The pavilion opened to the visitors again after a week of repair works, so you can now watch the Prague gorilla troop live in action.
The floor in the visitor section of the pavilion, worn by the steps of thousands of visitors, needed repairs. Its pebbled surface did not work well and was replaced with concrete. The aesthetic qualities of a natural material had to give way to more practical, safer and disabled-friendly flat surface.
The repair work did not disturb the daily routine for the gorillas very much. In the morning, they go to their bedrooms. When the weather is nice, they can go outside. In the evening, they return to the inner enclosure. The whole troop has been rather nervous because an increased level of noise due to the repair work. All of them accept food without any problems and manage to cope with stress, only Kijivu appears seriously disturbed. She spends most of the day with her hands clutched to her ears. On Thursday morning, I watched her for a while: she was lying in the corner, holding her ears, and looking desperate.
Moja probably realised that her mum needed support - not only consoling but also physical help. She therefore took over care for her younger brother. She alternated intensive games with peaceful rest with the right timing. She first played with Tatu for a long time - tickling his belly, cuddling with him and teasing him in various ways. Hygiene was next. Moja carefully groomed Tatu's fur, combing it systematically and examining closely everything she came across. This was followed by cleaning of the ears and face (by licking, as you can guess). When Tatu was spick-and-span, the two went on to a gymnastics lesson. Tatu first lay on his back with hind legs raised. Moja manipulated with them just like an orthopaedist does with toddlers. Tatu passed the test - it seems he has no problems with his hips. Having found her brother was in good condition and would tolerate some harsh treatment, she subjected him to a bit of astronautic training (she is rather rough but that's the way it goes with gorillas). She held Tatu's hind legs and lifted them up in the air. Surprised Tatu suddenly found himself standing on his head.
Tatu tolerated his sister's care patiently. When Moja ran out of ideas, she let him go. He quickly recovered and hammered his chest with his fists. He is eventually going to be the master of the place, that's for sure. Now he is hungry and is going for some milk. "Come on, mum, take your hands off yours ears for a while!"
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