This might be upsetting. Surrogate Mother Kera still seems to be stressed with Hasani. Kera and Hasani sitting there side by side. Kera having her lunch. Hasani looks so different from when we saw him a few months back when he was just skin and bones. He really put some good weight on and building up his muscles. Juni ( Touni's baby, just a little younger) better watch out.
She climbs up the frame with Hasani on her back and a big branch in her mouth. When she's up top, she tries to get Hasani off her back, but he clings on. This upsets her and she starts shaking and biting the baby. Human nature is to compare the gorillas to us as they are so similar to us in so many ways, but do we go too far sometimes? This telling off from Kera might just be the gorilla's way? The thing is, I've seen a lot of gorilla mothers and their babies but never seen a telling-off like this. So I'm really not sure what to think. The thing that got me is, was his cries at the end and just looking at that little face, his frightened eyes when the frame wobbles, he looks so upset. You just want to pick him up, cradle him and tell him everything will be fine. Kera takes her branch and just leaves him there, but luckily Hasani's birth mum Kala watched. You'll see her on the left side of the frame that she was waiting for Kera to leave as soon as Kera went, Kala quickly goes to see her baby and lets Hasani climb on her back. Ayana, Touni's daughter looking in Kera's direction as to say what did you do that for. Kala moving off and going inside.
#SloggerVlogger #GorillaKera #GorillaBabyHasani
Statement from Bristol Zoo:
"Thank you for your concern. It’s been a long journey for them both and Kera is doing a good job of looking after Hasani -- she carries him on her back, plays with him, sleeps with him at night and brings him to keepers three times per day for his milk feeds -- they have established a secure relationship.
However, gorillas have very complex social structures and relationships, and so conflict does occur in captivity just as it would in the wild. In this instance, we believe Kera wanted Hasani to climb off her whilst she ate her food, which he was initially reluctant to do.
In the video Kera is mouthing Hasani, which is completely normal mothering behaviour for any gorilla. The hugging response may seem heavy handed but she is not actually biting or injuring him. Even young gorillas are very robust and Hasani didn’t come to any harm.
Now that the pair are spending more time with the rest of the gorilla troop, Hasani’s biological mother, Kala, is showing interest in him and is co-caring for the youngster.
We keep a close eye on all our gorillas and of course we keep an especially close eye on how Hasani is developing. He is bright-eyed and strong, and we are pleased with the progress Kera has made integrating with the group since she joined Bristol Zoo in 2008.
If you would like anymore information, please email us info@bristolzoo.org.uk and we will be happy to answer any further questions you have.
Thanks again,
BZG"
