hypertension (Lawal et al.
2007). Other properties proven in the
lab include antibacterial, antifungal,
antihypercholesterolemic, antimicrobial,
antiplasmodial and insect antifeedant
activities (Doherty et al. 2010, Tane et
al. 2005).

Today, Grains of Paradise are still
enjoyed by people across Africa and used
by Western gourmands as an interesting
replacement for black pepper. (Personal
Observation - To taste some for yourself,
contact the author.) The uniquely
flavored seeds are also used to season
several well-known beers and liquors,
including ©Silverback Pale Ale (brewed
by Wynkoop here in Denver, with a
portion of the proceeds benefiting the
Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund).

HEALTHY GORILLAS

Across Africa, gorillas have been observed

eating a total of 1 18 medicinal plant species
from 59 different families (Cousins and
Huffman 2002). At some sites, gorillas eat
Aframomum on more than 50% of days, yet
the plant is considered a “low quality” herb
(Doran et al. 2002). Even Aframomum
fruit shows low digestibility (Calvert
1985), which leads me to hypothesize that
gorillas are eating it not for caloric reasons
but for its medicinal properties.

Aframomum melegueta is by far the most
widely written about and researched
species in regard to human health,
but wild gorillas are known to eat at
least seventeen other species: A. albo-
violaceum, A. angusti folium, A. citratum,
A. daniellii, A. giganteum, A. hanburyi, A.
laurentii, A. leptolepsis, A. letestuanum,
A. limbatum, A. longipetiolatum, A.
milbraedii,A.polyanthum,A. sanguineum,
A. stipulatum, A. subsericeum and A.
sulcatum (Calvert 1985, Cousins and
Huffman 2002, Doran et al. 2002, Fay
et al. 1989, Merfield 1954, Remis et al.
2001, Rogers et al. 1990, Schaller 1963,
Tutin and Fernandez 1985, Yamagiwa
et al. 1994). Aframomum is eaten in
sizable quantities as well; four species

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AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 49

Across Africa,
gorillas have
been observed
eating a total of
118 medicinal
plant species
from 59 different
families

were among the 31 plants most commonly
eaten by gorillas in CAR (Popovich et al.
1997). Many other African primates also
enjoy Aframomum, so much so that it
is often impossible to find a plant with
fruits while walking through the forest
(Personal Observation). Asian primates
are not to be left out, as Aframomum is
closely related to the genus Amomum
(Perry 1980), which orangutans enjoy
during periods of low fruit availability
(Knott 1998). (Orangutans at the Denver
Zoo love our Aframomum, as well.)

Based on the effects of the plant proven
in humans, it is likely that the frequency
with which Aframomum is eaten by
gorillas indicates that it is not taken to
treat specific ailments, but rather as a
prophylactic, the way some people take
dietary supplements. While there are no
studies linking wild gorilla health directly
toA/ra/nomum ingestion, human-centered
research suggests that some of the health
indicators that differ between captive
and wild gorillas could be attributed to
the effects of compounds in the plant:
Captive gorillas have significantly higher
total cholesterol & LDL levels than
wild lowland & mountain gorillas, and
captive males have higher trigliceride
levels than wild males, both of which
may predispose them to cardiovascular
disease, and may be related to diet
(Schmidt et al. 2006). I hypothesize that
the antihypercholesterolemic properties
proven for Aframomum (Tane et al.
2005) may very well be one of the factors
keeping these levels lower in nature.

Fifty-eight percent of necropsies on
captive gorillas from a 15-year-period
analyzed by Schulman et al. (1995)
showed signs of fibrosing cardiomyopathy.
More recently, with the advent of awake
heart ultrasounds, captive gorillas
have shown echocardiographic findings
consistent with human disease states
including left ventricular hypertrophy,
diastolic noncompliance, systolic heart
failure, atherosclerotic heart disease,
and cardiomyopathy (Murphy et al.
2011). There are several hypothesized
reasons for heart issues in captive
gorillas, including viral and/or bacterial
infections, nutritional deficiencies,
physiologic stress, hypercholesterolemia,
sedentary lifestyle, obesity, hypertension
and hereditary factors (Dybas 2007;
Schulman et al. 1995). Simply adding
Aframomum to the diet could address
several of these factors, thanks to the
antiviral, antibacterial, antihypertension
and antihypercholesterolemic effects that
have been proven in humans (Doherty

50 ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

et al. 2010; Lawal et al. 2007; Tane et
al. 2005). Adding more of any kind of
browse to the diet, Aframomum or other,
could help address some of these issues
as well: Zoo diets contain much less fiber
than wild diets, yet higher fiber diets
for gorillas have been shown to reduce
insulin and cholesterol levels (Less 2012,
Popovich et al. 1997).

GROW YOUR OWN

The Denver Zoo’s interest in Aframomum
began after members of the horticulture
crew read Cheryl Lyn Dybas’ 2007 article,
“Out of Africa: A Tale of Gorillas, Heart
Disease... and a Swamp Plant.” Many
in the zoo community have now read
this article and been won over by Dybas’
convincing argument, but not many of us
are feeding Aframomum yet. For some,
the seeds have been difficult to source.
Others have not been successful growing
the plant after finding the seeds, while
others are discouraged (or simply slowed
in their progress) by the plant’s extremely
sluggish growth. Hopefully, the following
paragraphs will be useful in solving many
of these problems.

Denver Zoo Field Superintendant Karen
Kielpikowski successfully obtained viable
Aframomum seeds from a wholesaler
in West Africa that was found on www.
alibaba.com. (The wholesaler normally
sells only by the ton, but Kielpikowski
was able to obtain a sample order of only
one pound.) If seeds are unavailable, see
the following paragraphs pertaining to
young plants.

To improve the chances of germination,
Denver Zoo Curator of Tropical Plants
Gary Davis recommends soaking seeds
12-24 hours in warm water and then
scarifying. To scarify the seeds, rub a
small section of each with sandpaper until
the inner layer is visible. Plant in a well-
draining potting mix, and plant a lot of
them since sometimes only 50% or fewer
will germinate. Davis suggests two seeds
per 3” pot in a 36-pot tray. Germination
will be slow, so be patient - it can take
1-2 months! To speed up this process as
much as possible, cover the tray with a
plastic lid (to help maintain humidity)
and place on top of a heating pad set at
22°C (72°F).

After the seedlings are a few inches
tall, transplant them into incrementally
larger pots, with 3-5 plants now able to
share a larger pot. Ultimately, growing
many plants together in a planter 2’ x
4’ or larger can work very well. Growth
remains slow — it took almost two years

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

Denver Aframomum plant with flowers,
rhizomes and small fruits

The leaves of the Denver Aframomum

before Denver’s plants were big enough to
start harvesting browse for the gorillas;
another good reason to start with a lot of
seeds. However, once the plant is large
enough to start sending out creeping
rhizomes, harvesting stems and leaves
is not detrimental, and new shoots will
grow in to replace the harvested portions.

To speed the process along further,
starting with a fully rooted plant
rather than a seed could be desirable.
Kielpikowski and Davis were successful
obtaining a few “divisions” from the
Denver Botanic Gardens. Though the
Denver gardens do not have a large
enough supply to provide plants to other
zoos (only a small patch is maintained
in one of the conservatories), the idea
is presented here to encourage readers
to approach whatever botanic garden
or university herbarium might be close
to them. Some commercial nurseries
have begun growing Aframomum, as
well. Floraland Farms and Nurseries
in Florida has both A. melegueta and
A. danielli available for purchase in
wholesale quantities that can be shipped
almost anywhere.

Once you have some plants started,
finding enough space is the next concern.
Since Aframomum grows well and
spreads nicely in large planters, lots of
space is ideal. However, the plant is not
cold-tolerant, so that makes greenhouse
space necessary for northern zoos. In

Denver, most of our Aframomum grows
in the greenhouse complex, but we’ve
also taken advantage of planters in the
Tropical Discovery (reptiles, amphibians
and fish) building, where the plant is
grown as an ornamental and harvested
only infrequently. Even if your zoo does
not have a greenhouse available, get
creative - planters can work well in a
sunny office space or almost anywhere a
houseplant would thrive.

Currently, small amounts of leaves and
stems are harvested for the Denver
gorillas on a weekly/bi-weekly basis. We
have many plants in various stages of
maturity, and the hope is that a much
larger amount of Aframomum will be
available for the gorillas in the future.
We have not been successful in growing
mature fruits yet: While the flowers
bloom and fruits develop and appear
to ripen, they are hollow and devoid of
seeds or pulp. One possibility is that we
do not have the proper pollinators, since
insects are excluded from the greenhouse.
A warm-weather zoo with some space to
devote to growing Aframomum outside
may be more successful in obtaining
mature fruits, reportedly the favorite part
of the plant for some gorilla populations.

CONCLUSION

Though somm may advocate for more
testing of Aframomum before suggesting
its addition to the diets of captive gorillas,
we at Denver Zoo are not of this mindset.

¥/hile we would certainly cooperate in a
larger study if another institution wanted
to examine long-term effects the plant may
have on the health of captive populations,
our veterinary and animal care staff have
seen enough proof in the literature to feel
confident in feeding this natural food to
Denver’s gorillas. Even if Aframomum
did not possess the miraculous qualities
sometimes attributed to it, we feel that
as a staple, in the diet of wild gorillas it
is unlikely to be a harmful addition to
captive diets. We find it rewarding to be
among the small handful of zoos feeding
African plants to gorillas, and they seem
to enjoy it as well, so that alone makes it
worth the effort of cultivation.

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 51

REFERENCES

Biodiversity Library Exhibition (BLE). 2013. Biodiversity
Library Exhibition. Sourced from www.
biodiversityexhibition.com on January 26‘^ 2013.

Calvert, J.J. 1985. Food selection by western gorillas
{Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in relation to food chemistry.
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Cousins, D., and M.A. Huffman. 2002. Medicinal
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Pharmacological Evaluation. African Study
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Doherty, V.F., Olaniran, 0.0. and U.C. Kanife. 2010.
Antimicrobial Activities of Aframomum melegueta
(Aligator Pepper). International Journal of Biology
2(2):126.

Dokosi, O.B. 1998. Herbs of Ghana. Ghana Universities
Press, Accra.

Doran, D.M., McNeilage, A., Greer, D., Bocian, C.,
Mehiman, P. and N. Shah. 2002. Western
Lowland Gorilla Dietand Resource Avaiiabiiity: New
Evidence, Cross-Site Comparisons and Reflections
on Indirect Sampling Methods. American Journal
of Primatology 58(3):91-116.

Dybas, C.L. 2007. Out of Africa: A Tale of Gorillas,
Heart Disease.. .and a Swamp Plant. Bioscience
57(5):392-397.

Fay, J.M.M., Agnagna, J., Moore, J. and R. Okoko. 1989.
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forests of North Central Congo: Preliminary data on
populations and ecology. International Journal of
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Iwu, M.M. 1993. Handbook of African Medicinal Plants.
CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.

Kadiri, A.B. 2009. An Examination of the Useage of
Herbal Contraceptives and Abortifacients in Lagos
State, Nigeria. Ethnobotanical Leaflets 13: 140.

Knott, C. 1998. Orangutans in the wild. National
Geographic Magazine, 194 (2): 30-57.

Lawal, B.A.S., Aderibigbe, A.O., Essiet, G.A. and A.D.
Essien. 2007. Hypotensive and Antihypertensive
Effects of Aframomum melegueta Seeds in
Humans. International Journal of Pharmacology
3(4):311-318.

Less, E. H. 2012. Adiposity in Zoo Gorillas {Gorilla gorilla
gorilla): The Effects of Diet and Behavior. PhD
Thesis, Case Western University.

Merfield, EG. 1954. The Gorilla of the French Cameroon.
Zoo Life 9(3):84-94.

Murphy, H.W., Dennis, R, Devlin, W., Meehan, T. and I.
Kutinsky. 2011. Echocardiographic Parameters
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gorilla). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine
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Olowokudeju, J.D., Kadiri, A.B. and V.A. Travih. 2008.
An Ethnobotanical Survey of Herbal Markets
and Medicinal Plants in Lagos State of Nigeria.
Ethnobotanical Leaflets 12: 851-865.

Perry, L.M. 1980. Medicinal Plants of East and South
East Asia. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachussets.

Popovich, D.G., Jenkins, D.J., Kendall, C.W., Dierenfeld,
E.S., Carroll, R.W., Tariq, N. and E. Vidgen. 1997.
The Western Lowland Gorilla Diet has Implications
for the Health of Humans and Other Hominoids.
Journal of Nutrition 127:2000-2005.

Remis, M.J., Dierenfeld, E.S., Mowry, C.B., and R.W.
Carroll. 2001. Nutritional Aspects of Western
Lowland Gorilla {Gorilla gorilla gorilla) Diet During
Seasons of Fruit Scarcity at Bai Hoku, Central African
Republic. International Journal of Primatology
22(5):807-836.

Rogers, M.E., Maisels, F., Williamson, E.A., Fernandez,
M., and C.E.G. Tutin. 1990. The Diet of Gorillas in
the Lope Reserve, Gabon: A Nutritional Analysis.
Oecologla, 84: 326-339.

Schaller, G.B. 1963. The Mountain Gorilla: Ecology and
Behaviour. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Schmidt, D.A., Ellersieck, M.R., Cranfield, M.R. and
W. Karesh. 2006. Cholesterol values in free-
ranging gorillas {Gorilla gorilla gorilla and Gorilla
beringei) and Bornean orangutans {Pongo
pygmaeus). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine
37(3):292-300.

Schulman, F.Y., Farb, A., Virmani, R. and R.J. Montali.
1995. Fibrosing Cardiomyopathy in Captive
Western Lowland Gorillas {Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in
the United States: A Retrospective Study. Journal
of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 26(1):43-51.

Simon, J.E., Koroch, A.R., Acquaye, D., Jefthas, E.,
Juliani, R. and R. Govindasamy. 2007. Medicinal
Crops of Africa. In: Issues in New Crops and New
Uses. Janick, J. & Whipkey, A. (eds). ASHA Press,
Alexandria, Virginia.

Surh, Y.J. 2006. Chemopreventive Phenolic
Compounds in Common Spices. In: Carcinogenic
and Anticarcinogenic Food Components. Baer-
Dubowska, W., Bartoszek, A., Malejka-Giganti, D.
(eds). CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.

Tane, R, Tatsimo, S.D., Ayimele, G.A., and J.D. Connolly.
2005. Bioactive Metabolites from Aframomum
Species. 11th NAPRECA Symposium Book of
Proceedings, Antananarivo Madagascar. 214-223.

Tutin, C.E.G., and M. Fernandez. 1985. Foods Consumed
by Sympatric Populations of Gorilla g. gorilla and
Pan t. troglodytes in Gabon: Some Preliminary Data.
International Journal of Primatology 6(l):27-43.

Yamagiwa, J., Mwanza, N., Yumoto, T. and T. Maruhashi.
1994. Seasonal change in the composition of
the diet of eastern lowland gorillas. Primates,
35:1-14.,

52 ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, inc.

Facilitating Gorilla Husbandry with
Established Training and Enrichment Programs

Ricca DuCharme, Keeper HI * Liz Monte, Keeper HI
Disney’s Animal Kingdom®

Orlando FL

At Disney’s Animal Kingdom® (DAK), we have found that multi-
faceted training and enrichment programs are highly beneficial
in mitigating gorilla husbandry issues. This paper will focus
on how enrichment initiatives, as well as an established
training program are used for managing social groups, medical
management, as well as training both urgent and daily
husbandry behaviors.

Managing social groups of animals can be complex. The needs
of the individuals and group must be met while keeping in mind
the natural composition of such groups. Bachelor gorilla groups
in particular present several challenges for zoo keepers. The
bachelor group at DAK was formed with four juvenile males
and one silverback. As the juveniles matured we started seeing
increased aggression among the group. Keepers wanted to ensure
that the group had a safe outlet to redirect aggression and the
ability to perform species-specific behaviors such as displaying
safely. Keepers noticed that the bachelors often displayed on
very large enrichment items that were used in their holding
areas at night. Our goal was to give them the same opportunity
on exhibit during the day, while maintaining the naturalistic
look of the outdoor habitat. To accomplish this, anchors were
strategically installed throughout the habitat so that keepers
could secure large items such as trash cans, large boomer balls
and barrels behind bushes or dead fall allowing the gorillas to
redirect their aggression onto the objects rather than each other
and maintaining the aesthetic integrity of the habitat.

Through the installation of puzzle feeders, we were able to
manage aggression within our bachelor troop. The goal was to
provide the bachelors with a means of foraging that would occupy
their time and decrease contact aggression. We had an existing
feeder where the gorillas spent signifi.cant time foraging. In

Puzzle feeder in gorilla exhibit

order to increase foraging time and eliminate competition over
the one feeder, we had three additional feeders installed. These
were created by cutting a hole into preexisting rock structures
in the exhibit. The holes were then covered and secured with a
metai mesh top that keepers could take off in order to place food
inside. Items such as oatmeal or mashed potatoes were offered
because they required a lot of time to remove from the feeder
and were favored by the gorillas. Our observations showed that
in addition to time spent accessing food from the feeders, the
gorillas also spent time finding and modifying suitable branches
for feeder tools. Additionally, we noticed that the gorillas came
back to the feeders throughout the day to forage for leftovers.
This enrichment initiative was effective because it kept the
gorillas engaged in an appropriate activity and resulted in less
time for possible aggressive interactions.

Another instance where we found enrichment to be critical to
our husbandry strategy was in mitigating infant stealing in our
family group of gorillas. Novel enrichment items were used
to divert the attention of Hasani, a four-year-old male, v/ho
began carrying his infant sister, Makena. Though their mother
Benga was a very experienced mother, she demonstrated a
lax maternal style, and began handing her newborn infant to
Hasani when Makena was just two-days-old. Hasani eventually
began taking the infant from his mother and often handled her
inappropriately; he was very rough with her and sometimes
dragged her throughout the exhibit by her leg. Due to the
threat this behavior presented to the infant, the team problem-
solved the situation and developed a number of strategies to
mitigate the inappropriate behavior. One of the most important
strategies was to ignore Hasani when he was exhibiting
undesirable behaviors and reward when he exhibited desirable
behaviors such as playing appropriately with her or returning

Zawadi utilizing puzzle feeder

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 53

Lilly climbing on wheelbarrow

her to her mother upon request. Another strategy was to
increase the number of daily feedings and training sessions the
gorillas received, thus making their routine less predictable and
more novel. For safety purposes the water moat surrounding
the habitat was drained and padded with wood wool. One of
the main focuses for problem-solving the behavioral issue was
to completely overhaul the enrichment program. At the time
of these occurrences, DAK’s animal habitats followed a strict
theme, or storyline. The storyline for the gorilla habitats are
that a group of researchers are camping in the area in order to
study the two gorilla groups. By expanding upon this storyline
keepers were able to put items such as blankets, clothing, pots,
pans, water jugs, and canteens in the exhibit, since these are
all items you would expect to find at a researcher’s campsite.
(The story is a troop of baboons raided the camp and that is
why the items are spread throughout the habitat). These novel
enrichment items were offered every two hours. This provided
a more dynamic schedule for the gorillas as well as increasing
the variability of novel items. The gorillas had to be shifted
into holding in order to put out new enrichment which meant
that Hasani’s behavior was redirected to a constructive outlet.
Hasani’s inappropriate behavior diminished within a few weeks.

Several years later as Hasani matured, we found ourselves
once again utilizing enrichment in order to better manage our
family group. Hasani started showing aggression towards the
silverback as well as the females in his family group. Although
we were seeing an increase in aggression, keepers felt it was
important to maintain Hasani in his natal group as long as
possible in order to provide him with optimal socialization. To
combat this aggression, keepers increased enrichment offerings
from two times to four times a day, and included items the males
could use to safely display on. In an effort to increase foraging
time, puzzle feeders similar to the bachelor gorillas’ feeders were
utilized. Keepers also looked for ways to better utilize space in
the holding area. This was achieved by hanging platforms in all
of the holding areas to allow for the use of the vertical space.
By making the vertical space more useable, the lighter, more
agile females had easy avenues to escape from Hasani. After
implementing these strategies, the aggression was reduced to a
manageable level, and Hasani was able to remain in his family
group another four years, until he was thirteen-years-old.

Training and enrichment have also proved useful in managing
medical cases with our gorillas. Benga, a female in our family
gorilla group, presented with an arm injury. The wrist was
swollen and she was not using the limb to locomote or forage.

Radiographs were needed in order to determine the level
of injury to the arm. Typically an immobilization would be
required to obtain radiographs. The staff preferred not to
immobilize her for radiographs due to her advanced age. Luckily
our vet staff had a portable x-ray unit. If we could find a way to
use this equipment to get the radiograph then we could avoid an
immobilization. By repurposing a large five-gallon water bottle
that had been a previous enrichment item, keepers were able
to create a radiograph sleeve. Benga was already comfortable
with this item because it had been a regular enrichment item
for a number of years. Utilizing an existing opening in the
holding mesh from our blood pressure sleeve, the water bottle
was secured to the outside of the mesh to form a contained
area for her to place her arm outside of the enclosure mesh.
The resulting radiograph images revealed a fracture. After
showing the images to an orthopedic surgeon, we decided to
allow the bone to heal without intervention, thus sparing her
two immobilizations. Benga’s arm was radiographed weekly for
eight months to monitor its healing. It is important to note that
we would not use this method with our adult male gorillas, due
to their size and strength. We believe the key to our success in
training this behavior was the desensitization to the presence
of vet staff and large groups at routine training sessions. This
strategy has been exceedingly successful in mitigating stress
when medical assessments by vets or other specialists are
required.

We have also found that desensitization to objects prior to
shaping complex behaviors can eliminate steps and make the
process easier, quicker and less stressful. Keepers introduce
props such as PVC dowels and medical equipment in the

Cardiac ultrasound.

54 ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

beginning of the training process in order to mitigate difficulties
later on when they may be more critically needed. In particular,
one of these behaviors that we needed to train was awake
cardiac ultrasounds. This behavior became important when
one of our silverbacks was diagnosed with heart issues and
our vets asked us to train all five of our silverbacks in order
to monitor their cardiac health. We were given eight weeks to
train all five gorillas. If we could not complete the behavior then
all five would require immobilizations to determine the degree
of cardiac risk for each of them. We also knew that awake
ultrasounds were ideal because the anesthetic agents used to
immobilize the gorillas could affect the ultrasound results. We
had an ultrasonographer that came in for these sessions and
directed the keepers on the positioning of the probe. She also
worked with the primate managers during these sessions so
they were able to assist keepers during training sessions. We
are now able to perform awake voluntary cardiac ultrasounds at
least twice a year in order to monitor their condition and send
the images to the Gorilla Health Project.

Blood pressure is another complex behavior that was facilitated
by previous desensitization to medical equipment. We found
that trust and the relationship with keepers was the most
important factor when training this behavior, especially when
inflating the cuff and asking them to hold still for a period of
time while the cuff tightens around their arm. This behavior
also requires two keepers which is unusual, so it was important
for the gorilla to be comfortable with this. In addition to cardiac
ultrasound, this is another procedure that can be impacted
by anesthetic agents and better results can be achieved when
measurements are collected on awake animals.

Another situation where keeper relationship along with early
familiarization to props was essential was in providing dental
care to Hope, one of our female gorillas. She had chronic
gingivitis for several years and required daily dental care. Hope
was one of our most suspicious gorillas but had prior training
with props such as a spray bottle and toothbrushes. Her daily
dental routine consisted of brushing her teeth with an electric
toothbrush, rinsing the toothpaste and flushing her gums with
mouthwash. This routine allowed us to monitor her teeth and
gums daily and photographically document any changes that
occurred. We also sent these photographs to our veterinarians.

The use of enrichment was significant in the treatment of our
youngest gorilla Lilly. After Lilly’s birth, keepers noticed she
appeared to be significantly developmentally delayed. Her

mother, Kashata, seemed to be compensating for her. Kashata
was observed either bipedally or tripedally locomoting while
carrying Lilly. Although no diagnosis was obtained, occupational
and physical therapy was recommended to treat the symptoms
of her lack of development. It is important to note that Kashata
participated in maternal training while she was pregnant with
Lilly. We were able to utilize Kashata’s prior training in order
to help position Lilly closer to the mesh. During Lilly’s therapy
sessions, a wide variety of enrichment items were used. Keepers
selected items with unique textures, bright colors or items that
made noise or vibrated. We also altered items by changing their
temperature or taste. Each item was chosen because it served a
specific function for muscle stimulation, muscle strengthening,
or improved hand-eye coordination.

In addition to the therapy sessions conducted in holding,
keepers wanted to extend Lilly’s therapy to include her time
in the habitat. Due to Lilly’s unique needs, keepers were given
approval to place unthemed items at the large glass viewing area
of the habitat. With these new items we wanted to encourage
exploration, object manipulation and movement to improve her
gross motor skills. We used large items such as wheelbarrows
and spools that Lilly could climb on and smaller items such as
Kongs® and balls that could be thrown, picked up, or carried.
These items varied daily. The addition of these novel items not
only helped in accomplishing our physical therapy goals, but it
also appeared to enhance the guests’ experience while watching
the gorillas.

As these husbandry challenges have demonstrated, basic
yet multifaceted enrichment and training programs are
highly beneficial to gorilla management. Both can have far
reaching goals that can aid in key husbandry elements such
as training, medical care and management of complex social
situations. A well-established program can aid in the problem-
solving of difficult husbandry situations helping to avoid
unnecessary medical intervention and the dissolution of social
units. Investment in such a program is vital to maintaining a
comprehensive gorilla husbandry program.

Radiograph training.

Physical therapy session with Lilly.

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 55

AAZK

■TRAINING TALES

Where you can share your training experiences!

TRAINING TALES EDITORS
Jay Pratte, Henry Doorly Zoo
Kim Kezer, Zoo New England
Beth Stark-Posta, Toledo Zoo

You Want Me To
Do WHAT Yor Carrots?!

Training 1.0 Western Lowland Gorilla

on the Chow-Free Diet

Aaron Jesue, Gorilla Keeper II
North Carolina Zoological Park • Asheboro, NC

INTRODUCTION

Since June of 2008, the Western
Lowland Gorilla (WLG) troop at the
North Carolina Zoo has been offered
a healthier, greener chow-free diet.

The goal of the diet change was to
provide the gorillas with a diet low in
sugar and starch, high in fiber, and
which more closely approximates what
gorillas eat in the wild. When making
this transition, keepers learned that
there would be limited “treats” allowed
during training sessions. Items such
as yogurt, chocolate sauce, grapes,
primate biscuits, bananas, animal crackers, and other “goodies”
that we were accustomed to using as rewards were removed from
the diet. Keepers were required to follow the assigned diet and be
more creative in achieving their operant conditioning goals. Each
animal had to be assessed individually to figure out what diet
foods would work best for training. This article will discuss the
issues faced while training new and more complex behaviors to 1.0
WLG at the North Carolina Zoo on the low sugar, chow-free diet.

THE DIET CHANGE

Prior to his arrival at the NC Zoo in March of 2008, Nkosi was
given a variety of food reinforcements: oatmeal with mixed
berries, bananas, apples, oranges, grapefruit, potatoes, primate
biscuits, raisins, etc. Even while in quarantine after arrival at

the NC Zoo, the veterinary technicians
were rewarded with a very loud
grumble from a very food-motivated
animal during training and enrichment
sessions. Once quarantine ended,
coincidentally, so did the high variety of
“treats” due to the transition to the new
chow free diet. His perceived favorite
items were now considered “illegal
contrabands,” along with other items
that had been a staple in the gorilla
keeper food enrichment arsenal for
many years. The keepers needed to
change their mentality that gorillas
could only do new behaviors, shift, and cooperate for novel food
rewards outside of their diet. A quick transition was made to
adopt the approach that a gorilla can really do anything with
reinforcement from their diet.

We originally stai’ted out with apples as the preferred training
item, but after a nutritionist rechecked the overall composition
of the chow-free diet, she suggested removing apples and
replacing them with kiwi. The gorillas quickly adjusted to the
fruit exchange, and the keepers soon observed all of the gorillas
successfully training for only kiwi, carrots, and the occasional
“jackpot” item of air-popped popcorn. In only two months
following the introduction of the chow-free diet and the limited
training treats, I was able to successfully hand-inject Nkosi for

Cardiac ultrasound training on exhibit with Hospital Wiggins, Dr. Stringer, and Keeper Jesue. Photos by Tom Gillespie

56 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, inc.

Nkosi in the "Lay Down" position, part of the cardiac ultrasound training
with Dr. Stringer and Keeper Jesue. Photo by Aaron Jesue

Nkosi participating in "Mouthwash Training" with Keeper Jesue.
Photo by Tom Gillespie

a medical procedure, while only using a few small pieces of fruit
as a reward.

TRAINING A NEW BEHAVIOR

In May of 2010, 1 attended the Gorilla Workshop at the Oklahoma
City Zoo. At the workshop, a presentation by Disney’s Animal
Kingdom gorilla keepers showed how they were able to perform
a complete cardiac exam on an awake gorilla. Presenting for
an ultrasound was a behavior that we had never thought to
train the gorillas at our zoo. Since heart disease is so prevalent
with male gorillas in captivity (and was a factor in the death
of Nkosi’s father, Sunshine), we thought accomplishing this
training goal with Nkosi could help improve his veterinary
care and management. When the idea was brought back to the
North Carolina Zoo, the decision was made
to immediately begin training Nkosi on
cardiac ultrasound, along with TB test and
blood draw. Completing these three major
components through training would alleviate
the need to anesthetize Nkosi for his yearly
checkup.

Work began with desensitizing Nkosi first to a
mock ultrasound probe/unit, made from PVC,
jump rope, and a box. Once he was reliably
presenting his chest for the mock ultrasound
probe, ultrasound gel was introduced. Nkosi
is a very particular gorilla; he doesn’t like
getting dirty, he doesn’t like dirt on his food,
and he especially doesn’t like ultrasound gel
on his chest. Desensitization to the gel took much longer than
anticipated, but once he reliably allowed me to put gel on the mock
probe and move it around on his chest, it was time to introduce
the vet techs and vets. We are lucky at our zoo to have vets and
vet techs that are interested in changing animal perceptions
of only negative things happen when they are present. They
are also interested in helping the keepers do anything possible
to help avoid anesthetizing the animals in our collection. We
scheduled weekly, and sometimes daily, training sessions in
which the vets and vet techs would come to train with Nkosi to
get him comfortable with the real ultrasound machine. Over
the next few months, we were able to do successful ultrasound
sessions and capture some initial cardiac images with the zoo’s
ultrasound machine.

ADJUSTMENTS TO OUR TRAINING PLAN

However, following a discussion with an ultrasound technician
and vet staff, we determined some new positions that Nkosi
would need to be in during the actual cardiac ultrasound training
session. The new position required Nkosi to lie down on the left
side of his body with his right hand holding onto the mesh above.
Numerous questions arose:

1. Which holding room should this behavior be trained in to
provide adequate space for him to completely lie down?

2. Can this behavior be trained both in holding and on exhibit?

3. How will Nkosi adjust to the additional time extensions
to each ultrasound training session, extending from 10-15
minutes to our goal of 20-25 minutes.

Once the details were worked out, we began
training with Nkosi in holding in the morning
in addition to on exhibit in the afternoon.
Our approach to train this position was to
target his right foot extended to our left
downward, his right hand up on the mesh,
and another target for his left ear. Each day
I would target his ear lower and lower on the
mesh towards the floor. The command used
was “lay down,” along with my body leaning
over in a similar position. He slowly started
connecting the dots until he finally laid all
the way down a few months later. Each day
following this breakthrough, we maintained
this behavior to ensure it would be reliable when we scheduled
the actual procedure. Less than one year after attending the
Gorilla Workshop, we successfully completed an awake cardiac
ultrasound exam on Nkosi on 9 May 2011. The session lasted
about 30 minutes, involved one large bowl filled with carrots, and
included Jan Blackburn, the zoo’s ultrasound consultant who was
a new face that Nkosi had never met before while awake. We
were able to capture all necessary images relating to chamber
size, contractility, and blood flow patterns. When the jackpot
bag was being torn open and popcorn was flying around after
the session was over, a big sigh of relief was let out by the vet
staff and myself. All of the extra training sessions and months
of preparation had paid off.

Picture showing the chambers of the heart
obtained through operant conditioning.
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Ryan DeVoe.

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 57

We have come a long way over the last four years adjusting to the
challenges of training while on the chow-free diet. Our current
group of gorillas consists of Nkosi, Jamani, Acacia, and Olympia
(1.3). All four gorillas train for both basic routine behaviors (body
part presentation, shifting, trade, etc.) and more individually
specialized training. Nkosi is currently training for blood draw,
blood sleeve, mouth wash training, blood pressure sleeve, and TB
test with the new rewards of carrots and green beans (followed
by the staple jackpot of brown paper bag of air-popped popcorn);
Acacia is currently working on cardiac ultrasound training;
Jamani and Olympia are currently working on ultrasound
training and other maternal behaviors due to their current
pregnancies regulated from the Gorilla Species Survival Plan
(SSP) breeding recommendations (Jamani due in July; Olympia
due in October of 2012). The females train for kiwis from their
diet, a luxury we cannot use for Nkosi while he is on exhibit due
to issues with regurgitation and reingesting.

Almost all of the success that has occurred in training over the
last four years of the chow-free diet has to be attributed to Nkosi.
If it was not for his eagerness to train, ability to adapt quickly to
change, and motivation for food, many of these successes would
not be possible. Nkosi’s introduction to training was established
by the gorilla staff at the Columbus Zoo and has helped us shape
him into the “rock star training” status he currently maintains
here at the North Carolina Zoo. Keepers here and at many other
zoos have feared that by taking away what they perceive as their
animals favorite food items, you will not be able to accomplish
your training goals. Our training experience with Nkosi has
shown that even very challenging behaviors can be trained using
limited (healthy) treats and only items found in their chow-free
diet. Patience, adaptability to new ideas, and proper application
of modern training techniques have proven that anything is
possible and that new ideas and concepts can outweigh the
perceived notions and assumptions of the past.

Special thanks to: Supervisor Chris Goldston and all of the
Pavilion/Gorilla Keepers, Curator Ken Reininger, Curator
Rich Bergl, Curator Terry Webb, Tom Gillespie for use of his
photos, Dr. Ryan DeVoe, Dr. Betsy Stringer, Hospital Vet Techs
Gisela Wiggins and Dave Hill, Keeper Kelly Froio, Keeper
Becky Richendollar for all of her editing and support, and most
importantly Nkosi for all of his hard work and training skills.

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 201 1 Great
Lakes Regional Gorilla Workshop (GLRGW) at the Lincoln Park
Zoo in Chicago.

December 2013 Update: August 2012 saw the births

of Bomassa (August 4th) and Apollo (August 31st) as the first
gorilla baby births for the North Carolina Zoo in over 20 years.
Nkosi continued to be our most reliable and best trainer with a
continuation of further awake cardiac ultrasound exams, TB tests
through training, and a new method of blood collection through
his chest. The end of August 2013, a few weeks removed from
celebrating the 1st birthday party for Bomassa and Apollo, we
experienced a surprising turn of events. Nkosi became ill rather
quickly and unexpectedly. His health went downhill drastically
in a span of about one week. Due to an internal infection and
the damage it had caused, Nkosi was euthanized on September
3, 2013. His legacy will be carried on by his two sons, and his
training accomplishments will hopefully help inspire other
keepers to work through roadblocks, set backs, and the challenge
of rewarding. »

58 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

TRAINING TALES

Comments: by Kim Keier

This paper certainly demonstrates that animals CAN learn behaviors
for carrots as a reward! Making a change often seems to be harder
for the human than it is for the animal. With emphasis being placed
on providing healthierdietsforouranimals, using primarily food from
their diet often conflicts with a trainer’s reinforcement regime. We
generally think that rewards should be something novel outside of
the animals diet. Unfortunately, some of our choices tend be those
higher in sugarand of less nutritional value. ¥/hen the option of novel
food rewards is eliminated, it encourages trainers to be more creative
about their reinforcements and consider taking advantage of those
secondary reinforcers we may not use as often as we should.

If the animal is strorigly influenced by a food reward and secondary
reinforcement is less of an option, try being more creative and
interesting in the way you prepare, as well as deliver the animals’
reward from their diet. Remove their preferred diet items and use
those only for training. Try creating a “mash” or “smoothie” with
theirdiet. Possibly considerlookingforcompietely novel, yet healthy,
approved options. Search forveggies not already in the diet, like green
beans, peas, kale, etc. that might be novel enough to peak interest
and then prove rewarding aiso. If juice is an option, try diluting it and
offering it via a syringe or spray bottle.

The key to success is patience and making
slow transitions. Do not be discouraged
if they do not respond positively at first,
continue to try and eventually the animals
will transition over to their new, but not so
new, training rewards.

Congratulations on yoursuccess in training and making the transition
to a healthier food reward program. Sharing your Training Tale can
inspire others that with a little patience and creative thinking great
things can be achieved ! Our jobs present us with opportunities to learn
from each other and from the animals in our charge. ¥/hi!e Nkosi’s
unexpected passing is distressing to your facility and to the species,
his willingness to train and learn new complex behaviors during the
diet and rev/ard transition motivates us to keep an open mind about
changes like these. Whatyou learned from working with Nkosi will only
benefityourtraining program with his recent offspring. Thankyoufor
yoursubmission and we look forward to hearing about Bomassa and
Apollo’s training in a future TrainingTale... hint, hint ©

Keepers Lend a Helping Hand:

Training Leo for Treatment of Ms Chronic Condition

Judy Sievert, Keeper * Stephanie Payne, Keeper • Traci Colwell, Keeper » Hugh Bailey, Lead Keeper

Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, WA

INTRODUCTION

In 2007, western lowland gorilla managers and keepers at the
Woodland Park Zoo (WPZ) were interested in forming a third
group by bringing in a new male. We wanted to work with the
SSP to find a male who was not over-represented genetically,
and who was otherwise difficult to place in a zoo where
he could form a family group. Such a male could have been
solitary, an unproven breeder, socially challenged, older, in a
poor living situation, or all of the above. We felt the Woodland
Park Zoo would be a good fit for such a male because we have
a large number of females v/ho could be potential companions,
and a relatively flexible facility with room to accommodate
introductions/living space. Additionally, we have keepers who
are experienced in introducing females to an older, hand-raised
male who was an unproven breeder, and getting him to breed.
We felt we were well-equipped to deal with the challenge and
wanted to help a male who might not otherwise get the chance
to be with females and have offspring.

With this in mind, the SSP recommended that we bring in
Leonel (AZA SB #666). At the time he was the SSP’s #1 priority
for placement of a male because he was solitary and in a less
than ideal situation. Leo was a good fit for the Woodland Park
Zoo because he was not over-represented genetically, and was
an older, hand-raised male, who never had a good opportunity to
be with females. While we had planned to acquire a male with
social challenges, we didn’t realize that Leo also had a chronic
medical condition. During his move to Seattle, we discovered
that his hand clenching behavior, presumed to be only a stress
indicator, was actually masking an underlying skin condition
that would require constant care. This article describes how we
have worked with Leo to care for his hands while integrating
him into a more species-appropriate gorilla family group.

BACKGROUND

Leonel (Leo) was born on 20 February 1978 at the Gladys Porter
Zoo in Brownsville Texas. Like many other gorillas born in that
era, Leo was pulled as an infant for hand-rearing by his keepers.
As far as we can ascertain, Leo had limited gorilla contact for

Photo 1: Leo’s chronic dermatitis.

the first four years of his life and as a result he became heavily
imprinted on humans.

At the age of four, Leo moved to the Los Angeles Zoo and was
placed in a famJly group. According to keepers there, Leo lacked
proper gorilla social skills and the subtle communication tools
that are used among gorillas living in a group. After five years in
LA, Leo was moved to the St. Louis Zoo and housed in a bachelor
group of young males. As Leo grew up with his peers, he did
not appear to have the skills necessary to navigate becoming
either a dominant m_ale or a submissive troop member; due to
his difficulty within the group he was eventually removed from
the bachelor group and housed alone. Noticeable stereotypic
behaviors began to present themselves. St. Louis reported very
frequent bouts of regurgitation and reingestion (R&R) and was
the first institution to observe Leo clenching his hands in fists.
After 14 years at the St. Louis Zoo, in 2001, Leo was moved
to Granby Zoo in Quebec, Canada. By this time, Leo was 23-
years-old and had spent most of those years living alone. While
at Granby, he was introduced to two females (Zira and Caroline)
and was unfortunately only with them for a very brief amount of
time, as both females passed away due to natural causes within
a year of each other. Leo was once again housed alone but had
visual access to an older male; having visual access to this
older and mellower male seemed to work well for Leo. In 2006,
Granby Zoo received a bachelor group of three young males from
the Calgary Zoo, and although Leo was never fully introduced
to these new males, their presence and proximity to him in the
building seemed to have increased his anxiety.

In November 2008, Leo left the Granby Zoo and began his
journey to Seattle. Because he was coming into the United
States from Canada, Leo was required to go through a full CDC
quarantine, and the Columbus Zoo offered to house him in their
CDC approved quarantine facility. At the end of the quarantine
period, a gorilla keeper from WPZ flew to Columbus and escorted
Leo to Seattle. The hand clenching behavior observed in St.
Louis and Granby was very pronounced when the WPZ keeper
visited Leo in Coluro.bus.

Photo 2: Leo extends his hand through bars to touch target.

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February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 59

During his pre-shipment exam, the Columhus Zoo vet staff was
able to open his hands and examine them. The skin on the
inside of his fingers and the top half of his palms was bright
red and sore looking. There were lines where his finger nails
had dug into the palms of his hands, and the skin at the fold
where his fingers meet the palm of his hand started to tear as
his fingers were pulled away from his palm. Photographs were
taken and sent to the veterinary staff at WPZ; it was clear that
there was a medical concern to be addressed in addition to his
behavioral issues.

EVALUATION

Leo arrived in Seattle in December 2008, and during the exam
for his second quarantine at WPZ, his hands were examined
and biopsies were taken. It was determined that he had chronic
dermatitis (see Photo 1 ) and decreased range of motion (lack of the
ability to fully open his hands) due to his constant hand clenching
behavior; furthermore, these two factors reinforced each other
in a positive feedback loop. The long-term treatment plans to
improve his hands would target both issues, and include topical
treatments of his hands to address the dermatitis and physical
rehabilitation to increase the range of motion of his hands.

Leo arrived at the gorilla unit on 17 March 2009. In addition to
having the behavioral notes from his ADT form and information
from the pre-shipment and quarantine exams, Leo gave
immediate visual cues upon arrival that his hands were causing
him discomfort. Aside from constantly clenching his hands, he
also held his fists tightly to his chest and would continue to hold
his left hand up as he walked (tripod walking). At times, he
would even hold both hands to his chest and shuffle bipedally.
It was apparent that his hands would need to be monitored and
cared for on a daily basis.

Our first objective was to be able to see beneath his fingers,
but his constant clenching made this impossible to do in a
casual, non-training situation. He was also very protective of
his hands, understandably, and as a result, was hesitant to
present them at the cage mesh for his new, unfamiliar keepers.
After he had become a bit more comfortable with us, he finally
complied with the request to “touch” bamboo sticks, but would
do so with clenched hands. All of Leo’s training routines were
established using a clicker as a bridge in conjunction with
positive reinforcement.

TRAINING PART 1: HAND CLEANING AND TOPICAL TREATMENTS

Most of our gorilla bedrooms are walled with 2”x2” mesh, but
there is one area with more widely spaced vertical bars along the

front, as well as a small opening that measures 814” x 14 14” (used
in the past for a baby introduction); this area proved to be the
starting point for Leo’s training. Initially, he was just asked to
station at the bars and touch his clenched hands to the ends of
two bamboo sticks, but within a week, Leo was able to extend his
hands through the bars in order to touch his target (see Photo 2).

Next, a tub was secured in front of the “baby door” and filled with
warm water. We placed several treats in the water (peanuts
and grapes) and waited to see if Leo would extend his hands
and “fish” for the treats; he did exactly that and even rested
his hands in the water for a bit, seemingly getting some relief
from his chronic condition. This activity also seemed to give him
the confidence to extend his hands through the baby door and
gave us a better idea of the modifications necessary for further
training at this location.

With Leo’s habitual hand clenching, it was almost impossible to
see the affected areas on his palms. Our next modification was
to add two horizontal rebar pieces across the opening of the baby
door, creating a restricted opening with enough room to allow Leo
to present each hand through the opening. Once these bars were
securely in place, Leo was asked to “touch” the bamboo stick that
we were holding in front of the baby door. He quickly established
this behavior, alternating hands upon request. The amount
of time that he was asked to extend his arm through the baby
door was slowly increased until several minutes of “hold” was
established. We then introduced the “open” request, which was
rewarded when Leo made an effort to open his fingers in order
to align them along the bamboo stick held horizontally above his
finger tips. Once established, this behavior was also extended
with the “hold” request; as training progressed, Leo was able
to “open” and “hold” long enough for us to assess the condition
of his hands in a consistent, routine way. In order to allow for
better examination and reference, we began to take pictures of
his hands during this process. Several shots were taken and the
best picture of each hand was dated and saved as an electronic
file for documentation (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, depending
on the condition of his hands). We were able to share the pictures
with vet staff and consultants and keep track of improvements or
set backs with the affected areas on his hands.

It quickly became apparent that further modifications were
still needed, as the rebar across the baby door did not restrict
Leo’s range of motion enough and he really enjoyed seeing his
keepers’ reactions to his sudden and swift lower arm movements.
Within a few weeks, keepers and a consulting plastics engineer
developed an 814” PVC pipe sleeve that could be attached to the

his new, custom-made sleeve.

60 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

Photo 5: Leo participating in physical rehabilitation.

opening of the baby door (see Photos 3-4).

This modification allowed for a safer
presentation of Leo’s lower arms/hands,
as well as giving keepers more options
in the approach to various treatments.
With the new pipe in place, training with
Leo was accelerated. Leo quickly became
habituated to gauze pads, scopettes, soft
dish brushes, and strips of rags, all used
to clean and dry his hands in preparation
for various topical treatments. As for the
topical ointments, we found that celery
was the best tool for application; the base
of the stalk was firm, it curved to the
shape of his palm, and was easily (and
affordably) replaced if he were to grab it.

Once Leo was comfortable with the
sleeve and the treatments, we began to
allow various new staff to sit and watch,
habituating him to new people in the
training area. This process allowed not
only for the vet staff to come and observe,
but specialists as well. In addition to the
human company, Leo quickly became
comfortable participating in training
within the presence of his two female
gorilla companions, Akenji and Nadiri.
This progression was proof to us that
he was comfortable with the set up and
trusted and understood our intentions.

In January of 2011, the Animal Health
Department introduced the idea of class
IV cold laser treatment as a possible
treatment of Leo’s skin condition. Our
earlier training to habituate Leo to
various tools, noises and visitors really
benefitted his introduction to this type of
therapy. In order to achieve the optimal
amount of exposure, Leo had to “hold”
his hand through the sleeve while we
held the probe over his affected areas
for a cumulative 10 minutes. This took
a lot of patience on his part, as well as
everyone else’s involved, but after several
sessions, Leo became accepting of the
warming light laser probe, the noisy
machine that accompanied it, the various
vet techs whom assisted, and the time it
took to complete a session (between 25-45
minutes in order to complete a full dose
of a 10 minute exposure of 6010 joules @
10 watts). Unfortunately, we did not see
the results we were hoping for and the
Animal Health Department decided to
discontinue the laser treatments at the
end of the trial period (six weeks).

TRAINING PART 2: PHYSICAL REHABILITATION

We think the dermatitis persists even
with ail of the on-going and varied topical
treatments due to his clenched fists. His
hands have been clenched for so long
that the tendons and skin have become
foreshortened, restricting extension of
his fingers, and the skin on the palm of

his hands is usually macerated. As a
result, this skin tears easily along the
crease where his fingers meet his palm
(the palmar digital crease) when his
clenched hands are opened, and he has
a few chronic ulcers along this crease on
each hand.

Since he was unable to open his hands
fully, we felt it necessary to start physical
rehabilitation in order to improve his
range of motion. We hoped that if we
could get him to relax and open his hands
we would start to see improvement of the
affected skin on his palms and fingers.
We devised several ways to have him
extend his fingers away from his palms
further than he typically did, and again,
Leo proved to be a willing participant.

We first started by asking him to stick the
four fingers of each hand through 2” square
wire mesh and rest them while he was
fed. Even this simple task was difficult
for him at first; his fingers would shake as
though they were weak while he stretched
them open and placed them through the
mesh. When this behavior finally became
easy for him we attached 1”, 114”, and 114”
diameter pieces of bamboo horizontally
to the keeper side of the wire mesh at
different heights. He was then trained to
place his four finger tips on the bamboo
and eventually asked to hang them out
and over the bamboo. He was easily able
to do this with his right hand but had
more difficulty with his left hand, and it
took several weeks before he was able to
actually hang his left fingertips over the
IV2” diameter bamboo. Then, Leo was
trained to stick his hands out of a wall of
%” vertical bars spaced 214” apart and hold
onto PVC pipes, ranging from 2” to 4 14”
{See Photo 5). We started with smaller
pipes and slowly increased to having him
hold larger diameter pieces as his range of
motion increased. Lastly, he was asked

to open and shut his hand several times
by lining up a bamboo stick against the
knuckles of his fingers.

CONCLUSION

Currently, Leo’s hands are cleaned twice
a day with a topical ointment of Bag
Balm® and silver sulfadiazine (a 50:50
ratio). He also continues to participate
in a 10-minute physical rehabilitation
session after each of his twice daily hand
treatments. While the physical rehab
has improved the range of motion in
his fingers, he still continually clenches
his hands. The condition of his skin
continues to vary, from hyperkeratosis
to pink (much like diaper rash). This
variation may be dependent upon many
factors that are quite difficult to identify
as specific or isolated causes; some of
these may be weather patterns (moist vs.
dry air), stress within his social group, or
cyclical cellular variations.

While Leo’s hand condition is an ongoing
problem, he is no longer by himself
and has overcome some of the social
limitations he faced previously. He is
very comfortable in his current social
group with two females; he engages in
close physical play, settles altercations,
and shows sexual interest in his females
but, to date, no mating has been observed.

Leo’s intelligence and flexibility has been
a huge asset to our training program.
Because of his cooperation, we are now
able to assess his chronic dermatitis
condition and treat it in various, non-
invasive or low-stress ways. His hands
may always retain some level of dermatitis
and limited range of motion, but with our
training program established, we are
able to monitor, reassess and redirect his
therapy as necessary.

Photos courtesy of Judy Sievert

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 61

Training a Goriila for Cardiac Uitrasound:
the Chalienges and the Reward

Kate Thomas, World of Primates Keeper and
Jenny Elston, Ph.D., Curator of Conservation and Behavior
Fort Worth Zoo * Fort Worth, Texas

Heart disease is a primary cause of death of gorillas (Gorilla
gorilla) in zoos. To better understand cardiovascular health and
disease in great apes, the Great Ape Heart Project (GAHP), led by
Zoo Atlanta, was established to create a comprehensive database
of cardiac information from individual apes housed in Association
of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) zoos. Information in the database
can then be studied to determine risk factors for cardiac disease
and improve the health of apes in zoos.

The Fort Worth Zoo in Fort Worth, Texas, houses five (2.3)
western lowland gorillas ranging in age from 21 to 41. Ramses is
a 41-year-old male gorilla. Because male gorillas are particularly
at risk for heart disease, we agreed that it would be beneficial for
us to have the capacity to monitor his heart condition on a regular
basis. We also wanted to partner with a professional cardiac
ultrasound technician who could use their expertise and high-
quality equipment to perform diagnostic exams on our gorillas
and acquire images to contribute to the GAHP database. We
learned about other institutions that were successful with gorilla
cardiac ultrasound training and
watched a video created by Disney’s
Animal Kingdom that demonstrated
the procedure. However, we knew
it would not be a simple endeavor
and would require time, patience,
teamwork and support from our
management. We began with Ramses’
training, but our ultimate goal was to
train all five of the zoo’s gorillas to
hold for cardiac ultrasounds. This
paper outlines some of the challenges
we encountered while training
Ramses, and how we overcame them.

Ramses is housed with a 40-year-
old female, Amani. Their night
holding connects to their exhibit via
two chutes on either side of a keeper
hallway. Routine training took place
during the morning (approximately
0900 hours) before the gorillas were shifted on exhibit, and each
gorilla was trained in separate chutes across from one another.
Following our training plan and using positive reinforcement,
I began training Ramses to present his chest against the mesh
using the verbal cue “chest”. Reinforcement varied, and included
items from his diet such as grapes, dried fruit, fruit juice and
cooked sweet potato. As Ramses accomplished each step, he
received a “jackpot” of peanut butter, jelly or honey. Once
Ramses was presenting his chest and letting me touch him with
a mock ultrasound wand, I needed to fine-tune his position. Our
goal was to have him present his chest flush with the mesh so
we could touch him all around his nipple area with the wand,
without having to put the wand very far through the mesh. This
would help avoid any potential damage to the real ultrasound

equipment. I began with him holding the mesh with his hands
above and adjacent to his head. My first challenge was with him
in this position, it was difficult for him to get the area to the left
of his nipple flush with the mesh. However, as I continued to
ask him to press his chest up closer to mesh, he began dropping
his left arm down to his side and turning his left shoulder into
the mesh. In this position, he could get the area around his
nipple more flush with the mesh. I captured this new position
and shaped it with the verbal “chest” cue, and this is the current
position he holds when we do the ultrasound training.

After training for chest presentation, the next challenge was
incorporating additional staff into the sessions. Initially, we
decided that one of the zoo’s veterinarians should operate the
zoo’s ultrasound machine until we could involve a professional
cardiac technician. During these training sessions I gave Ramses
the cue “chest” and the vet held the mock ultrasound wand to his
chest. We quickly decided this method was not going to work,
because the vet would need to look away from Ramses and the

wand in order to view the ultrasound
screen. We felt the person holding
the wand needed to monitor Ramses’
behavior to ensure equipment was
not grabbed or broken by him. So
we agreed the best option was to
have me hold the wand while the vet
(and subsequent cardiac technician)
viewed the monitor and directed me
how to position it on Ramses’ chest.

The next challenge we faced was being
able to maintain consistent training
sessions. We were unable to arrange
enough sessions during the week
because of the irregularity of the vet’s
schedule, and we knew we needed to
have more sessions in order to make
progress. However, we wanted to
include someone who was not one
of Ramses’ keepers in the training,
to help him adjust to an “outside” person being present, so that
we could later involve an ultrasound technician in his sessions.
So, our curator of conservation and behavior, Jenny, joined the
training to play the role of the technician, an adjustment that
provided the opportunity to train up to four times a week.

Now the challenge was getting Ramses comfortable training with
Jenny present. Ramses tends to be standoffish around new people,
and will run up and down his chute and display. So we worked on
building trust between Ramses and Jenny. This was accomplished
by having Jenny wear a keeper uniform shirt (something familiar
he could visually identify) and giving him opportunities to see
her from his night holding before he shifted into the chute for
training. We also started each session with Jenny positioned

Ramses holding his chest against the mesh with his
arm down during a cardiac ultrasound training session
with Kate (photo: J. Elston)

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at the entrance to the hallway and when he approached me to
train she would slov/ly move closer until she was next to me. At
first Ramses would leave the session and display, but when he
remained Jenny would offer him grapes to reinforce his sta5dng.
After about a month, Ramses was doing well with Jenny present.
However, he often still displayed before focusing on his session,
and would occasionally refuse
to train if Jenny was sitting
next to me at the beginning of
the session. We decided that
instead of trying to verbally coax
him over for a session after he
displayed or backed away, we
would give him a brief timeout
and turn to the opposite chute
and focus on training Amani.

We verbally praised Amani
during her sessions and this
seemed to make Ramses more
interested in training with
us. Approximately five weeks
after Jenny joined the sessions,

Ramses became more consistent
with his training, decreased his
display time, and joined the
sessions even with Jenny sitting
next to me at the beginning.

Now that the team was in place,
our next step was to introduce
transducer gel to Ramses, because gel is needed on the ultrasound
wand for it to function. I started by putting a little gel on my
finger and touching him with it or letting him touch it with his
finger. I then began to add gel to the mock wand, which created
our next challenge. Ramses was presenting his chest very well
for the mock wand alone, but he would leave the session after I
applied gel to the wand. We used a combination of verbal coaxing
or a timeout to encourage him to rejoin his session and accept
the gel on the wand, but often we had to wipe the gel from the
wand so that he would present his chest. After about a month, we
decided I should no longer wipe the gel off the wand and reward
him for holding his chest for the wand only. I began to reinforce
him for holding his chest for the wand only when it had gel on it,
so that he would learn that the gel is part of training with the
wand. Ramses adjusted to this change very quickly.

Our next goal was for Ramses to hold his chest in place for a least
one minute, allowing adequate time for a technician to collect
images to review for diagnostics. I increased his holding time in
10-second increments so I ended the session before he broke his
position. I gave him continuous reinforcement via food and verbal
praise, as well as a verbal “hold” cue. Within a week Ramses was
holding consistently for up to 15 seconds, and after about a month
Ramses was holding for around 30 seconds. Approximately four
months after Jenny joined the training sessions Ramses held for
one minute! After this breakthrough, Ramses began regularly
holding for at least one minute and doing so for multiple times
during a session.

With that accomplishment, we were ready to work with the
zoo’s ultrasound machine. Our director of veterinary services
was supportive of our training and involvement in the GAHP,
however, because ultrasound machines are expensive, we had to
demonstrate that we were ready to use the machine. We discussed
having one of our vets watch a training session to see how well
Ramses was doing, but we knew that Ramses would react to

having a vet present and might not train well. We determined
that we would videotape a session and meet with our vet staff
and mammal curators to view the video and discuss our training.
With full management support, we were given permission to use
the zoo’s ultrasound machine during our training sessions for the
purpose of determining the locations on his chest where we could

see his heart. It was agreed that
once we were able to locate his heart,
we would ask a technician to attend
training sessions with Ramses.

To prepare Ramses for the addition
of the ultrasound machine, we began
incorporating a laptop computer
into our sessions to simulate the
machine, and he adjusted well to
the addition of the equipment. We
then felt confident and ready to try
the ultrasound machine. Just a little
more than six months from when
we began working together with
Ramses, we saw his heart!

Over the next few weeks we
continued to use the ultrasound
machine and captured still images to
share with our vet staff. Then it was
time to bring in a cardiac ultrasound
technician. Luckily, our director of
veterinary services had connected
with a technician who was willing to volunteer to work with
us once a week. On her first visit to meet Ramses, he did some
displaying but he settled down rather quickly and allowed me to
do a brief training session with him. The following week Ramses
held for his first diagnostic exam, and the technician was able to
record some images.

In this paper we focused on our training with Ramses; however
we have also trained our other four gorillas to hold for cardiac
ultrasounds, and have seen the apical four chamber, long axis and
short axis views on each of them. We have been able to capture
many images, and the technicians can use the information
to measure health parameters such as the ejection fraction
(percentage of blood pumped from a filled ventricle during a
heartbeat) and perform diagnostic exams. We had similar
challenges with each gorilla (e.g., chest positioning, unfamiliar
person’s involvement, transducer gel, wand positioning, etc.), and
each challenge had its own unique solution. Time, patience and
support from our team were instrumental to our success, and our
reward is the benefit this training will have on the health of not
only our gorillas, but gorillas in other zoos as well.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank the Fort Worth Zoo World of Primates supervisor
Linda Roberts and keeper staff Angie Vtipil, Carrie Lippiatt,
Erin Heavey, Dana Accetta and Ida Lewis, our veterinarians
Drs. Nancy Lung, Shannon Ferrell and A.J. Marlar, and our
management team Kurt Giesler, John Ward, Stephanie Crowson,
Ron Surratt and Tarren Wagener for their cooperation and
support. Additional thanks are extended to cardiac ultrasound
technicians Anna King and Pam Money for volunteering their
time and expertise to this effort.

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 63

Advancing Gorilla
Care Through Positive
Reinforcement Training:
Two Case Studies

Becky Malinsky, Erin Stromberg, Amanda Bania and
Nicole Meese MacCorkle, Primate Keepers
Suzan Murray, Chief Veterinarian

Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park
Washington, DC

INTRODUCTION

Positive reinforcement training has become embedded into the
husbandry practices of managing animals in zoos, especially
in regards to great apes. Here we describe two examples of
simple training with western lowland gorillas {Gorilla gorilla
gorilla) that, while not anticipated at the time, allowed us to
easily transition to more complex behaviors that subsequently
increased our knowledge of gorilla health issues. Without the
collaborative efforts between keeper staff, veterinarians, and
nutritional scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, none
of this would have been possible. The following case studies
illustrate how keepers achieved valuable results that can extend
beyond the individual gorilla to benefit the entire species.

KWAMEANDKOJO

The characteristics of and treatment for cardiac disease can
vary greatly between species. It is described that fibrosing
cardiomyopathy (the replacement of heart muscle by fibrous
tissue) is the leading cause of death in captive western lowland
gorillas. More than 40% of captive gorilla deaths in American
Zoological Association (AZA) facilities are due to cardiovascular
disease, with the majority of these occurring in males. In an
effort to further investigate the causes of this disease, keepers
and veterinarians at the National Zoo have collaborated to
utilize technologies new to non-human primate medicine to
learn more about both normal and abnormal features of gorilla
heart disease.

Mandara with two-month-old Kibibi.

Photo by Mehgan Murphy, Smithsonian's Nationai Zoo

During routine physical examinations in February and March
of 2012, 2.0 western lowland gorillas (Kojo and Kwame, ages
10 and 12 respectively at the time) at the National Zoo were
the first two individuals of their species to receive Implantable
Loop Recorder (ILR) devices to monitor cardiac function. An
ILR is a small device that measures and records electrical
activity in the heart without wires and leads. The ILRs were
placed subcutaneously between the shoulder blades of each
gorilla. This location was determined to be suitable for the
implants to record cardiac data and to be easily accessible to
keepers during training.

It is necessary for the data collected in the ILRs to be downloaded
from the devices in order to be evaluated. This is done by holding
a monitor adjacent to the implant and “interrogating” it. As our
gorillas were already trained to present their backs to keepers
for examination, it was just a matter of preparing them for the
interrogation process. The biggest hurdle was acclimating the
two males to the monitors and their accompanying array of
beeps and lights. Once that was accomplished, they both quickly
progressed to allowing keepers to hold the monitors against the
devices in their backs for the length of time necessary to transfer
data. On average, it takes only 30-45 seconds to download
the information to the monitor, but since that can seem like a
lifetime to a gorilla patiently waiting to receive a food reward,
we decided to introduce a second trainer and utilize continuous
reinforcement during the interrogation sessions. The data can
also be affected by even slight movements from the animals
during downloads, so this also helps to reduce possible fidgeting
from the gorillas. The cardiac information is downloaded from
the ILRs about once a week by keepers, and then sent to and
reviewed by a human cardiologist as well as veterinary staff.

For the safety of both gorillas and veterinarians, typical
assessments of cardiac function are conducted while animals
are under general anesthesia. Due to the possible side effects of
anesthetic drugs on heart values and function, any training that
can lead to cardiac evaluation while a gorilla is awake is extremely
valuable. Additionally, only a snapshot of an individual’s health
is obtainable while they are under anesthesia, but ILR training

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American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

Downloading cardiac data from Kwame's ILR.

Photo by Office of Public Affairs, Smithsonian’s National Zoo

has allowed us to collect continuous cardiac data such as heart
rate, heart rhythm, heart rate variability and activity budgets
from two blackback gorillas.

Kojo and Kwame were chosen to be the first recipients of
these devices for several reasons. First, at the National Zoo,
we already had an established positive reinforcement training
program which all of our gorillas were involved in. Second, in
June 2006, we unfortunately lost two silverbacks, only two days
apart from one another, both to heart disease. As a result of
these tragedies, our veterinary and keeper staff became even
more passionate about and committed to contributing to the
knowledge base for understanding the causes of and treatment
for gorilla cardiac disease.

We hope that the data collected from the ILRs can provide
further insight into the causes of gorilla cardiac disease,
assist with earlier diagnosis, and help evaluate the efficacy of
medical therapies in the captive population. Ideally, additional
longitudinal studies can be conducted with other individuals,
even if to only gather more baseline gorilla cardiac data.

MANDARA

Producing milk is a defining characteristic of being a mammal.
Mammal infants can digest little else when they are born and
are dependent upon the vitamins, sugar, fat, minerals, and
growth factors that are passed to them through their mother’s
milk. It is important to continue learning about the composition
of milk not only to understand how it changes over time, but also
to develop improved formulas needed for hand-rearing infants.

Historically, milk sample collection methods for mammals have
varied. While some hoofstock animals (e.g., antelope, rhinos,
etc.) can be restrained in a squeeze chute, primates need to be
anesthetized to ensure the safety of the animal and the person
collecting the sample. Though both are effective techniques,
physical restraint can be stressful and may cause them to resist
the procedure, and anesthesia can be risky at all times - it is not
a practice that can be performed routinely or over a long period.
Food distractions have the potential to maintain some animals’
attention long enough for a milk sample to be collected, but
this only provides a small window of time in which the process
will be tolerated by the animal since the behavior is untrained.
Though any milk samples collected are invaluable to learning
more about milk, restraining, anesthesia, and stress may all
affect its composition.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is a leader in nutritional

science studies. The zoo has a large milk repository with
scientists studying milk composition from over 150 different
species. In 2008, the primate team was asked if our expectant
western lowland gorilla, Mandara (then 25-years-old), could be
trained to provide consistent milk samples for study. Mandara,
pregnant with her sixth offspring, made the perfect candidate to
pioneer this trained milk sample technique because she allows
for close inspection of herself and her infant through our normal
husbandry training process. Mandara is a proven, competent
mother, successfully rearing all of her infants in a zoo setting
without keeper intervention or neonatal exams. All gorillas
at the zoo are trained for basic husbandry behaviors, allowing
for body parts to be inspected for injury or issue, including
presenting their chest.

Positive reinforcement training for milk collection started as
Mandara reached the end of her pregnancy. She was already
trained to present her chest and allow for manipulation and
expression of her mammary glands. The behavior was initially
trained by one keeper with the help of back up trainers to
sustain the weekly collection of samples. Milk samples (varying
from 1 to 10 mis) have been obtained since the birth of her infant
(January 2009). Once collected they are sent to the National
Zoo’s nutrition team for labeling, storing, and analysis.

Several key successes have been accomplished by training
the milk collection behavior. First, the safety of both the
animal and the trainer has been increased by eliminating the
need for anesthesia or restraint. Second, the milk samples
obtained are the closest representation of what the infant was

The positive reinforcement training techniques
and protocois used with Mandara can now
be used as a tool for other zoos to further the
advancement of milk studies in great apes.

actually receiving from the mother (i.e., free of anesthesia,
hormonal, and stress effects). Third, perhaps the most
important for keepers, the trained behavior has gone from a
research collection method to a form of enrichment. Lastly,
Mandara’s milk samples have provided sustainable, fine-grade
longitudinal data which makes her the most represented
mammalian female in terms of milk composition. The positive
reinforcement training techniques and protocols used with
Mandara can now be used as a tool for other zoos to further the
advancement of milk studies in great apes.

CONCLUSION

While the two areas of study that have been advanced
through positive reinforcement training are quite different,
the similarities lie in their final outcomes. Both the fields of
cardiac health and nutrition have been broadened through the
data collected by keepers through basic husbandry training.
We hope the information that has been collected through this
training will enhance the body of knowledge for gorilla health
and medicine.

The authors would like to thank Medtronic, Inc. for donating
the Implantable Loop Recorders and associated equipment. We
also thank the veterinary team, nutrition team and primate
keeper staff at Smithsonian’s National Zoo for their vital
support and encouragement to utilize training to advance
gorilla health and husbandry.

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 65

The Heartbeat Behind the Chestbeat:

Training Gorillas for Stress-free Monitoring of Vital Statistics

Jodi Carrigan - Primate Keeper • Zoo Atlanta • Atlanta, GA

With 21 gorillas and two pending births,
Zoo Atlanta is home to the largest
collection of gorillas in North America.
The Zoo also houses one of the nation’s
largest geriatric collections, with three
gorillas over the age of 51, including the
oldest gorilla male in the world. While we
are proud to feature such a large group of
gorillas, there are obstacles to caring for

such a large collection, not to mention the
challenges we encounter when caring for
aging gorillas.

In order to effectively manage such a large
collection of gorillas and be prepared for
issues or problems we may at any time
encounter, we work proactively to train
our animals for preventative purposes.

HAND-INJECTIONS AND VOLUNTARY PRENATAL
ULTRASOUNDS

In the early stages of our training
program, we focused on basic husbandry
behaviors such as shifting, body part
presentation, stationing and most
importantly injections. These basics are
essential when working with such a large
collection. Each year we hand-inject

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American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

Jodi Carrigan and voluntary cardiac
sonographer Diana Ketchum from Children’s
Healthcare of Atlanta obtaining
awake ultrasound.

flu shots to all of our gorillas, as well
as hand-inject for physicals. The hand-
inject method is particularly helpful
to our routines, as the large size of our
collection often requires staff to perform
four physicals in two days.

In some cases, animals may even watch
another gorilla being anesthetized yet
remarkably they’ll still allow themselves
to be hand-injected for their turn. No
matter how many times I see this. I’m
always amazed and impressed that they
allow this to happen.

Voluntary prenatal ultrasounds help
us monitor fetal growth and pregnancy
progression. This is very important when
we do not know the date of conception;
using ultrasound can help us narrow
down the birth window.

CARDIAC ULTRASOUNDS

Heart disease is the leading cause of death
in all apes, particularly gorillas. Around
41 percent of captive gorilla deaths are
the result of heart-related illness, yet no
one really knows the underlying causes
(McManamon 2012). Zoo Atlanta has

PHOTOS OPPOSITE PAGE:

(Top left) Assigned vet tech Kimberly
McDermid administering flu shot to Charlie.

(Bottom left) Jodi Carrigan obtaining
voluntary heart rate on gorilla Taz.

(Right) Jodi Carrigan and gorilla-assigned
vet tech, Kimberly McDermid, training for
prenatal ultrasound.

Obtaining voluntary blood pressure on Ozzie

Vet tech and keeper obtaining a
voluntary X-ray

made several standout achievements in
our efforts to aid in early diagnosis of
cardiac disease and to monitor individuals
who are already showing signs of heart
disease.

We know that heart rate variability is
one indicator of heart disease in humans,
and therefore obtaining voluntary heart
rates helps monitor the progression of the
disease. As a result, having a basis of what
a “normal” heart rate for an individual is
can be very useful. For example, one of
our males, Taz, has a resting heart rate of
72 beats per minute. When he is agitated,
his rate is in the 90s, and when he has
been very active it is in the 80s. If we
know he’s calm and reading in the 90s,
that’s cause for concern, prompting our
vet staff to keep a closer eye on him and
most likely follow up with an ultrasound.

With voluntary cardiac ultrasounds, we
can physically look at the heart without
the risks or complications of anesthesia.
Heart wall thickness is the first thing
that changes when gorillas develop
heart disease (Murphy 2011). Anesthetic
drugs can potentially slow or increase
the animal’s heart images, making
training for awake ultrasounds even
more important. With voluntary cardiac
ultrasounds, we are also able to look at
blood flow and valve contraction.

VOLUNTARY BLOOD PRESSURE READINGS

In 2009, Ozzie (DOB 1961) became
the first gorilla to allow awake blood
pressure readings. Experts believe that
high blood pressure is a contributing
factor to heart disease. Anesthetic drugs
affect blood pressure, and there is a high
level of concern anytime an older animal
is anesthetized. With this training,
we’ve been able to monitor Ozzie’s

blood pressure and heart rate without
anesthesia, which is even more valuable
when he falls ill.

Voluntary blood pressure readings,
ultrasounds and heart rates allow our
vet staff to more accurately monitor
the health of our animals and establish
treatments accordingly.

VOLUNTARY RADIOGRAPHS

The benefits of having such an
accomplished training program are that
animals are used to being trained and
the staff is comfortable training, allowing
us to prepare for unexpected situations
that require training a new behavior in
a short period of time. As an example,
one of our bachelor gorillas returned
from his exhibit one day not bearing any
weight on his arm. Vet staff contemplated
immobilizing him to examine his arm or
just giving him pain medication. With a
training program already established, we
were able to add to this and in just one
day train him for voluntary x-rays.

Gorillas have an especially high pain
tolerance, so we were uncertain if it was
a sprain, arthritis or a broken bone. The
x-ray confirmed it was a break; his ulna
was completely broken in half. Voluntary
radiographs allow us to monitor
conditions such as broken bones and
arthritis without sedation, and they help
us track the progression of healing. With
training, we are able to use technologies
such as radiographs to evaluate the
health of an animal, without sedation.

When it comes to finding time for training,
staffing is the most common concern and
challenge at many institutions, and Zoo
Atlanta is no exception. As a result of
vacation time, sick leave or coverage in

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 67

AAZK.ORG

other areas, we may have six months out
of the year during which there are only
two keepers working in gorillas on any
given day. Two days a week, we have only
two keepers working, and all of our shifts
offset each other. To add yet another
obstacle, we’re only able to train animals
in the early morning or evening when
they’re not on exhibit.

As a solution, we manage time carefully
and we utilize everyone, especially our
interns and vet technicians to maximize
the time and effectiveness of our training
efforts. Each tech is assigned to a
designated area in the Zoo to help us
accomplish training goals for the year and
anyone who works in animal care knows
that there’s a huge benefit to having
animals familiar with vet staff.

Training requires an initial investment.

but it ultimately reduces keepers’ time
that they would spend in stressful and
sometimes risky procedures. For example,
we can get information on a fracture in
30 minutes via voluntary radiograph,
rather than during a three-plus hour
immobilization. We are also fortunate
enough to have a training panel built into
one of our exhibits, where we can work on
training when we have free time during
the day. This has also resulted in on-
exhibit training demonstrations, which
create a more enriching and educational
experience for guests.

Zoo Atlanta has worked to establish
an extensive training program with
our gorilla collection. We have had our
challenges and will no doubt continue
to have challenges as we expand our
program further, but we are also proof
that it can be done. With an investment

in training now, we can ensure a long
healthy future for the current generation
as well as generations to come.

REFERENCES

McManamon R. and L.J. Lowenstine. 2012.
Cardiovascular Disease in Great Apes. In
Fowler’s Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine
Current Therapy, Vol. 7:408-415. Editors:
R. Eric MiUer and M. E. Fowler. Elsevier
Saunders

Murphy, H.M., Dennis, P., Devlin, W.,
Meehan, T., and I. Kutinsky. 2011.
Echocardiographic Parameters of
Captive Western Lowland Gorillas
(Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Journal of Zoo
and Wildlife Medicine. December 2011,
42(4):572-579.

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ATTENTION PHOTOGRAPHERS

the AKF needs your photos as potential cover photos and special feature photos
throughout the issue. AN photos need to be high resolution, 2625 x 3375 pixels or
greater, and 300 dpi or greater in resolution. All photographers will need to submit
a photo release form that can be found at aazk.org/animal-keepers-forum/aazk-
photo-model-release-form. Photos that clearly depict facility logos and behind-the-
scenes shots will need permission of the facility to be used.

Subjects for the photos should revolve around animal husbandry, conservation,
education/interpretation, professional development, significant achievements in
the industry (births, exhibits, staff, etc.), and can also include some of the more
humorous or unique situations that we all come across each day in our occupations.
Captions for each photo should also be submitted.

Photo by Donna Morrow

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 69

Helping Cameroon’s

Western

Lowland

Gorillas

(Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Susan Eberth, Keeper II, Toronto Zoo
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

INTRODUCTION

Within Africa there is a governing body for primate sanctuaries
called Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA). PASA currently
has 22 member sanctuaries across the continent, five of which
care for gorillas confiscated from the illegal wildlife and bushmeat
trades. Ape Action Africa (AAA), formerly called Cameroon
Wildlife Aid Fund, is one of the PASA sanctuaries located in the
country of Cameroon. The project is situated on approximately
10 square kilometers of forest, about an hour’s drive from
Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Established in 1996, AAA
has provided sanctuary for wild orphans of the illegal bushmeat
and pet trades for over 16 years. With hundreds of primates in
their care, AAA is now one of the largest conservation projects
within Africa and currently is home to 21 western lowland
gorillas. The western lowland gorilla is considered to be critically
endangered due to the severe decline in populations over the
last 25 years. A decline which results from the loss of habitat
as logging concessions appear and with those concessions come
roads into the forest which never existed, roads which make
easy pathways for the bushmeat hunters. It has been reported
that up to a metric ton of bushmeat is unloaded from rail cars
arriving in the city of Yaounde daily. (Stanford 2012)

OVERVIEW

A majority of the gorillas residing at the AAA project are orphans
of the bushmeat trade; only three do not fall into this category.
Bushmeat is from the wild animals living in the forest or bush
which have been hunted for consumption. Unfortunately,
the infant clinging on to its mother during an attack not only
witnesses the entire ordeal but typically survives with serious
physical and psychological trauma. This is the case with most of
AAA’s rescued gorillas. The intensive care required for each one
can take years in some instances. It all depends on the condition
at the time of arrival. The information about the three gorillas
which aren’t bushmeat orphans is also important. The first,
Yeba, meaning “universe” in a local Cameroon dialect, came to

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American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

the project after being discovered next to his deceased mother’s
body. His story is quite tragic itself as he was almost left to die
for fear of an Ebola outbreak. Found in the Dja Reserve with
deceased chimpanzees in the same vicinity, the research group
left the area immediately to avoid any possible contamination,
however, all were quite aware as well of the live infant gorilla
being left behind. Luckily for Yeba, the research team returned
three days later in full hazmat gear to find him still alive. They
collected the mother’s body for testing and removed the infant
from the scene. The AAA project was called upon to care for
the infant who was placed immediately in isolated quarantine
with a Cameroonian keeper. After a few months the test results
were available regarding the cause of the mother’s death which
was determined as anthrax poisoning. The second, Eto, named
after a Cameroon football player, is the first gorilla born into a
sanctuary group of orphaned gorillas and entirely mother-reared
and group-raised. Although this was an unplanned pregnancy,
the event resulted in great success for the group. The third,
Bani, was rescued from a village just a few years ago. When the
project got the call for help, she was reported as an orangutan.
Upon arrival, she was tied up with a man holding her down and
beating her. She had injuries to her face but nothing serious;
she healed quickly and was estimated at six years of age. The
report was she had been dragged out of the forest. No one knew
why she was on her own or where her remaining group went as
there weren’t any signs of hunting.

Initially my thought was to introduce a few of the individual
gorillas personally as each of their rescues is worth sharing, but
with one situation in particular still ongoing, this article will
focus primarily on him.

THE RESCUE

Early in 2006, AAA was called by the Nlinistry of Environment
and Forestry (MINEF) to rescue a young male gorilla found
tied by rope in a village. The report was he had been there for
four days and was being teased by children and village dogs.
Upon arrival the villagers escorted the AAA vet into one of
their houses where the gorilla was tied to a wooden post. It
was obvious the gorilla was in critical condition with gunshot
wounds to his left arm and right side of his head. After further
examination it was determined part of his right ear was missing
and he was suffering from multiple shot gun pellet wounds
throughout his left forearm. The gorilla was also estimated
at approximately a year of age. The project staff suspected,
as with most of the rescues, these wounds were a result of the
infant’s mother being shot while he was still clinging to her,
therefore receiving direct attack as well. The gorilla was so
traumatized both physically and mentally they did not expect
him to survive. While the wounds were cleaned twice a day, it
was clear they were causing his condition to deteriorate rapidly.
A picture of exactly what was going on was crucial. The project
staff searched for a hospital with a radiograph which is nearly
impossible to find in Cameroon. Additionally, the hospitals
aren’t keen to help animals when they have so many humans
in need, making the task extra difficult. Eventually they were
able to locate the use of a machine and the x-rays indicated
the shot gun pellets had gone through the left wrist joint. The
concern of infection developing and completely destroying the
joint confirmed surgery was going to be required. Additionally,
the shot gun pellets had to be removed immediately.

SURGERY

At this point, the project enlisted the help of Dr. Sheri Speede.
Sheri is the director of a chimpanzee sanctuary in the north
of Cameroon and often lends her veterinary expertise. With
her help and the AAA vet team, the young gorilla received his
first surgery on the kitchen table at the AAA director’s home in

Yaounde. The project staff quickly improvised and sterilized
the room for the procedure, complete with surgical clothes,
overhead lighting and essential surgical equipment. With the
patient completely anesthetized, the procedure began. In total,
seven pellets were removed from beneath the skin on his left
wrist and forearm leaving gaping holes behind. It was a grueling
process in the Cameroon heat with the added temperature of the
head lamps but the vet team prevailed. His head and ear injuries
v/ere also cleaned and sutured. With the little gorilla’s surgery
complete and bandages in place, he was on the way to recovery.
As the days progressed, more trust was established, however it
took approximately a month before he would allow human touch
to occur. Eventually, just that happened though and the AAA
manager knew then he was going to be okay. It wasn’t until this
moment the little gorilla received his name, Shufai, which means
“one with courage” in a local Cameroon dialect.

THE MEETING

Introducing Shufai to his new family was on the horizon but
first he needed to be comfortable with his new carer who luckily
was working with another recently rescued young gorilla.
Djanga was also a year-old male and welcomed Shufai on their
first encounter. He approached Shufai softly and was very
gentle when they began to play. Shufai still had his left forearm
bandaged from his surgery but this didn’t deter their session
as they trotted around investigating each other. The two young
males eventually spent their quarantine together and were
inseparable. This is where I first met Shufai and Djanga. Their
keeper would spend days in the forest allowing them to play in
the trees and forage on the forest floor. I was on site for a two
month volunteer stay and brought with me some enrichment
items I was hoping to use with the chimpanzees again. Luckily
for me, the manager suggested trying the items with the two
young gorillas in quarantine as well. What I had was acid-free
paper donated by a professional framer and non-toxic paints. I
was hoping to get some art work completed by the younger apes
for a future fundraiser. We were all certain Shufai would not
participate quickly, if at all, as he was an introverted youngster
and very selective of new faces. Not too surprising after what he
had been through thus far. Djanga was going to be the one who

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 71

would take charge of this game; he loved everyone! Naturally,
leave it to the gorillas to make a liar out of you. Shufai
immediately took to the task when I introduced the paper with
a few dabs of paint color. He would close his eyes, spinning
around on the paint, all the while laughing and then would
walk toward us bipedally, still with eyes closed. We managed to
collect several pieces of artwork from him; a true bag of mixed
media with the forest floor as our table. Djanga would always
watch from the big tree as Shufai spun around, smearing his
hands and slapping the paper, staying clear of the activity each
time but definitely watching. The last day of painting Djanga
must have known because he chose to participate as soon as
we sat down. He began by slowly approaching the paper then
touching the paint colors by smearing both hands and his body,
also laughing as he played and spun around on the paper. We
managed to get one masterpiece out of him. It was great fun for
everyone, especially witnessing Shufai and Djanga form their
friendship, a bond which continues today.

INTEGRATION

It was now time for Shufai and his best friend Djanga to meet
their new group. Quarantine was complete and Shufai’s wounds
were healed. The group they were integrating with consisted of
3.4 gorillas aged two to six-years-old. With the exception of Yeba,
all were orphans of the bushmeat trade. The enclosure, like all
enclosures at AAA, is quite large and built right within their
natural forest habitat with plenty of trees and brush. Attached
to the front of the forest enclosure is a satellite holding which is
used mainly for the gorillas' overnight sleeping quarters. With
their keeper and the manager by their side, the new additions
to the nursery group were accepted without incident and the
gorilla group grew by two. You couldn’t help but smile when
venturing past their part of the forest because much laughter,
chest beats and running footsteps could be easily heard. There
was always a bit of inquisitiveness as well when walking past.
Soon you would find yourself being followed by the entourage of
little gorillas walking along the fence line. Not quite an ambush
but more of huge curiosity before one by one they run off into
the bush. Over the next couple years, the group of nine became
eleven as more orphans arrived and the gorilla nursery received
a brand new enclosure. The 100 x 100 meter forested space

came complete with a brand new satellite holding area as well
and was located further into the forest which provided even
more lush trees to explore. Shufai, Djanga, Yeba and the others
became a well adapted group of gorillas despite their difficult
beginnings. As the manager would say, “babies raising babies”,
they had each other and nothing could replace a gorilla for a
gorilla.

NEW ISSUES FROM OLD INJURIES

As Shufai grew, the project keepers and manager unfortunately
began to notice a deformity materializing in the area of his
original injury. Because of this discovery he was brought to
a clinic in town for more x-rays, once again a task not easily
achieved as clinics for humans aren’t accepting of helping
the gorillas. The x-ray pictures revealed the gun shot pellets
damaged the growth plates, the region from which the bones
grow in length. This type of injury, resulting in growth
deformities to the forearm, is unfortunately not uncommon in
apes poached in the wild. I’m told. Where bones are paired, as
in the radius and ulna, they have to more or less grow at the
same rate. As Dr. Sandra Corr further explained to me, “if one
is damaged and stops growing while the other keeps growing,
that joint associated with those bones (in this case the wrist),
will often be pushed out of alignment. In Shufai’s situation,
his radius has mostly stopped growing on the medial side, but
his ulna (and perhaps the little that’s left of his lateral radius)
has kept growing, effectively driving his hand round into a
deformity.” Since this type of radial club hand deformity seen in
young children is corrected by complicated surgery, the project
staff discussed Shufai’s case with a few human surgeons who
have had far more experience in dealing with this type of injury.
Their recommendation returned that he would require the
deformity realigned in both bones as well as providing stability.
Ultimately, he was going to need more surgery.

The dilemma the project staff were facing now was exactly what
type of surgery to perform. The suggestion was a closing wedge
osteotomy which involved removing a triangular wedge of bone
from the end of his radius, very close to the joint, closing the
gap and then applying a bone plate. The procedure wouldn’t
stop there, he would also need the ulna shortened and then
fixed with another bone plate. Not only is this major surgery
to perform on a virtually wild gorilla, the manager and vet staff
also were aware they would not be able to take any post-op
radiographs to check if the position of the implanted plates and
screws were sufficient. Furthermore, they would not be able to
prevent him from walking on it immediately after the surgery
and knew any sort of external support would be quickly torn
off. Additionally, they weighed the risks of undertaking a more
invasive and lengthy surgery while placing a lot of metalwork in
what are very basic field conditions of sterility and considered
the associated risks of infection. For these reasons the project
staff felt it best to try the simplest option first, to perform a
distal ulna osteotomy, removing about 5cm of bone in an attempt
to prevent the deviation from progressing.

SURGERY NUMBER 2

Everyone worked together in converting the education area of
the forest into a surgical theatre. The structure did have a roof
but was wide open on all sides. Plastic tarps were hung over most
open areas, not only for privacy but also to protect from insects
and the sudden blast of rainfall should it appear. A wooden
work table was transformed into the operating table. Folding
tables were pushed together and covered with sheets to make
the surgical prep area. All the necessary surgical equipment
firmly inside their sterile packages was organized on the prep
table. Cases of bottled water and brand new buckets were used
for sterilizing the physician’s hands since there isn’t any running

72 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

(left) The women's group from Ape Action Africa, (right) Chickaboo on the forest floor selecting plants to eat.

v/ater out in the forest. The project generator was powered up
with extension cords and power strips in place. In order to keep
an accurate record of this event there was also two cameras fully
charged and ready to record the procedure. All that was needed
now was Shufai. This is where the bond between his keeper
and the project director became critical. The two walked alone
to Shufai’s enclosure. He was already waiting in the satellite
holding. The director was able to orally sedate him; once he was
asleep his keeper then was able to inject an anaesthetic. When
the call came over the two-way radio to be ready, everyone made
way for Shufai to arrive. Passing through the uneven terrain,
avoiding the large pot holes and pushing through the dirt as
to not lose momentum with such a heavy precious load, we
could see the director, keeper and a wheelbarrow full of gorilla
coming our way. The tarp-covered doorway was pulled aside
to allow smooth, safe entry and quickly Shufai was placed on
the makeshift operating table. Fortunately, one of the project
trustees is a veterinarian from the UK and arranged for quite
the surgical team to accompany her and assist. She was in
charge of the anesthesia while AAA’s project vet assisted with
the two orthopedic surgeons. The procedure was like watching a
well-rehearsed play, from the initial incision into Shufai’s arm,
to the electric saw actually cutting his bone, then removing the
bone fragment and suturing him closed, was approximately 90
minutes. One would never guess this was their first time all
working together; the doctors performed this major surgery in
basic conditions flawlessly. Shufai was then quickly removed
from the area and returned via wheelbarrow to his satellite
holding with his keeper.

It didn’t take long for Shufai to come around once his reversal
drug was administered. The amount of substrate (mounds of
aframomum stalks) covering the floor of his holding made for a
soft surface while he managed to support himself. Although a
little groggy, the determination he exhibited left us all thinking
this was going to be a fast recovery. The entire vet staff would
share in making rounds to check on him over the next few days.
He was doing remarkably well and began putting weight on his
left arm almost instantly. He was able to climb all around the
satellite holding with little to no effort and was interacting with
his group through the mesh. It was only a matter of days before
he was back with his family and foraging around in his enclosure
again. The procedure certainly appeared to be a success.

CONCLUSION

The second surgery Shufai underwent was in February of 2012,
six years after the original injury. By the end of 2012 it became

apparent this procedure unfortunately didn’t have the desired
effect. Whereas Shufai did appear more comfortable initially
after the surgery, eventually signs of irritability started to
surface once more. The bone, which had five centimeters of
it removed, has virtually healed again with a big bony callus.
Definitely not the outcome everyone had hoped for. The project
staff waited for additional information from the surgeons before
deciding their next course of action. Meanwhile, Shufai was
given a course of pain medication to make him more comfortable.
By the end of February 2013, the surgical team was preparing
for their forest return. Twycross Zoo had arranged for an x-ray
machine, funded by Chessington World of Adventures, to be
delivered to the project. This would help immensely with the
much needed radiographs. Early March 2013, after weighty
consideration and contemplation, they had to make the difficult
decision to amputate Shufai’s left arm below his elbow. The
operation was performed within an improvised surgical theatre,
again at the forest project site. The news of his recovery has
been excellent so far. He has been active and is in good spirits,
laughing and playing, resilient as ever. He will be monitored
closely and has access to his group through the satellite mesh.

Cases like this are only one of the many difficulties projects such
as Ape Action Africa face. Bushmeat orphans are increasing in
numbers and most sanctuaries are at capacity. When projects come
to the aid of these orphans it can result in a lifetime commitment,
especially when their injuries are drastically debilitating.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many thanks to Dr. Sandra Corr for her contribution and for
explaining the details surrounding Shufai’s second surgery.
Your expertise is invaluable and your composure during the
procedure remarkable; I remain grateful for the experience to
witness this first hand. Special thanks to the AAA director,
manager, staff and trustees, your commitment and dedication
will always be one of my greatest inspirations.

REFERENCES

Stanford, C. 2012. Planet Without Apes. Bushmeat 3:89, 92-93

For more information about Ape Action Africa and Shufai:
Website: apeactionafrica.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ApeActionAfrica

twitter: ©apeactionafrica

Pinterest: pinterest.com/apeactionafrica/

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 73

When I first heard'
raise gorilla corisf
a group of dedicc

posting a Gorilla Golf FundmiSfi^

d,hasj4'e%ri 'hostlng'ldrilla Jdlf tdu! namerits to

i funds, f thought it was a great idea.-Jn -SOlO,-
... j keepers, docents and others in Atlanta started
an all-voiunteer organization caiied Ape Conservation Effort (ACE), “a
Georgia not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, comprised of volunteer
members who share a passion for animals and a commitment to saving
the great apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans)."
See www.apeconservationeffort.org for more information.

aB!e'to';-ehSfge $100 per hole. If they sponsored the following year, we
already had their sign, which brought in $100 profit per sponsor. Since
our golf numbers were small, the golf course was willing to donate a lot
of its resources. Many courses are willing to donate to the community,
it doesn’t hurt to throw in some zoo tickets and even a tour. Our cost
at Brookfield Country Club in Rosv«ii, Georgia is $65 per piayer, which
includes golf, golf cart, buffet breakfast, lunch and drinks. Having a
small number of participants keeps costs low and thus raises more
money for gorilla conservation.

In 2011, ACE decided to try its hand at its own golf tournament - with
a slight twist, instead of hosting a tournament with 75+ participants,
we increased the entry fee amount of the golfer and made the format
similar to a golf-a-thon. Each golfer needed to raise $1000.00 in
sponsorships. The first year we only had eight players and by proceeds
from sponsorships as well as from an ACE-hosted raffle when the
players came in from golfing, we made a profit of $9758 to support
gorilla conservation.

The second year we lowered the entry fee to $500.00 per golfer. We
had 12 golfers and thanks to the raffle and several overachieving
golfers who raised more than the minimum needed, we grossed
$14,574, of which $13,248 went directly to the Dian Fossey Gorilla
Fund International (DFGFi) to fund an anti-poaching patrol unit for a
gorilla group for a whole year.

A hands dov/n favorite prize of the golfers who won First, Second, and
Third place, the Longest Drive hole and the “Closest to the Gorilla” hole
are gorilla painted plaques, which provide a great conversation piece
in their offices. Each colorful plaque has a bronze plate with the gorilla
artist’s name and information affixed to the back.

The sizeable donation that was made last year to DFGFI allowed ACE to
be a part of The Gorilla Council, which gave us such benefits as a radio
spot from Sigourney Weaver thanking our organization for supporting
gorilla conservation, designation of where our money goes, direct
feeds of conservation news and stories to use in our publications and
social media as well as personalized help from a DFGFI staff member
to help make our event a success.

Costs are minimal. We requested donations for raffle items such as
golf clubs, club covers, decorative baskets of golf-related items, small
electronic devices, and give-away bags containing golf tees, golf bails,
t-shirts, and other small items. We also solicited for hole sponsors. A
company gets its business name and logo printed on a sign at the start
of a hole. We found a company that charged $20 a sign, and we were

If you would like more information about organizing and hosting a
Gorilla Golf Tournament, please contact Jodi Carrigan at jcarrigan®
zooatlanta.org. Makes for a great AAZK fundraiser!

74 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, inc.

Closest to the gorilla hole wins a prize. Photo by Lisa Dempsey

Having a small number of participants keeps costs low and
thus raises more money for gorilla conservation.

Gorilla Golf door prizes. Photo by Lisa Dempsey.

2012 Gorilla Golfers supporting gorilla conservation.
Photo by Lisa Dempsey.

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 75

Using technology and partnerships
to save the critically endangered cross river gorilla

Richard Bergl, PhD,

Curator of Conservation and Research • North Carolina Zoo

The Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla
diehli) inhabits the tropical forests of
the Nigeria-Cameroon border region
in western central Africa. This region
is one of the most biodiverse areas in
Africa, and contains large numbers of
both endemic and endangered species.
Many of the amphibians, birds and other
species found in the region’s forest occur
nowhere else on earth.

The gorillas are named after the Cross
River, which has its headwaters in
the hills and mountains where the
gorillas are found. The northern and
western-most gorilla population, these
gorillas are separated from other gorilla
populations by approximately 200 km.

The Cross River gorilla is one of the
four currently recognized subspecies of
gorilla, and is ranked as one of the 25
most endangered primates in the world.
Indeed, the gorillas of the Cross River
region had been thought to be largely
extinct until they were rediscovered in the
early 1980s. Recent surveys suggest that
the total population likely numbers fewer
than 300 individuals, less than half the
number of remaining mountain gorillas
(Gorilla beringei beringei).

THREATS

The Cross River gorilla, like many of the
species in Central and West Africa, is
threatened primarily by bushmeat hunting
and habitat loss. The Cross River region
has one of the highest human population
densities in Africa, placing extremely
high pressure on the area’s forests and

other natural resources. Even though
commercial logging is banned on the
Nigeria side of the border and heavily
regulated on the Cameroon side, significant
illegal logging occurs. While logging is
a threat, the greatest loss of Cross River
gorilla habitat comes from the conversion
of forest for agriculture. Slash and burn

(Opposite page) Field testing of the
mobile field computers in Nigeria.

(Right) The only Cross River gorilla in
captivity: “Nyango" photographed in
Cameroon’s Limbe Wildlife Center ©
N. Lankester.

(Below) Hyperolius riggenbachi - the
Cameroon slippery frog © M. Gartshore.

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 77

agriculture is the predominant form of
cultivation in rural areas. This means
that large areas of forest are cut down
and turned into farmland every year.

The greatest threat to the Cross River
gorillas themselves is bushmeat hunting.
Communities living in the Cross River
region have hunted wild animals for meat
for a long time. However, modern human
population densities in both rural and
urban areas are so great that this hunting
is not sustainable. A lot of bushmeat is no
longer consumed in rural communities,
but is instead transported to large urban
markets. In addition to meat, gorilla body
parts are used in traditional medicine and
can fetch high prices in urban markets.

ELUSIVE APES

The small size of the Cross River population
is likely the result of intensive bushmeat
hunting over many generations. Historically,
high levels of hunting mean that the gorillas
are now very wary of people and found
almost exclusively in very rugged and
inaccessible highland sites.

The remoteness of these areas, coupled
with very challenging terrain, provides
some level of protection for the gorillas, but
also makes life difficult for park rangers
and other conservationists working to
preserve this population. In order to
collect data of conservation relevance, field
researchers and protected area staff must
spend many weeks tracking the gorillas
through thick tropical forest and up and
down precipitous mountain slopes. Even
then, the Cross River gorilla is rarely
observed and most data collection relies on

A WCS gorilla monitor records
data at a Cross River gorilla nest site.

indirect evidence such as feeding signs and
nest sites. The Cross River gorilla has only
been photographed in the wild a handful
of times. As a result of their reclusive
nature and the difficult environment
in which they live, determining even
basic information like the range of this
subspecies has proved extremely difficult.

APPLYING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
SYSTEMS AND GPS TO CONSERVING THE
CROSS RIVER GORILLA

In 2007, the North Carolina Zoo formed a
partnership with the Wildlife Conservation
Society (WCS) to help conserve the Cross
River gorilla population. Building on
previous research and WCS’s many years
of conservation work on the ground in
Nigeria and Cameroon, the partnership
set out to apply a range of geographic
information system (CIS) and global
positioning system (GPS) technologies to
efforts to preserve the Cross River gorilla.
One of the key things to understand in
working to conserve these gorillas is
their distribution relative to both existing
habitat and human activity in the forest.
Gaining this understanding is more
difficult than it sounds since gorillas are
distributed across a large, remote and
complex landscape for which few accurate
maps exist.

In order to begin to address these
challenges, the North Carolina Zoo
worked with WCS to establish two GIS
computer mapping facilities in Nigeria
to help guide conservation efforts. These
facilities use a range of satellite images to
provide detailed maps of the range of the
Cross River gorilla. For some areas (such
as the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary
in Nigeria; one of the first sites where the
gorillas were studied) the satellite images
are so detailed that they can discriminate
individual trees and small houses in rural
villages. The zoo provided computer
hardware and trained local staff in basic
mapping and data analysis techniques.
The mapping systems are now being
used to plan field work and analyze data
essential for protecting the gorillas.

PUTTING SOPHISTICATED GPS
TECHNOLOGY IN THE HANDS OF FIELD
RESEARCHERS AND PARK RANGERS

The North Carolina Zoo- WCS partnership
has taken these geographic technologies
out of the office and into the field.
Formerly, much of the data collected in
the field by research and protected area
staff was done using pen, paper and
consumer-GPS units, just like the ones
commonly used for outdoor recreation.
This method of data collection requires a

great deal of training, especially for staff
with limited scientific background, and can
produce inconsistent results. To remedy
this situation, we developed a new way of
recording biological data in the field based
on highly rugged mobile computers and
a software package called Cybertracker.
The Cybertracker software was originally
developed to allow illiterate trackers in
South Africa to collect wildlife monitoring
data. It uses a touch screen and GPS
antenna to collect data systematically
and with spatial information to allow
mapping. The software also allows field
workers to map their activities in real-time
on satellite maps, allowing them to know
exactly where they are, even in the most
remote forests.

With financial support from the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, AZA’s Conservation
Endowment Fund, and the North Carolina
Zoological Society, the North Carolina Zoo-
WCS partnership began development and
testing of the Cybertracker-based system
in 2008. Since the mobile computers were
to be used in a very difficult environment
(high humidity, high temperature,
frequent exposure to dirt, rain and
impact), we extensively field tested a
number of different options before deciding
on the final hardware platform. We also
consulted carefully with many of the field
workers who would actually be using the
devices to ensure that the system both
captured the necessary data and would be
easy to operate and understand.

CYBERTRACKER IN ACTION

The finished system has been deployed
to both Cameroon and Nigeria and has
been in operation for over four years. The
Cybertracker units are used by WCS and
government field staff across the range of
the Cross River gorilla. The units are used
to collect important data on the gorillas,
other wildlife and human impacts on the
region’s forests. These data allow for more
efficient and effective management of the
Cross River gorillas’ habitat and are a good
monitoring tool for conservation initiatives
throughout the region. At several sites
we have been able to use the system
to document reductions in the levels of
illegal activity in the forest as a result of
Cybertracker-based patrolling.

The system has been so successful that
we have adapted it for use in a number of
other conservation projects. Cybertracker
devices are being used to monitor elephants
and poaching in Nigeria’s Yankari Game
Reserve, home to the country’s last viable
population of elephants.

78 I ANIMAL KEEPERS' FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, inc.

Off the coast of Cameroon on the remote
island of Bioko, NC Zoo has helped
researchers from Drexel University apply
Cybertracker to surveys of a number of
endangered monkey species. Among these
species is the critically endangered drill
{Mandrillus leucophaeus)

In partnership with the Dian Fossey
Gorilla Fund International and Cleveland
Metroparks Zoo, we have recently used
the system to monitor mountain gorillas
{Gorilla heringei beringei) in Rwanda.
This project has even extended the system
for use in large mammal and bird surveys.
It is even being applied to monitoring
bamboo, one of the mountain gorillas’
preferred foods.

A combination of cutting edge technology
and on the ground field work has allowed
us to make field data easily and directly
applicable to the conservation of gorillas
and a number of other species. What
started out as a project focused on 300 Cross
River gorillas has expanded to a number of
other countries and conservation contexts.
The Cybertracker project is just one of
many examples of how AZA institutions
like the NC Zoo are actively contributing
to the conservation of wildlife.

(right) Asilverback mountain gorilla in
Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park.

(below) Drills are particularly
effected by bushmeat hunting.

(bottom right) Elephant herd in
Yankari Game Reserve, Nigeria.

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 & 3 | 79

Behavioral
Changes
Associated
with
Pregnancy
and Infant
Development
in Captive
Gorillas

irS

5 'i

*■ «

Department of Animal Behavior,
Ecology, and Conservation
Canisius College
Buffalo, New York

Chase LaDue
Macy Madden
Lindsey Perkes-Smith
Susan Margulis

*1

I

1

INTRODUCTION

As conditions in captivity improve, and our understanding of
reproductive biology becomes greater, the prevalence of successful
primate births continues to increase, and certainly, gorillas are no
exception (Hosey 2005, Sno\wdon 1989). In 2010, there were 21
successful western lowland gorilla {Gorilla gorilla gorilla) births
internationally in zoos, six of which were in the United States
(Wilms 2011). Nonetheless, our base of knowledge is still growing,
and although it is common for detailed veterinary information to
be recorded upon each birth, changes in behavior over extended
periods of time— in regards to both mothers and their infants— are
rarely documented systematically or objectively.

To our knowledge, only one other study has assessed the behavioral
changes associated with pregnancy in captive gorillas: Meder (1986)
conducted a study which compared the physical and activity changes
of five gorillas over fourteen pregnancies at two German institutions.
In terms of behavior, it appears that female social activity decreases
within the first three months of pregnancy. Additionally, the author
suggested that behavioral, and not physical, changes are the most
reliable signal in determining gorilla pregnancy. This is especially
relevant to all zoos housing female gorillas, as it illustrates that
inexpensive behavioral records can be taken in order to reliably
identify pregnancy.

One of the methods through which zoo personnel can observe
and review behavior is behavioral monitoring, a process by which
observers objectively measure and record an animal’s behavior on a
regular basis (Watters et al. 2009). In doing so, a behavioral baseline
is established, and the effects of any environmental changes can
be analyzed accordingly. Observations made by keepers or other
observers do not necessarily have to occur frequently; regular, shorter
observations can provide a behavioral baseline and, overtime, portray
an accurate and quantitative picture of behavior. When applied to zoo
animals, behavioral monitoring can be a valuable tool for keepers,
curators, researchers, and others, because it allows for an evaluation
of an animal’s behavioral response to environmental changes, such as
births, deaths, transfers, and exhibit changes.

The purpose of this project was to systematically characterize the
behavioral changes in a captive female gorilla before, during, and after
pregnancy, and to track the behavioral development of her infant over
time. By documenting the behavioral progression of both mother and
infant, each pregnancy and birth can be compared with other institutions
holding gorillas in order to establish norms of behavior and development.
There are few published studies on the effects that pregnancy and
motherhood have on a gorilla’s behavior, so an additional goal of the
project was to contribute to a growing pool of practical knowledge (Beck
1984, Clift and Martin 1978, Hoff et al. 1981). In the current study, the
mother had never given birth before, so any information could potentially

be used for future offspring, and this would certainly be beneficial for the
institution and researchers alike.

In 2009, an undergraduate research team from Canisius College
(Buffalo, New York) began collecting behavioral data on a captive troop
of gorillas at the Buffalo Zoological Gardens for a behavioral monitoring
database. One of the gorillas (“Sidney,” SB# 1449) became pregnant
in February 2010 and gave birth to a female offspring (“Amari,” SB#
2029) on October 8, 2010. Our baseline data gave us the opportunity
to quantify changes in both mother and infant behavior. At the time
of submission, and to our best awareness, this is the only study that
simultaneously examines behavioral changes in both a mother gorilla
and her infant. In regards to the mother, we expected to observe
differences in activity budget and sociality due to pregnancy and
motherhood. For the infant, we expected to note a progressive increase
in independence, accompanied by changes in overall activity budget.

METHODS

Behavioral data were collected from September 2009 through the first
year of Amari’s life, until November 2011. At the time of pregnancy,
Sidney was 12-years-old, and shared an enclosure with an adult
male silverback (“Koga,” SB# 967, 22 years) and two adult females
(“Becky,” SB# 778, 28-years: and “Lily,” SB# 1575, 9-years). Becky
passed away in March 2011 and so was excluded from analysis.
Observation sessions were conducted three to seven times weekly,
with each animal observed through focal animal scan sampling for
twenty minutes during normal visitor hours at public areas. Scans
during each session were one minute apart, and at each scan,
behavior, location, and social distance were recorded. All data were
collected using trained student observers with EthoTrak behavioral
monitoring system programmed on handheld PDAs.

In order to assess any behavioral changes from Sidney, we separated
data into three periods: pre-pregnancy (September 2009 through
January 2010), pregnancy (February 2010 until October 8, 2010), and
post-birth (October 8, 2010 through October 2011). To gauge Sidney’s
interest in other gorillas across the three periods, all instances of
approach between two animals were recorded, along with which gorilla
initiated the approach and which was the recipient of an approach.
As an additional measure, with each behavior scan, a “neighbor,” if
present, was recorded; any individual within one meter of the focal
animal was considered a neighbor. To evaluate Amari’s behavior,
the first year of life was divided into quarters for analysis. As with
her mother, approach behaviors and neighbor data were recorded
as an indication of Amari’s growing independence from Sidney. We
used an ANOVA (with a comparison of means) to statistically evaluate
neighbors, Kruskal-Wallis tests for activity budgets, and chi-square
tests for approach behavior.

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February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 81

RESULTS: SIDNEY

Figure 1 shows Sidney’s activity budget across the three time periods
(pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and post-birth). The frequency of locomote
and out-of-view behaviors differed significantly across the three
time periods: Sidney iocomoted progressively less following the pre-
pregnancy period (Kruskal-Waiiis test, = 18.0524, DF = 2, P <
0.0001), and she was out of view more during her pregnancy (x^ =
18.2290, DF = 2, P < 0.0001).

Figure SidEey’i Aetivity BMdget

0.6

0.5

I 0.4

i=

e

0.3

0.2

O.I

Figure 2 shows the approach behavior between Sidney and Koga (the
silverback), with the proportion of interactions initiated by Sidney in
white and Koga in black. Sidney was the initiator of significantly more
approaches during the pre-pregnancy period (x^ = 6.231, DF = 1, P <
0.025). However, significant differences in the initiation of approaches
were not found in the subsequent time periods.

Nov09 JanlO MarlO MaylO Jul 10 Sep 10 NovlO Jan 11 Marll Mayll Jul 11 Sep H
“•“Forage “•"Inactive "*"Locomote '^Out of View

Figure 2; Approach Behavior, Sidney and Koga

I

£•

1

Figure 3 shows the frequency of neighbors to Sidney (Lily, adult female,
in white, and Koga in black), with standard error bars. Statistical
analyses showed that there was a significant decline in frequency with
which Lily was a neighbor over the three time periods (F = 7.083, DF
= 2, P < 0.001), but not with Koga. Sidney spent little time in close
proximity to others.

Figure 3: Sidffiey's Neighbors, Lily and Koga

Prc-Prcgntncy Prcgoaocy Post-BlrtJj

RESULTS: AMARI

Figure 4 illustrates the proportion of time that Amari spent as a
neighbor to her mother. Black bars indicate proportion of time spent
in contact with mother, gray bars show time spent within one meter of
Sidney, and white bars designate time spent greater than one meter
from Sidney. Statistical analysis indicated that she spent significantly
less time in contact with Sidney during the fourth quarter (July 2011
through October 2011) (F = 24.14, DF = 3, P < 0.0001 with post hoc
comparison of means, Duncan’s multiple range test).

Figure 4i AmsrI's Proilmity t@ Sldmey

Qi^srter! Qyartsr2 QyartsrS Qaart®r4

Figure 5 shows the activity budget for five principal behaviors
throughout Amari’s first year of life: being carried, foraging on solid
food, locomoting, playing with objects, and suckling. Statistically
significant differences were found for foraging, locomoting, and playing
across the four periods, while differences between being carried and
suckling v/ere not statistically significant. Amari foraged significantly

Figure S; Amari's Aetivity Budget

Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quancr 4

‘•‘Bsieg Carried 'W'ForsgiQg =^L©®OBSodiJg '•'Playlsg ‘•'SueMlag

more as she began to develop throughout the year (Kruskal-Waiiis test,
X^ = 28.15, DF = 3, P < 0.0001). She also increased independent
movement as she aged (x^ = 28.84, DF = 3, P < 0.0001). Lastly,
Amari played significantly more as time went on (x^ = 32.61, DF = 3,
P < 0.0001). These behaviors occurred significantly more during the
third and fourth quarters than during the first and second quarters
(Duncan’s multiple range test).

Figsire €t Appreacli Behavior, Amari aod Sidney

82 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

Figure 6 shows the relative frequencies with which Amari and Sidney
initiated approaches to each other. Approaches initiated by Amari
are shown in black, while white bars represent approaches initiated
by Sidney. Amari initiated significantly more approaches in the fourth
quarter, July 2011 through October 2011 (x^ = 7.14, DF = 1, P < 0.01).

DISCUSSION

Our results suggest that Sidney’s behavior changed during the
course of her pregnancy. As expected, she locomoted less during
her pregnancy and was out of view of the public more often. More
than likely, Sidney was probably inactive while out of view, although
we cannot confirm this with complete certainty. These results are
in accordance with Meder’s study (1986). The data also suggest

Because the future of the captive gorilla
population is dependent upon continued
breeding success, especially from
genetically-unique individuals, it is critical
that every birth be closely monitored.

that pregnancy and motherhood affected Sidney’s social behavior:
specifically, she interacted less with conspecifics after her pregnancy
and following the birth of Amari. Before the pregnancy, Sidney initiated
significantly more approach behaviors towards Koga (the siiverback),
but during and after the pregnancy, the two initiated about the same
number of approaches. This is reasonable: females that are already
pregnant should shovi/ no sexual interest in directly interacting with
the siiverback. Additionally, neighbor data show that Sidney spent
progressively less time in close proximity to Koga during and after her
pregnancy. Interestingly, she also spent less time in proximity to Lily,
the other adult female in the group. This may be attributed to Sidney’s
protectiveness towards Amari. Unfortunately, vt/e cannot compare
social behavior in regards to another female conspecific to confirm or
refute this. Nonetheless, the data indicate that Sidney engaged in less
social activity following the pre-pregnancy period.

Regarding Amari’s behavior, there appeared to be a substantial
behavioral shift after six months of age (between Quarters 2 and
3). Specifically, behaviors associated with a growing state of
independence, such as foraging on solid food, locomoting, and playing,
increased in occurrence as time progressed. Additionally, Amari spent
time further away from her mother as time progressed. It should also
be noted that after six months of age, Sidney initiated approaches
to Amari, which had never been observed during the first six months
of life. Therefore, the period around six months of age seems to be
a significant milestone for a gorilla infant, characterized by growing
independence from mother and an increase in the frequency of more
active, individualistic behaviors.

Because the future of the captive gorilla population is dependent
upon continued breeding success, especially from genetically-unique
individuals, it is critical that every birth be closely monitored. We
have shown that data obtained via behavioral monitoring are reliable
indicators as to any changes in activity patterns, changes that may be
more valid than any physical signs. We suggest that all institutions
housing gorillas, and any other species of interest, should employ
some form of behavioral monitoring. This method is an important
tool for zoos, because it allows for the effects of any environmental
changes to be compared against baseline data. While this project was

conducted using a larger research team, a smaller group of keepers
can certainly perform similar observations with fewer resources and
less time commitments. Observation sessions need not happen more
than once a week if time constraints are present, and behavioral
observations recorded in daily keeper reports can also be useful to
extract information through one-zero sampling (Powell 2008).

If nothing else, efforts to conduct behavioral monitoring during
critical periods— such as during pregnancy or following a birth— should
provide an institution with knowledge that can affect both the daily
husbandry and long-term management of an individual. For instance,
if a pregnant gorilla doesn’t seem to be active progressively less, or
if an infant does not show significant signs of independence after six
months of age (both of which were found in this study), these could
serve as an early warning of potential problems. These issues may not
present themselves via physical signals, and it is in these instances
that behavioral monitoring is crucial.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, we v./ould like to gratefully acknowledge the
hospitality and support of the Buffalo Zoological Gardens, especially
President Dr. Donna Fernandes, General Curator Gerald Aquilina,
and the dedicated keepers of the Gorilla Forest. We would also like
to extend gratitude to the Canisius College students who helped in
collecting data. This work was supported in part through the Canisius
Earning Excellence Program fellowship.

Please send any correspondence to ApeResearchers@gmail.com.

REFERENCES

Beck, B.B. 1984. The Birth of a Lowland Gorilla in Captivity. Primates
25(3):37 8-383. Springer Science+Business Media, Berlin, Heidelberg,
Germany.

Clift, J.P., and R.D. Martin. 1978. Monitoring of Pregnancy and Postnatal
Behaviour in a Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at London Zoo.
International Zoo Yearbook 18(1): 165-173. Zoological Society of London,
London, England, U.K.

Hoff, M.P., Nadier, R.D., and T.L Maple. 1981. The Development of Infant Play
in a Captive Group of Lowland Gorillas {Gorilla gorilla gorilla). American
Journal of Primatology 1(1): 65-72. American Society of Primatologists,
U.S.A.

Hosey, G.R. 2005. How Does the Zoo Environment Affect the Behaviour of
Captive Primates? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 90(2): 107-129.
International Society for Applied Ethoio^, Penicuik, Midlothian, U.K.

Meder, A. 1986. Physical and Activity Changes Associated With Pregnancy
in Captive Lowland Gorillas {Gorilla gorilla gorilla). American Journal of
Primatolo^ 11(2): 111-116. American Society of Primatologists, U.S.A.

Powell, D. 2008. Methods for Animal Behavior Research [DVD], Wildlife
Conservation Society. New York, New York, U.S.A.

Snovi/don, C.T. 1989. The Criteria for Successful Captive Propagation of
Endangered Primates. Zoo Biology. Vol. 8, issue Supplement: 149-161.
Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A.

Watters, J.V., Margulis, S.W., and S. Atsaiis. 2009. Behavioral Monitoring
in Zoos and Aquariums: A Tool for Guiding Husbandry and Directing
Research. Zoo S/o/ogy 28(l):35-48. Association of Zoos and Aquariums,
Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A.

Wilms, T. 2011. International Studbook for the Western Lowland Gorilla.
Frankford Zoo, Frankford, Germany.

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February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 83

Where the Silver Ends and
the Gray Begins:

Caring for Geriatric Siiverbacks and Older Female Gorillas

Kristina A. Krickhaum, Keeper II Primates
Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, GA

Zoo Atlanta is home to 19 Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla}, one
of the largest collections in North America. We currently have three geriatric
gorillas aged 50 and older, all of whom were wild caught. Our oldest male Ozoum
(Ozzie), is 52-years-old and he lives with 0.1 Choomba who is 50-years-old and
0.1 Shamba who is 54-years-old, Ozzie is currently the oldest living male gorilla
in captivity.

Thanks to improved husbandry and veterinary care, gorillas are living longer in
captivity. As these animals age, there are certain challenges to keep them healthy
and with a good quality of life. Many animals experience decreased mobility as
they age due to conditions like arthritis. Over the years. Zoo Atlanta has made
several modifications to our holding areas to accommodate arthritic gorillas.

To aid in husbandry, many of the indoor holding areas already had large rungs
attached to the wall or ladders attached to the mesh to facilitate climbing up
to nesting shelves or to upper shift doors. In addition to these fixtures, we have
also made concrete steps on the inside and outside of shift doors to ease access
to the building. (Figures 1 and 2)

84 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

Another modification that has been
made to help with climbing in and
out of upper shift doors or nesting
shelves is adding lengths of chain that
run through PVC pipe and are then
suspended from the ceiling. In one
holding we also have a ramp leading
up to a shelf. Firehose can also be
used to aid in climbing and we even
constructed a ladder made of firehose
with PVC in the rungs to be more
stable. Hammocks can be lowered
near the floor and some of the gorillas
enjoy dunnage racks to rest on as well.
(Figures 3, 4 and 5)

Given the sensitivity older animals
have with their joints, we use foam
gym mats for gorillas while recovering
from anesthesia. This is particularly
helpful for animals that try sitting
up too early and may fall back down.
These mats have come in handy for ill
gorillas as well to add extra padding
under hay or wood wool (excelsior).

We have had to be inventive when
animals are not able to get close
enough to the mesh to eat, drink or take
medications. The “geriatric spoon” is a
spoon on a long broom handle and the
“geriatric straw” is a PVC tube with an
elbow bend at one end. (Figures 6 and 7)

Geriatric gorillas also need to be
monitored carefully for heart disease
which is the number one cause of death
in captive gorillas. In partnership
with The Great Ape Heart Project
and sonographers from Children’s
Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), we have
been training for voluntary cardiac
ultrasounds and voluntary blood
pressure readings. This will enable
veterinary staff to catch potential
problems earlier as well as tracking
individuals who currently have heart
disease. Some gorillas have difficulty
getting their chests up close to the
mesh, so we created a “Reverse Sleeve”
for easier access. (Figures 8, 9 and 10)

We have been looking into starting
laser treatments for gorillas with
arthritis, and have begun training with
several gorillas to accept having the
laser probe near them. On occasion we
have used radiographs to check hands
or wrists for arthritis. We fitted a PVC
sleeve for use with our portholes and
Veterinary staff was able to set up a
portable x-ray machine to get images.

In conclusion, there are any number
of ways to help make life easier for the
aging gorillas in our care. It doesn’t
have to be expensive, it just takes a
little forethought and creativity.

Figure 1: Wall rung made in-house. Photo by Jodi Carrigan. Figure 2: Cement step made in-house. Photo by Jodi Carrigan. Figure 3: PVC pipe
covering chain made in-house. Also shows rungs that were manufactured. Photo by Jodi Carrigan. Figure 4: Mesh ramp. Photo by Jodi Carrigan.
Figure 5; 0.1 Choomba enjoying a Dunnage (TM) rack. Photo by Jodi Carrigan. Figure 6: Geriatric straw made in-house. Photo by Jodi Carrigan.
Figure 7: Geriatric spoon made in-house. Photo by Jodi Carrigan. Figure 8: 1.0 Charlie participating in blood pressure training with keeper Jodi
Carrigan. Photo by Adam K. Thompson/Zoo Atlanta. Figure 9: Reverse sleeve viewed from keeper-side of mesh. Photo by Jodi Carrigan. Figure 10:
' Reverse sleeve viewed from gorilla-side of mesh. Photo by Jodi Carrigan.

w

Providing Optimai
Weiiness for a
Captive Goriiia
with Pica

Kathy Edwards and Eva Soni, Primate Keepers
San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco, CA

This year the San Francisco Zoo embarked on a Wellness
Initiative with the help of Dr. Terry Maple, Research Professor at
Florida Atlantic University and former Director of Zoo Atlanta,
and the support of the Zoo’s Board of Directors. While the San
Francisco Zoo has had a long history of caring for animals to the
best of our ability, with this Initiative we are highlighting and
defining the optimal physical and psychological welfare of many
of our animals, while also noticing which animals would benefit
from a different approach. In order to provide excellent animal
wellness, zoos must go beyond providing just the basics. The
Zoo’s wellness husbandry plan involves naturalistic enclosures
that elicit wild behaviors, species-specific social groupings,
purposeful enrichment, and medical training - all to provide
our captive animals the best life possible. A wellness program
challenge is to meet individual animal needs while also giving

the group optimal care. An example of such a challenge is caring
for Western Lowland Gorilla “Zura”, a long-time resident at San
Francisco Zoo.

Zura was born at Columbus Zoo in September of 1981. She
was hand-raised with her half-brother, Oscar Jonesie, and they
transferred as a pair to the San Francisco Zoo when Zura was
just over a year old. As a small gorilla with a poor appetite, Zura
was encouraged and rewarded for eating. It is not certain when
she developed a taste for foreign objects but it was early in her
life and the behavior persisted. Zura’s pica seemed to intensify
during periods of stress, which may have occurred since she is
the subordinate gorilla in the group.

Zura’s consumption of non-food items is a behavior defined in
the medical profession as pica, a compulsive disorder seen in
humans and animals and characterized by eating non-nutritive
substances or consuming food ingredients in an abnormal
manner (Segans 2011). Environmental, social, biological and
psychological factors can lead to compulsive disorder risk (Ansel
2004). The specific cause of pica is unknown, but stress may
be a precipitating factor (ANRED 2012). Many human sufferers
report stressors such as maternal deprivation, family issues,
parental neglect, pregnancy, poverty, and disorganized family
structure (Pediaview 2012). Pica becomes a way for an individual
to escape stress. There are no known methods of preventing pica,
but once diagnosed, measures can be taken to reduce further
ingestion of the non-food substances by removing the substance
(Pediaview 2012). It is also important to determine why the
individual wants to escape a certain situation or activity, and
then remove the individual from that situation or activity
if possible (Dugan 2006). Pharmacological treatment and
environmental enrichment have also been helpful in treating
compulsive disorders (Dodman 2011).

By her mid-twenties, Zura’s pica had manifested itself through
consumption of a wide array of foreign objects. Some of the
items passed naturally through her system, while others
required laxatives, enemas, or even surgery for removal.
Over the years, the diversity of enrichment items offered to
the gorilla group was curbed, and then decreased yet again to
combat the problem. By 2000, the gorilla group at the SF Zoo
was not allowed to have any enrichment items made of paper,
cardboard, cloth, thin plastic or rubber, and oat hay, straw, and
timothy hay were similarly ruled out for the group due to Zura’s
obsessive consumption of these items. The only bedding option
left for the group was excelsior, also known as wood wool. In
an effort to treat idiopathic bouts of constipation, Zura received
extra fiber drinks daily and her stool was monitored for foreign
objects. This went on for six years.

In 2006, we started working with Dr. Orin Abrenson and Dr.
David Shields, human doctors specializing in gastroenterology.
Dr. Abrenson reviewed Zura’s file and gave her a tentative
diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, for which she was prescribed
Mesalamine, or Pentasa. While on the Pentasa she seemed to
improve, or at least did not have any new episodes of impaction.
It was also a period of decreased stress for Zura because a new
female had been introduced to the group. In 2009, Dr. Shields
reviewed Zura’s Pentasa treatment and recommended tapering
her off to determine whether or not the improvement was due to
the medication or elevation in social status.

Zura after laparoscopic surgery.
Photo by Kathy Edwards.

86 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

Zura, Photo by MaHftnne Hale

A baby was born into the group at the end of 2008, an event
that greatly altered group dynamics. The infant had to be
hand-raised, followed by a surrogate introduction and eventual
integration into the gorilla group. Oscar Jonesie, a first time
father, was on high alert after the successful integration which
significantly increased stress in the group.

By 2010, keepers noticed that Zura was becoming constipated
frequently, then passing very large, fibrous stools. One bowel
movement weighed in at 1.8 kg! During these episodes Zura
would have low appetite and energy levels. We would keep
her separate, provide laxatives and extra fluids, and wait for
her to defecate. Browse was temporarily discontinued with the
hope that Zura’s stools would soften. After several months of
this pattern, Zura had lost about 10 kg and staff was concerned
about her long-term health.

The vet staff consulted Dr. Shields again, and it was decided
to perform a capsule endoscopy to image the small bowel, most
of which is inaccessible to flexible endoscopes. In people, this
procedure involves swallowing a capsule containing a miniature
camera (“PillCam,” Given Imaging, Inc.) which then takes

pictures as it passes through the intestines and transmits the
images to a receiver held on a belt on the patient’s abdomen.
Although Zura may well have swallowed the capsule, she might
also have eaten the receiver belt so in her case the procedure
required anesthesia. The capsule was maneuvered through
the stomach and into the start of the small intestine using a
flexible endoscope and she was maintained under anesthesia for
the following five hours while the capsule moved through the
intestine and transmitted its pictures to the receiver. Although
the PillCam did not have time to pass through the full length
of the small intestine during the five hours, all the images it
obtained appeared normal. Similarly, all images and biopsies of
the stomach, duodenum and colon obtained by flexible endoscopy
were also normal so there was no evidence of Crohn’s disease or
any other primary intestinal disease identified. Zura was fasted
for 36 hours prior to the procedure, and during this time she
started to eat her excelsior bedding.

Zura’s constipation continued and a laparoscopy (telescope
inserted through the body wall to examine the surface of the
abdominal organs) was scheduled with a human surgeon. Dr.
Andrew Shelton, to determine the cause. The most prominent

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February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 87

discovery from the procedure was a multitude of adhesions
between the intestines and the body wall. These adhesions
were probably the result of micro-perforations in the intestines
caused when foreign objects were passing through her system.
In order to stop any leakage, the intestines will “stick” to the
body wall or other organs, thus forming a barrier, but also
restricting movement within the tract. The adhesions were not
inflamed, meaning that they were from previous traumas to her
gut that had already healed. These adhesions had decreased
Zura’s gut motility making it more difficult for her to process
even regular food items.

While it was illuminating to know what was causing Zura’s
intestinal issues, the procedure was invasive and required
major changes to Zura’s routine. A laparoscopy requires cutting
through the abdominal wall which leads to a lengthy recovery
period. Prior to the procedure, Zura needed to fast and was kept
alone for two days. The healing process required Zura to be
kept inside and separate from the group for another four days.
During that recovery period, Zura kept eating excelsior, the
only bedding that was previously safe for our gorilla group. We
immediately replaced ail excelsior from the gorilla building and
yard with large quantities of browse for bedding.

Zura is now on a regimen of stool softeners, fiber and fluids. We
give her glitter daily in order to monitor the consistency and
quantity of her stool. Once a month we perform a gut transit
time test with a different color of glitter. Zura’s pica has caused
lasting damage to her digestive tract; it now takes 36 hours to
process her food, while the other gorillas require only 24 hours.
The gorillas have been without bedding for over a year now, but
we have started a slow process of reintroducing excelsior in the
hopes that Zura will not ingest it. In the absence of bedding
we have installed numerous hammocks, provided thick rubber
tubs, and when possible gave them a large amount of browse for
nest building. With a lot of brainstorming, keepers have come
up with some good options for enrichment made out of metal or
thick, hard plastic, as well as natural alternatives such as small
amounts of alfalfa or varieties of browse.

Zura has been doing very well, socially and physically, and
has been constipation-free for more than two years. When
Zura is feeling v/ell, she has a fun and engaging personality
and is a favorite among staff and visitors. Zura is often seen
checking out visitors, then waggling her tongue at them in
play. Zura is also a wonderful auntie to young gorillas in the
group; she will give them back rides or play gently with them

Excelsior removed from exhibit and bedding replaced by browse. Photo by Kathy Edwards

88 I ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

in a quiet space. It has been a long road of discovery to develop
a wellness husbandry plan that works for Zura, but it seems
that we are almost there. This year, windows were installed
to prevent visitors from accidentally dropping objects into the
exhibit, which has further limited Zura’s access to non-nutritive
substances. Husbandry for the entire gorilla group has been
affected by Zura’s needs, but we believe the group has benefited
from Zura’s lively personality as well.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many thanks to all of Zura’s caretakers at San Francisco Zoo,
especially Curators David Bocian, Corinne MacDonald, and Jill
Andrews; Vet Staff Dr. Graham Crawford, Dr. Adrian Mutlow,
Dr. Jacqueline Jencek, Dr. Freeland Dunker, and Dr. Dave
Daunt; Consulting Physicians Dr. Orin Abrenson, Dr. David
Shields, and Dr. Andrew Shelton; Wellness Consultant Dr.
Terry Maple; Board Chair David Stanton.

REFERENCES

ANEED. 2012. Pica. Anorexic Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders
Inc., np. April 30, 2012. http://www.anred.com/pica.html

Ansel, K. 2004. “Eating Disorders: Nutrition and Well Being A to Z”
Encyclopedia.com, 2004. Accessed May 6, 2012. http: / /www.
encyclopedia.com/topic/eatingdisorders.apx

Dodman, N. 2011. "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Animals”
Veterinary Practice News, May 23, 2011. Accessed April 30,
2012. http: / / www.veterinarypracticenews.com / vet-practice-
news-columns / pet-projects / obsessive-compulsive-disorder-in-
animals.aspx

Dugan, S. and R. Frey. 2006. Pica. Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine,
Third Edition. 2006. Accessed May 6, 2012. http: // www.
encyclopedia.com /topic /pica.aspx

Pediaview. 2012. Pica. Pedia View, np. Accessed Apiil 30, 2012 http:/ /
pediaview.com /openpedia/ Pica_(disorder)

Segans Medical Dictionary. 2011. Pica. Farlex Inc, 2011. Accessed
May 6, 2012. http:/ /medical-dictionary, the freedictionary.
com /pica

Zura playing auntie. Photo by Marianne Hale

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 89

Managing a Critically 111
Western Lowland Gorilla
(Gorilla gorilla gorilla)
with Cholangiohepatitis

“1 "W: i I • ^ ■iF’w'

Dr. Julie Barnes, BVSc, MSc, Veterinarian
Lacey Byrnes, Senior Mammal Keeper
Wendy Anderson, Senior Mammal Keeper
Michele Green, Curator of Mammals

Santa Barbara Zoo
Santa Barbara, CA

ABSTRACT

Goma is a 21-year-old Western Lowland
Gorilla {Gorilla gorilla gorilla) that
currently resides at the Santa Barbara
Zoo with his half-brother, Kivu. On
12 June 2012, Goma began to display
symptoms of a disease process that
required veterinary and keeper staff to
perform a total of five immobilizations
over the course of 2.5 weeks in an attempt
to diagnose and treat his illness. Many
diagnostic tests were performed resulting
in the diagnosis of cholangiohepatitis
and intestinal hemorrhage, however
the primary etiology for these disease
processes was not determined. A blood
transfusion and a series of medications
were part of his treatment, as well as
round-the-clock care from keeper staff,
all of which resulted in his slow but
successful recovery and regaining 28 kg
that were lost during his illness.

INTRODUCTION

The Santa Barbara Zoo currently houses
2.0 Western Lowland Gorillas. Goma
and Kivu, both 21 -years-old, are half-
brothers that were born at the Buffalo
Zoo in 1991 and have been housed at the
Santa Barbara Zoo since 1996. Kivu has
been the dominant individual since the
passing of the 3’'‘* male in the bachelor
troop. Max, in 2004.

The gorillas are managed together on
exhibit during the day and are housed
in separate holdings overnight. The
configuration of their holdings is one
holding upstairs and one downstairs
(two stories) with a catwalk connecting
the lower holding to a vertical shift door.
The gorilla housed in the lower holding
has access to the catwalk and can come
upstairs and have visual access to the
gorilla housed in the upper holding.
Preventative medicine examinations
performed under anesthesia were
conducted yearly until 2010 and include
physical examination, blood tests, dental
examinations and cardiac ultrasounds.
These examinations are now performed
every two years. There are two primary
gorilla keepers, Wendy Anderson and
Lacey Byrnes, who are also responsible
for the daily care of the Zoo’s Masai giraffe
{Giraffa Camelopardalis tippelskirchi)

Goma on exhibit

Photo courtesy of Sheri Horiszny

herd and slender-tailed meerkat (Suricata
suricatta) mob. Wendy Anderson has
been working with the gorillas for the
past five years, while Lacey Byrnes had
become a primary gorilla keeper just
weeks before Goma’s illness. The Zoo’s
curator of mammals, Michele Green, is
highly involved in the daily care of the
gorillas and was previously one of the
primary gorilla keepers at the zoo.

ONSET OF ILLNESS

On 12 June 2012, Goma was observed
exhibiting signs of mild lethargy,
decreased appetite, and shaking of his
left arm when bearing weight. The
following day, keepers continued to
see a decrease in his activity and he
selectively ate offered items, focusing on
greens and fruit. A cold/flu suspension
(acetaminophen, dextromethorphan HBr,
phenylephrine HCl) was prescribed for
the next two days, as Goma had a history
of colds presenting with similar vague
signs, although this time there was no
nasal discharge.

On 14 June 2012, Goma developed cowpat
stools with a moderate amount of mucus,
was passing gas and appeared to have a
slightly bloated abdomen. Goma was kept
off exhibit and managed inside so that
keeper staff could monitor his food/water
consumption and observe his behavior
closely. His face was glossy and he had
problems shifting from the upstairs
holding to the downstairs holding and
back again for keeper staff to do their
regular cleaning. This shifting involved
him having to either hold his body weight
as he descended or pull himself up through
the vertical shift door in the catwalk. His
generalized weakness was very apparent.
Keepers continued to observe shaking
and weakness of his left arm, particularly
while he was bearing weight on that arm.
He was also observed lying on his back
with his feet in the air and squeezing his
eyes shut tightly, which was suspicious of
waves of abdominal discomfort. The cold/
flu suspension was discontinued, as it
did not appear to be helping. On 15 June
2012, Goma’s symptoms had worsened.
He was very depressed and would not sit
up. He would only consume a few lettuce
leaves and Gatorade® that was hand-fed
to him while lying down. His urine was
very concentrated and the cowpat stools
continued. A primary enteritis/colitis
was suspected and diarrhea secondary
to another cause was also considered.
He was started on ciprofloxacin,
acetaminophen and probiotics. That
afternoon, the decision was made to house
him in the lower holding area where Kivu
is normally managed overnight. Kivu was
shifted into Goma’s upstairs holding. The
lower holding is divided into four separate

bedrooms and is the usual location for
medical procedures to be performed.
The lower holding is adjacent to the
primary keeper work area, so housing
Goma downstairs made it convenient
for staff to closely observe him, as well
as allow Goma to be able to see staff and
feel less isolated.

Keeper staff arrived on the morning of 16
June 2012 to find that Goma’s condition
was the same: very depressed, laying on
his side and would not sit up and not
eating or drinking. After re-evaluation by
the veterinarian, the decision was made to
anesthetize Goma for a full examination.

THE FIRST IMMOBILIZATION

On 16 June 2012, Goma was anesthetized
for a diagnostic work-up. This included
physical examination, blood collection,
abdominal and cardiac ultrasounds,
urine and fecal collection, and TB testing.
Intravenous fluids, antibiotics and
flunixin meglumine were given during
the procedure. Goma’s recovery from the
procedure was extremely prolonged. It
was two hours post-reversal before he
could be extubated and there was only
slight movement in his shoulder and
forearm when stimulated four hours post-
reversal. His respiration remained stable
throughout this time. It was not until
12 hours after the end of the procedure
that he sat up. It was suspected that
the very prolonged recovery was caused
by the administration of buprenorphine
for pain relief just prior to recovery in
combination with the use of tiletamine/
zolazepam for anesthesia induction (pers.
comm. Dr Hayley Murphy, Atlanta Zoo).
During recovery he was positioned lying
on his left side.

The following day he was still very
lethargic and depressed, but he was
moving around the stall and eating and
drinking a little. He was not using his
left hand and when moving around he
was observed to be walking on his left
wrist instead of his knuckles. No stools
were observed. Blood results revealed
lymphopenia, very low platelet count,
mild hypoproteinemia, moderately
elevated liver enzymes, very high total
bilirubin, high direct bilirubin and high
resting bile acids. Protein and bilirubin
were found in the urine. The differential
diagnoses included primary liver
disease, biliary duct obstruction causing
cholangiohepatitis, primary enteritis and/
or thrombocytopenia. Ciprofloxacin was
continued and ketoprofen and Vitamin
Kl were commenced. Two human
gastroenterologists were consulted
regarding Goma’s condition. The first
gastroenterologist thought biliary tract
obstruction due to gallstones was most

likely, while the second gastroenterologist
thought that primary hepatic disease was
more likely but could not rule out biliary
tract obstruction.

On 18 June 2012, Goma was more alert,
sitting up and moving around, eating and
drinking, and passed some firm stool.
There was shaking of all his limbs when
standing and he was still not using his
left hand. Keepers saw him move his left
thumb, as well as his left shoulder and
elbow. Over the next three days Goma
became mildly jaundiced and was lethargic
with a mildly increased respiratory rate.
He was sitting up, moving around, eating,
drinking and passing cowpat stools. His
abdomen was moderately distended and he
would periodically lay on his back with his
legs up against the wall and squeeze his eyes
closed and sometimes pass gas. His limbs
were shaking when standing and he was
still walking on his left wrist and not using
his left hand, although some movement
of his fingers was observed. An episode of
epistaxis from the left nostril (nose bleed)
with significant blood loss was observed
one morning. This raised the concern
of thrombocytopenia, possibly immune-
mediated, or coagulopathy secondary to liver
disease. Plans were made to anesthetize
him again for further examination.

During this time, keepers monitored
Kivu’s behavior closely. Goma was not
given access to the exhibit due to his poor
health. Kivu was managed on exhibit
alone and he showed no signs of ill health.

THE SECOND IMMOBILIZATION

Goma was anesthetized again on 22
June 2012 for 3.5 hours to perform
further diagnostics, which included a
physical examination, blood collection for
numerous tests, abdominal radiographs,
abdominal ultrasound and ultrasound-
guided liver biopsies, aspiration of
bile and peritoneal fluid, bone marrow
biopsies, urine collection, and fecal
collection/rectal swabs.

Hematological findings included mild
to moderately low red blood cell count,
hemoglobin and hematocrit, and low
reticulocyte count. The hemopathologist
felt that this low reticulocyte count was
not consistent with hemolytic anemia.
Blood results also showed no evidence
of coagulopathy or thrombocytopenia
and there was significant neutrophil
toxic change, indicative of an infectious/
inflammatory process. Liver enzymes
were still moderately elevated, while
bilirubin and bile acids were increasing.
Simian retroviral screening was negative.
Hepatitis A (IgM) antibody and Hepatitis
B surface antigen were both negative.

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 91

On examination, there was a lot of
gas present in the intestines, which
was causing abdominal distension.
However, there was no evidence of biliary
obstruction or gallstones. Inability to
use the left hand was suspected to be
neuropathic as no other causes were
found on examination. Liver biopsy
histopathology results indicated marked
suppurative cholangiohepatitis, probably
bacterial in origin but no organisms were
isolated from microbiological culture of the
liver biopsies. There was also no growth of
organisms from the bile or peritoneal fluid.
Medications were changed to amoxicillin
trihydrate/clavLilanate potassium and
metronidazole. The ketoprofen and
vitamin Kl were continued, while
ciprofloxacin was discontinued.

The following day there was another
suspected episode of epistaxis, but overall
he seemed a little brighter and was eating
and drinking. Liquid to cowpat stools
continued and abdominal distension was
still present. He moved around the stall
slowly and keepers spent the majority
of their day taking care of Goma, as he
had to be hand-fed all food items. On 25
June 2012, his stools were still very soft
and now very dark, possibly melena. By
late afternoon, Goma appeared more
depressed, had lost his appetite and was
sweaty in his face. He was moderately
jaundiced and his mucus membranes
appeared paler. By the morning of 26 June
2012 he had deteriorated significantly.
He was extremely weak and unable to
sit up. His mucus membranes were very
pale and he was passing bloody stools.
Preparations were made to immediately
anesthetize him again for a further
work-up, with the understanding that
there were significant risks involved in
anesthetizing such an ill animal.

THETHIRD IMMOBILIZATION

Goma underwent a third procedure on 26
June 2012 and was anesthetized for four
hours. Diagnostics included a physical
examination, blood collection, abdominal
ultrasound, bone marrow biopsies,
endoscopic examination and biopsies of
the stomach and colon. His hematocrit
(HCT) and hemoglobin (Hgb) levels were
critically low (8 % and 2.7 g/dl respectively)
having dropped from 32% and 9.5 g/dl
respectively three days prior, indicating
significant blood loss presumably from
his gastrointestinal tract. During the
examination, bloody stools were leaking
from his rectum; his abdomen was no
longer distended. Clotting times were
normal. The reticulocyte count was still
low but indicative of a regenerative
anemia. Liver parameters were still
elevated but improved from four days

prior. The white blood cell count and
differential continued to remain within
normal limits. Endoscopic examination of
his stomach and colon did not locate any
obvious sources of bleeding. The colonic
mucosa appeared moderately inflamed.
There were no significant microscopic
findings of the gastric and colonic
biopsies. Normal gut flora continued
to be isolated from fecal cultures.
Intravenous fluids were given in addition
to antibiotics and ketoprofen, and a fecal
enema was performed using feces from
his half-brother. A blood transfusion was
determined to be the best course of action.
Following a discussion with veterinary
and animal care staff, the decision was
made to proceed with a blood transfusion
using his half-brother, Kivu, as the
donor. Goma was maintained under
anesthesia while preparations were made
to immobilize the other gorilla. During
this time, Goma started to experience
significant anesthetic complications
including respiratory arrest, so the
transfusion procedure was aborted and
Goma was woken up. His recovery was
very slow again, taking 2.5 hours to start
moving after reversal. Staff prepared
themselves for the fact that Goma was
likely not to survive the night and his
longest standing caregivers, Wendy
Anderson and Michele Green, stayed with
him overnight. The following morning
Goma was still alive but extremely weak.
He was jaundiced, unable to sit up, had
very pale mucus membranes and his
bloody diarrhea continued. The decision
was made to make a second attempt at
performing a blood transfusion.

THE TRANSFUSION

Kivu was immobilized on the morning
of 27 June 2012 and approximately
3.5 units of whole blood were collected
and prepai’ed for transfusion. No cross-
matching was performed. In his critically
ill state, Goma was anesthetized for the
fourth time in order to receive the blood
transfusion. He remained remarkably
stable during the 2 hour and 20 minute
anesthetic procedure and recovered
quickly after reversal. The total amount
of whole blood collected from Kivu was
transfused into Goma over 75 minutes,
followed by intravenous fluids. Frank
blood was running out of his rectum for
approximately five minutes shortly after
the transfusion was commenced, then
ceased. The pre-transfusion HCT was 8%
and Hgb was 2.7 g/dl. The post-transfusion
HCT was 13% and Hgb was 3.4 g/dl. Liver
parameters were increased compared
to the previous day. New medications
were started, including azithromycin,
omeprazole, sucrulfate, milk thistle,
multivitamin tablets, Yunnan paiyau
and probiotics. Amoxicillin trihydrate/

clavulanate potassium and vitamin Kl
were continued, while metronidazole and
ketoprofen were discontinued.

The next day Goma was considerably
improved. He was moving between stalls,
and eating and drinking. His mucus
membranes were pink but he continued
to produce bloody stools. He became
exhausted quickly after moving around
and displayed behavior that indicated
periodic abdominal pain. A liquid diet
was commenced to rest the intestine.

Ongoing hemorrhage from the intestinal
tract raised the concern that another
blood transfusion might be needed. In
this case, a different donor would be
required and cross-matching of the blood
would be necessary. Gorilla blood types
are still unknown and the best donor
would be an adult unrelated male (pers.
comm. Dr Kathryn Gamble, Lincoln
Park Zoo). A request was made to zoos
in California for donated blood from any
suitable healthy gorilla if undergoing an
annual examination. The Los Angeles
Zoo had an unrelated male gorilla
(Kelly) that was due for an annual
examination. Staff agreed to bring the
examination forward and to collect
blood to be donated. Santa Barbara Zoo
veterinary staff traveled to Los Angeles
to assist with blood collection during the
procedure and four units of whole blood
were collected. The blood was compatible
on major and minor cross-matching.

Back in Santa Barbara, Goma continued
to improve slowly each day post-
transfusion. Fewer signs of abdominal
pain were observed and his appetite
improved. His stools remained very soft
but changed from bloody to coffee ground
in appearance over three days. After two
days of a liquid diet, easily digestible
food items (high carbohydrate/low fiber)
were introduced. By 2 July 2012 he was
walking on his left knuckles and using
his left hand well. Shaking of his limbs
was still observed when weight bearing.
His stools continued to be soft and coffee
ground in appearance, but no red blood
cells were seen on fecal cytology.

On 3 July 2012, Goma was immobilized
again (one week post-transfusion) to
recheck hematology and chemistry values
to determine if the second transfusion
was needed. He was anesthetized again
(for the 5^*^ time), for 1 hour 30 minutes
and recovered normally. The jaundice
had resolved. His HCT was 18% and Hgb
was 4.8 g/dl, and the reticulocyte count
was much improved, indicating good bone
marrow response to the blood loss. Liver
parameters were mildly elevated but
had improved significantly. Abdominal
ultrasound and endoscopic examination

92 1 ANIMAL KEEPERS’ FORUM

American Association of Zoo Keepers, Inc.

Goma anesthetized for diagnostic procedures. Photo courtesy of the Santa Barbara Zoo.

of the stomach, duodenum and colon were
performed and no abnormalities were
found. Gastric and duodenal biopsies were
collected and there were no significant
microscopic findings. Based on the rising
HCT, good reticulocyte response and
clinical improvement, it was decided not
to perform the second transfusion as the
risk of a transfusion reaction, despite
cross-matching, potentially outweighed
the benefit.

Goma continued to show daily
improvement with some minor setbacks.
He developed an intestinal yeast
overgrowth that was treated effectively
with nystatin. By 10 July 2012 he was
very active, moving well, and still had
shaking of his limbs when standing. The
cowpat stools persisted but the color had
improved. He started to regurgitate and
re-ingest specific starchy food items so
regular food items with increased fiber

were introduced. He was returned to his
normal diet over a period of three days
and the regurgitation stopped. He had
lost 28 kg in the last month.

Over the next two weeks he was given
an increased volume of his normal diet.
His overall clinical condition improved
along with slow weight gain, but there
was persistence of liquid to cowpat stools
that were green in color. Two strains of
E. coli were isolated on fecal culture,
and his stools improved within two days
of commencing a course of enrofloxacin.
By 02 August 2012, Goma was doing
very well. His stools were normal and
he had gained back a good portion of
the condition he lost during his illness.
Re-introductions to his half-brother
were initiated and continued slowly.
Both Goma and Kivu were successfully
managed back on exhibit together three
weeks later.

On 02 December 2012, after an altercation
between Goma and Kivu that resulted
in significant bite wounds, both gorillas
were prescribed oral sulfamethoxazole/
trimethoprim antibiotics and topical
antiseptic spray to treat their wounds.
Goma received 60% of his first dose of
sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim and 30
minutes later had a significant allergic
reaction to the medication. He was
sweating profusely from his armpits, was
scratching his limbs and face, and swelling
around his eyes and mouth developed.
After being given a corticosteroid and
diphenhydramine orally, the reaction
subsided. Goma was changed to a different
antibiotic (amoxicillin) and completed his
seven- day course without any further
adverse reactions. Following the reaction,
Goma’s abdomen appeared distended.
He was also observed regurgitating and
re-ingesting his medicated bananas.
The reaction to the sulfamethoxazole/

AAZK.ORG

February and March 2014 | Vol. 41, Nos. 2 &3 | 93

trimethoprim was unexpected, as he
had received the medication in the past
without incident.

It is now more than 18 months since the
onset of his illness and Goma appears to
have made a full recovery. Goma does
have bouts of soft stool intermittently
and shaking of his left arm is still
observed, particularly when he becomes
very active or is displaying. Keepers have
also observed that he does not appear
to have the same upper body strength

spent many days by his side hand-feeding
him food and fluids. There were a large
number of medications prescribed (not all
listed in this paper) that at times were
being given as often as five times per day.
Medications were constantly changing,
as were the dietary instructions. Goma’s
primary keepers provided him with many
hours of direct interaction for mental
stimulation due to his weeks of isolation
indoors, as well as continuing to care
for other animals in the area. This was
reflected in the more than 100 hours of

with ultrasonography. We would also like
to thank the Los Angeles Zoo for being
prepared to help another gorilla in need,
particularly Jennie Becker, Dr. Cynthia
Stadler and the veterinary staff and all
the primate keepers. We are indebted
to Dr. John Blaustein and Dr. Homann
Rashidi, pathologists at Cottage Hospital,
for interpretation of blood results;
the gorilla vet advisors, Dr. Hayley
Murphy and Dr. Tom Meehan for their
consultation and Dr. Kathryn Gamble for
advice on selection of a blood donor. We

that he had prior to becoming ill. The
etiology of the cholangiohepatitis was
never determined, nor was the location of
intestinal hemorrhage, however he made a
remarkable recovery. Goma’s astonishing
compliance and responsiveness to his
primary keepers, even at his most critical
stage, had a large part to play in his
eventual recovery.

Goma’s illness and recovery phases
required intensive management from
both veterinary and animal care staff.
It took a team of veterinarians and
vetei’inary specialists, human specialists
and keeper staff to provide care for
him. Goma underwent five anesthetic
procedures over 2.5 weeks, he was
constantly monitored, and his keepers

keeper’s overtime logged during this
time. The rest of the animal care team
and all departments within the zoo
rallied together to support his primary
keeper staff and veterinary staff while
they were consumed with Goma’s care,
and continued to provide care to the rest
of the collection.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to extend
enormous gratitude to everyone
involved with providing care for Goma
during his illness, including all of the
veterinary staff: Dr. Sam Dover, Dr.
Andrea Wells, Dr. Cynthia Stringfield,
Dr. Dave Bruyette, Julie Yuhas and
Summer Gentry. Cassandra Boelsteri
from Cottage Hospital kindly assisted

would also like to thank the entire Santa
Barbara Zoo Animal Care department,
Education department, and Management
team for providing unfailing support
during this difficult time, with a special
thank you to Sheri Horiszny and Nancy
McToldridge for their incredible support
dui’ing Goma’s illness.

(Pictured above) Goma eating a
pumpkin on exhibit.

Photo courtesy of Sheri Horiszny.

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