Marek Zdansky interrupted his narration about keeping gorillas and went to check the situation in the pavilion. He had to make sure the pavilion is cleaned and the gorillas are served their morning snack. His mobile phone kept ringing all the time, which meant I kept him from work. Yet he was willing to continue answering my questions. This time, we talked about breeding gorillas in captivity and the future of the Prague zoo gorilla troop.
Do renowned zoos in Europe apply the same rules for contactless breeding or dietary principles as you? How do you cooperate with them?
I have been abroad several times for study trips, often in Dutch and German zoological garden. However, my first study trip was to Dvur Kralove nad Labem, where I learned a lot. I'd like to thank all my colleagues there this way. Back then, some thirteen years ago, Dvur Kralove was the best Czech zoo in terms of ape breeding. As for breeding, some zoos apply the same principles as we, others take a different approach. For instance, in some Dutch or British zoos, keepers routinely enter the enclosure. But the gorillas know him since they were born, so he or she is like a member of the troop for them. However, I do not agree with this approach. I have no reason to enter the enclosure and do not want them to be pointlessly fixed to one human. If I need, I can call them and they will come to the grate. But if they do not want to, they will not communicate.
A great event was procreation of our gorillas. Although it is only that Kijivu has had offspring, the troop started living a normal life at last. Before then, they had spent most of the time sitting around and waiting for food. Now they need to deal with a range of problems - someone is always angry or sulky, one of the females ruts, the young misbehave. I am happy that their life resembles what I saw in other zoological gardens. Naturally, we copy the best practices. We always discuss new ideas with the other keepers, whether it is feasible or not, sometimes just give it a try, some things get eventually implemented permanently. Visitors who travel also abroad to other zoos often notice such improvements. And the other way round, when we introduce some innovations of our own, we can subsequently see them implemented abroad.
What improvements are planned for the pavilion for the next half a year?
We have to do something about the enclosure - I don't like it all. We will replace the old trees and climbing structures, and erect a roofed shelter. I would also like to discuss another change with the director. My idea is to convert the outer enclosure for tamarins on the side of the pavilion into another enclosure for the gorillas. It would not be difficult from the technical point of view - we would just break another entrance for the gorillas, erect a wall around the space and install a glass wall for visitors to watch the gorillas. The gorillas could go out to a different enclosure every day, which would make their lives yet more diverse. This is just an idea which I hope will eventually materialise. It should not be very costly, either. And third, I would like to bring a new female to Prague. Negotiations have only started but we do have some chance to succeed. Everything should be decided in spring. We shall see.
I would also like to finally resolve Shinda's problem - whether we can help her have young. Our vets are consulting options abroad but we do not see a clear way ahead. The last solution would be to transfer Shinda to another zoo where she could mate with another male. A possible cause of her infertility may be that she does not see Richard as a good potential father of her offspring. We would pursue this option only after everything else fails.
Tatu is turning two soon, so, theoretically, Kijivu could conceive again next year, as she did after giving birth to Moja. However, some females cannot have another offspring for four or five years after delivery; it is very individual.
As for Kamba, I think as Moja grows older, Kamba will turn her attention more and more to another "grandchild", Tatu. Moja will stay for another three or four years and will have to learn as much as possible in this troop so that she fits smoothly into another family elsewhere and can have offspring. That I would consider the greatest success.
And it would definitely make all human admirers of Moja very happy, too.
Next time, we are going to talk about the Revealed project.
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