Do Gorillas have Personalities?

In commenting on my first blog, Cindy was interested in our gorillas and asked how their personalities differ. Because people ask me things like this all the time, I wanted to share more than just a comment. So read on to find out more about the Zoo's two male gorillas and check out one of my little gorilla anecdotes.

Cindy recently commented on how much she loves our gorillas and wondered how their personalities differ. I was immediately impressed that Cindy recognized gorillas have distinct personalities. I am always somewhat surprised when people are amazed to hear that our gorillas are very much individuals.

Mokolo (to the right in the photo) is the younger of our two guys -- he's 21 years old -- but he is larger and has a very strong and dominant personality. We saw this personality early on when he came to Cleveland Metroparks Zoo as a spoiled 7-year-old. He is very smart and interacts freely with his keepers.

Bebac (to the left in the photo) is 23 years old and has always had the personality of the middle-man, just wanting to get along with the others. This was also evident early on as Bebac played the diplomat of the group (our two gorillas were part of a larger group in the past). He is pretty laid back and is content to stay out of the way when Mokolo is in one of his moods.

One question I often get about gorillas is: "how strong are they?" I could tell you that they are as strong as ten men, which would be fairly accurate, but it's easier to grasp gorilla strength by relaying a story in which I witnessed their awesome strength first hand. Years ago I was working with our silverback Timmy, and I needed to move him from his holding area to his exhibit. We had a sliding door system and the door I needed to move him through was stuck in a closed position. Another Animal Keeper and I tugged and pulled with all of our might but couldn't get it to budge. Only after the help of a pry bar, we were able to get the door open about two inches. I decided to send Timmy through to see what he could do. He made his way to the door, stuck his fingers through the gap, and with a simple flick of his wrist threw the door open like it was nothing. Talk about your humbling experience.



Comments

 
By: M.B.
On: 09/05/2008 06:04:27
This was a very interesting and informative article. Thank you for writing this; it answered a lot of questions I had about gorillas!
 
By: Danielle
On: 10/13/2008 11:20:07
A while ago Bebac & Mokolo had their annual physical exams. If I remember correctly, Bebac was showing signs of cardiac disease. I was wondering how he is progressing and how the presence of this disease has altered his daily care schedule?
 
By: Tad (the Primate Guy)
On: 10/13/2008 15:02:38
Hi Danielle. I am very happy that I can give you good news about Bebac's condition. He was indeed diagnosed with heart disease as was Mokolo. Bebac's condition was more progressed. They were both put on heart medications similar to what humans with heart disease are treated with. Due to their differing degrees of heart disease, there are some differences in medications and amounts between the two. The good news is that they are both doing much better. It is more evident in Bebac as he has regained some muscle mass he had lost and has become much more active. Mokolo's heart disease was caught sooner so he had not exhibited the physical changes we had seen in Bebac. It is our hope that the medications will extend both of their lives and give them a great quality of life.

We have altered their diet, giving them more vegetables, which will increase the fiber in their diet and aid their cardiac health. When they come inside this winter, we will try to increase their physical activity as well. They will be scheduled for a follow up health check to clinically see how the medications have helped their heart function.

In the meantime, all the signs we see in their appearance and behavior point towards a much improved physical condition. Thanks for asking.
-Tad

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