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MEDIA
RELEASE
April 16, 2010
CONTACT:
Kara Bussabarger
kara.bussabarger@louisvilleky.gov
502-238-5331 (502-744-5639 Media Cell)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gorilla baby update - Friday, April 16
Baby now being hand raised
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Gorilla baby and Keeper Michelle
Wise.
Photo by Kara Bussabarger/The Louisville Zoo |
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Late Wednesday afternoon, Gorilla Forest staff
noticed that the infant gorilla was having trouble holding her head up,
less able to cling onto mom and showing signs of weakness. So she was
taken to the Zoo’s animal hospital.
“The baby’s injury on April 1 presented
significant challenges to the baby, including anemia and trauma,”
Louisville Zoo Veterinarian Dr. Roy Burns said. “We are very fortunate
baby and mom have done as well as they have in the last two weeks.
However, the physiologic demands of healing were just too much for the
baby to handle on her own. Since April 1, when the baby was returned to
her mother, the plan has been to closely monitor them and to intervene
at the first indication that the baby needed additional help.”
The Zoo’s Veterinary team has been consulting
with local medical experts including a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, a
lactation specialist and a neonatologist.
While mom is healthy, she isn’t producing
enough breast milk for the baby. Maintenance of lactation requires
frequent stimulation of the breast. While the baby was nursing, she
wasn’t doing it frequently enough to stimulate the mother’s breast and
maintain full milk production.
“The healing of the baby’s wounds depletes her
energy reserves. She needs adequate nutrition in order to heal. To aid
and speed recovery, she needs aggressive nutritional support and
antibiotic therapy. We are working to get the baby into a positive
energy balance with a good nutritional supply,” Burns said.
For now, the infant is being hand raised by
staff to insure the best recovery possible. Staff is physically holding
and caring for her 24 hours a day. She seems to have settled in with her
keepers, is taking a bottle and is currently on antibiotics. Through
tests, the Zoo’s Veterinary team also discovered that the infant is
anemic (which means fewer red blood cells than normal, which is typical
with significant blood loss). They are still awaiting more results to
determine a treatment.
While the baby’s prognosis is good, it is still
a very dynamic situation.
Mom Mia Moja, adult female Kweli and male
Mshindi are currently housed in separate, adjacent bedrooms.
Further updates will be issued if there is a
change in status.
BACKGROUND RECAP
Louisville Zoo’s female infant gorilla (born
February 6, 2010) suffered an injury Thursday, April 1, 2010, that
resulted in the loss of part of her left leg and broken bone near her
left hip.
It happened during a skirmish within the
family group (which consists of 21-year-old mom Mia Moja, 22-year-old
father Mshindi and 27-year-old female Kweli).
“Squabbles within a gorilla group do
happen,” Louisville Zoo Animal Curator Steve Wing said. “Gorillas
exhibit complex and dynamic relationship behaviors. It is challenging to
identify the reason for this occurrence. Mia Moja, Mshindi, Kweli and
the baby had been together sharing the same space through the pregnancy
and since the birth and doing well.”
BABY BACKGROUND
The baby was born February 6 to western lowland
gorilla Mia Moja. She was the first gorilla baby born in North America
this year and the second gorilla ever born at the Louisville Zoo. (The
first was male Azizi born to Makari on December 4, 2003, a year after
Gorilla Forest opened in May of 2002.
MOM BACKGROUND
Mother-raised and small-framed Mia Moja was
born March 18, 1989, at Zoo Atlanta and arrived at the Louisville Zoo in
2005. This is Mia’s second offspring. Her first was Olympia who was born
in 1996 and sired by famous gorilla Willie B. Olympia resides at Zoo
Atlanta.
DAD BACKGROUND
Silverback Mshindi was born October 17, 1987,
at St. Louis Zoo. He was hand raised and arrived at the Louisville Zoo
in 2005. This is his first offspring.
KWELI BACKGROUND
Kweli is a female who was born at Cincinnati
Zoo in 1983 and arrived in Louisville in April of 2008. She is mother to
Kicho (Louisville Zoo) and also has offspring at Pittsburgh Zoo and
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo.
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The
Louisville Zoo, a non-profit organization and state zoo of Kentucky,
is dedicated to bettering the bond between people and our planet by
providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for
visitors, and leadership in scientific research and conservation
education. The Zoo is accredited by the American Association of
Museums (AAM) and by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
***
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up-to-date information about the Zoo’s upcoming Glacier Run exhibit
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