Monday, June 14, 2010
Monday morning on June 7 dawned bright and early on some
very anxious zookeepers at the Memphis Zoo. The gorillas had been talking to
each other with low, happy grumbles through the mesh door, and the time had
come for them to finally be together. Since hungry gorillas are grumpy
gorillas, everyone enjoyed a good breakfast of oatmeal, fruit and salad, the
doors were finally opened and Mwelu rushed out to meet his new group. He immediately
tried to show everyone who was boss by jumping up...
Monday, March 29, 2010
Yesterday was a historical day in Primate Canyon. For the
first time in Memphis Zoo history, three female gorillas were on exhibit
together! We have been working for years to assemble a family group of
these
majestic apes, and this milestone is an important step towards that
goal.
Assembling a family of gorillas is no easy task. First, we
had to identify and acquire the animals. This involved careful planning
and collaborating
with other zoos in...
Friday, June 19, 2009
The very long gorilla introduction is actually going very well. Mwelu has changed so much since he first met the girls a little over a year ago. He now understands that he actually likes female companionship. Every morning Kebara goes outside with Mwelu. Sometimes she stops right inside the door and he gives her a very gentle push out the door. They move around the yard eating lettuce and vegetables and vocalizing a low happy feeding grumble. After breakfast, Mwelu...
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
The introduction of Mwelu and the girls has been long and complicated. As of now, Kebara is spending a few hours a day with Mwelu and going back with Penny otherwise. He has had a hard time accepting Penny, but has no problem with Kebara (even though she started out hitting him with sticks and stealing his browse!!). We are going to continue on with this plan for a while to get him a little more used to sharing his food, yard, and keepers. The girls have been trained to...
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Summer will be a very exciting time in Primate Canyon. Our
"Penny," female lowland gorilla
age: 23
factoid: Penny is Kebara's mom
female gorillas arrived from the San Diego Wild Animal Park on May 9. They have been spending some time inside the night house getting to know their future...
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Come welcome our new female gorillas, "Penny"
"Mwelu," male lowland gorilla
age: 21
...
OTHER BLOGS
Want to find out more about our polar bears? Wondering how our pandas YaYa and LeLe are doing? Or how about how our gorillas are starting to get along? You're at the right place.