Routines

Now that I have completed my third week of gorilla keeper training I have fallen into a comfortable routine. Bike to work, keeper meeting at 8, medicate the 'rillas, rake yard, distribute breakfast, let them out, clean indoor enclosures, lunch, distribute dinner, let'em back in. Routines are indeed comfortable but Roseann says they can be dangerous. Gorillas are massive and much stronger than they look; to make a mistake could cost more than you're willing to pay.



Some routines are good: Always check the padlocks when you shut an enclosure door and again before letting the gorillas in; always count the gorillas as they leave for the yard. Roseann says that she once thought that they were all outside and very nearly entered the indoor enclosure with a snoozing gorilla. To allow these habits to ingrain themselves is positive.



However, routines can also lull one into a thoughtless process that could lead to mistakes. Gorillas are tricky creatures and are almost never where you think they are once you turn your head away. I have learned not to assume that Harry isn't lurking around a corner where he wasn't two seconds ago; waiting to lunge out and surprise me.



Not stopping to think about what you are doing before you do it can cost the gorillas too. Every day as we let the gorillas back in for their dinner I give Zakula a banana. She is slower than the rest and I want to make sure she gets enough to eat. Roseann told me from the beginning to not allow the silverbacks to see the girls getting an extra treat and I have religiously followed this rule. This evening however I let my guard down and did not hide the banana behind my back as the apes trouped in. They all filed past me and Zakula paused near the bars for her snack. Just before I was able to give Zak the banana, Harry lunged out of nowhere and tackled poor old Zakula. Zak began screaming and snarling as Harry roughed her up which alerted Mrithi to the disturbance. Mrithi's philosophy is that if someone is getting pounded on, it is going to be he that does the pounding. Very soon Mrithi bounded into the room and was on top of Harry. More screaming; more gorilla fighting; it was a terrible sight to behold, and all over a banana that I didn't hide behind my back!



Gorilla fights can be a serious thing. Someone is bound to get hurt and I have seen some pretty serious looking wounds already in my short time here. Mrithi received a bite wound that made my head swim: perhaps three inches deep and open very wide. It was a slash that would have meant the Emergency Room for us and sure death for a smaller creature. Mrithi however seemed fairly unconcerned; only giving it an occasional lick. I was sure that Roseann was going to have him darted and sutured at once but she said that she was going to allow him to care for it himself. I was astounded at how fast he healed: in less than a week it was closed completely.



Here is the internship log that I have been keeping since I started to show you what I have been up to in the 64 hours that I have put in.
Zoo Internship Log

8-30-10

8 hrs

Picked up gnawed bones and dead snake from painted dog exhibit
Raked and distributed the gorilla’s breakfast in the outdoor yard
Cleaned the gorilla’s six indoor off-exhibit enclosures
Observed the gorillas outdoors
Fed the gorillas their lunch from the rooftop
Distributed fresh hay and dinner in the gorilla’s off-exhibit enclosures
Began the process of learning the gorilla’s names and faces


8-31-10

8 hrs

Raked and distributed the gorilla’s breakfast in the outdoor yard
Gave pain meds to Lola, the mandrill, while Roseann distracted the male, with grapes
Fed the spectacled and black bears grapes and peanuts
Cleaned the gorilla’s six indoor off-exhibit enclosures
Observed the gorillas outdoors
Kneaded vitamins into meat and fed painted dogs
Distracted Johnny, the mandrill, with grapes while Roseann attempted to lure Lola into her nighttime enclosure
Distributed the gorilla’s dinner


9-5-10

8 hrs

Prepared medicated beverages and birth-control grapes, and distributed them to the appropriate gorillas
Raked and distributed the gorilla’s breakfast in the outdoor yard
Cleaned enclosures and fed a pair of goats, a pair of Sicilian donkeys, and a pair of armadillos in quarantine
Cleaned the gorilla’s six indoor off-exhibit enclosures
Observed the gorillas outdoors
Fed bones to the painted dogs
Fed black and white ruffed lemurs, ring-tailed lemur, cotton-topped tamerins, howler monkeys, and saki monkeys
Fed the gorillas their lunch from the rooftop
Distracted orangutans with corn and juice so that veterinarians could treat another orangutan
Distributed fresh hay and dinner in the gorilla’s off-exhibit enclosures
Gave a colobus monkey a grape with diabetic medicine in it


9-6-10

8 hrs

Prepared and distributed meds
Raked and distributed the gorilla’s breakfast in the outdoor yard
Cleaned the gorilla’s six indoor off-exhibit enclosures
Observed the gorillas outdoors
Walked the zoo grounds
Played with a young orangutan
Fed the gorillas their lunch from the rooftop
Attempted to coax the mandrills into their off-exhibit enclosure
Distributed dinner in the gorilla’s off-exhibit enclosure


9-7-10

8 hrs

Prepared and distributed meds
Raked and distributed the gorilla’s breakfast in the outdoor yard
Raked and cleaned the entire gorilla moat
Cleaned enclosures for and fed donkeys, goats, and armadillos in quarantine
Cleaned the painted dog feeding area
Cleaned the gorilla’s six indoor off-exhibit enclosures
Distracted the male mandrill with grapes and carrots while the female received her meds
Fed the gorillas their lunch from the rooftop
Fed the painted dogs
Walked the zoo grounds
Searched the nearby woods for mulberry for the gorillas
Distributed dinner in the gorilla’s off-exhibit enclosure


9-12-10

8 hrs

Prepared and distributed meds
Raked and distributed the gorilla’s breakfast in the outdoor yard
Cleaned the gorilla’s six indoor off-exhibit enclosures
Observed the gorillas on exhibit
Distributed dinner in the gorilla’s off-exhibit enclosure


9-13-10

8 hrs

Prepared and distributed meds
Raked and distributed the gorilla’s breakfast in the outdoor yard
Cleaned enclosures for and fed goats in quarantine
Cleaned the gorilla’s six indoor off-exhibit enclosures
Observed the gorillas on exhibit
Took pictures of the primate house for a presentation for new docents
Fed the male rhino
Distributed dinner in the gorilla’s off-exhibit enclosure


9-14-10

8 hrs

Prepared and distributed meds
Raked and distributed the gorilla’s breakfast in the outdoor yard
Cleaned the gorilla’s six indoor off-exhibit enclosures
Observed the gorillas on exhibit
Administered the gorilla’s lunch
Prepared and distributed fruit juice ice cubes to the gorillas
Distributed dinner in the gorilla’s off-exhibit enclosure

Feeding the Gorillas

I am beginning to get the hang of things. I am now in charge of preparing and administering the morning medications. Harry and Mrithi, the two silver backs each receive a bottle of watered-down tropical punch with a dose of glucosamine (which is produced from the hydrolysis of crustacean exoskeletons if you are interested in knowing) and Zakula gets a prune juice with glucosamine and pain meds. Anju, Ibo, and Kiazi each get a birth control pill dissolved inside of a grape, while poor Moka gets nothing at all.


The administration of these meds are tricky and require a bit of finesse. First I must give Mrithi his juice. A lead silverback knows that he is the king and expects first dibs on everything. If I wanted Mrithi to be more egalitarian and insisted on treating each gorilla equally, Mrithi would give the others a good thumping in response. No, better to treat these apes in accordance to their own societal rules and leave my personal human principles out of it. To pour a bottle of juice down the maw of a serene giant is somehow one of the most satisfying things that I do at the zoo.

Next comes Harry. When Harry first took the bottle from me on my second day it surprised both Roseann and me equally. Harry has made it unreservedly clear that he considers me a dirty toe rag that deserves nothing better than to be squashed like a legless cockroach. He no longer attempts to rip the bottle from my hands but yesterday he tried to snatch my camera. He was very sneaky and pretended to be completely uninterested until he exploded toward me with thievish intent.


Zakula must be given her prune juice after everyone has left the indoor enclosures for breakfast. It is of the utmost importance that Mrithi does not see Zakula receive her juice (or any other treat for that matter). One night I sneaked Zak a banana just as Mrithi was entering the room and he lunged at her, ripped the remaining stem from her lips, popped it into his mouth, and continued on his way. All he wanted was the last word and was able to get it by robbing the stem. Had she already eaten the entire banana, things might have gone worse.


Anju, Ibo, and Kiazi get their birth control dissolved in a grape. If we don’t let the pills dissolve into the grape they will spit out the pill and give it to Harry. Before Roseann figured this out, Harry was getting a triple dose of birth control every day. The pills are not some special variety of gorilla birth control; it is prescribed by the zoo vet and picked up at the local Rite Aid. Gorillas are so similar to humans that almost everything they get can also be used by humans including their food.


All the food we give the gorillas is fresh enough to be sold at the grocery store; no wilted greens or soft grapes for our charges. Every morning after raking up poop and debris, I spread their food around the yard and I attempt to find creative spots to hide their food to keep things interesting. Their breakfast usually includes hardboiled eggs, yams, carrots, celery, romaine lettuce, endives, kale, grapefruit, broccoli, green beans, and primate biscuits. I believe the biscuits are the only item they ever get that are gorilla-specific. Roseann once told me that they used to not care for the biscuits until Harry accidentally dropped one in their pool and discovered them to be quite good when softened with water. Harry began to run about gathering the biscuits to lay them carefully in the water till they softened. This quickly became all the rage among the more fashionable gorillas and now most of them can be seen picking through the grass at breakfast time, adding to their handful of biscuits to be softened.


Lunch is perhaps my favorite meal to mete out. Roseann and I climb to the roof, sit in lawn chairs, and leisurely toss fruit to the gorillas. Again, feeding order is very important. Mrithi lays claim to the first fruits and we indulge him in this expectation. His favorite is grapes and this predilection helps in the distribution process. If I toss a large clump of grapes to Mrithi, they end up being strewn in all directions like marbles. As he begins to carefully pick up the scattered grapes I quickly toss each of them apple slices, kiwis, and more grapes. Zakula waits in the far back, not daring to challenge anyone for a morsel. Once everyone is occupied with some fruit I try to pitch a couple kiwis to Zak. This can be harder than it sounds; once I threw a stiff ground ball to Zakula and Moka galloped crosswise and caught it on the bounce like a professional baseball star. Usually though, we can get at least a few kiwis to Zakula.


Dinner is placed around their indoor enclosure after they are thoroughly cleaned and before the gorillas are let back in. I have fun hiding pieces of food in creative places for them to discover throughout the evening. Dinner includes romaine lettuce, kale, tomatoes, pears, oranges, banana, onions, and sometimes oats or sunflower seeds. When the padlocks are back on their cages and we triple check that everything is secure, we open the door to the outside. The gorillas might as well be wearing a watch because the first thing we see as the electronically operated door slides up is Mrithi’s massive head waiting for the gap to open wide enough to squeeze it through. Naturally Mrithi is first in line and then the rest file in (in no particular order that I have noticed). They are always so happy to be coming in for dinner that many of them hoot and sing with pleasure. Mrithi’s vocalization is a deep rumble of joy (an extremely sinister sound if you don’t know any better), and Kiazi makes a sort of high, hollow cow’s moo. I’ve been attempting to add a video of dinner to this web log but an error message informs me that this is not going to be possible. I think it is a worthwhile watch and will email it to anyone that is interested in seeing it.

Dinner usually marks the end of my zoo day. I give a fond farewell to each of the gorillas and to any other animal I happen to see on my way out of the primate house including Roseann. Then a five minute bike ride home to Heather and Olive for my own dinner.

First Days at the Zoo

Monday was the first day of my internship at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Roseann, head gorilla keeper and my guide for the next three months, met me at the employee entrance just before nine a.m. and took me to the lunch room which also served as the morning meeting area. I was introduced to the various staff before the assistant curator began asking various keepers about the status of certain animals. Through her questioning and the keeper’s answers, I learned that a guinea pig had cleared quarantine and was ready for display, a rhino was suspected to be expecting, and a muntjac was feeling okay after injuring herself on a log. Obviously these morning meetings are an essential ingredient to a well managed zoo.



Ten minutes later Roseann and I were off to the primate compound to introduce me to the gorillas. The first bit of instruction I was given before I was led down the row of off-exhibit primate enclosures was, “keep out of reach.” These words are well heeded if you don't want your shirt to be ripped off of your body by a covetous orangutan. Orangutans love a good shirt.



As it turned out, the orangs posed a different sort of hazard for me: every time I walked past their cage that day, which was several times hourly, a young male found great pleasure in sending an eerily accurate quantity of viscous saliva into my face. I received this hazing good-naturedly as a necessary condition of my initiation and marched on towards the gorillas.



I have only had one day to get to know Pittsburgh’s gorillas and have yet to become fully able to tell them apart but allow me introduce these splendid beasts as I know them so far.

Zakula is an old girl that hobbles about patiently, loves men and is an incorrigible old flirt. She was certainly the most accepting of my new presence and I am grateful to her for it. She is a little slow on her feet and often has choice morsels scooped away from her as she shuffles after them. Tonight before leaving I slipped her two bananas when the others were otherwise occupied. She took the contraband, hid them in her armpits like a geriatric shoplifter, found a private spot and peered about suspiciously between secret bites.

Anju (Ah-nu) is the young lady of the bunch with a fuzzy head. I am told that she looks just like her father who is no longer with us.

Ibo (Ee-bu) is a sassy female that likes to send stick and sod missiles at my head. I haven’t yet decided if she does this for attention or because she hates me.

Harry is the smaller, but still imposing, silverback. That he is not the lead silverback and never will be obviously gives this gorilla little-man’s-syndrome. He derives endless pleasure in charging me when I am not looking and slamming into the bars. To have a four hundred-pound gorilla fly out of nowhere and crash noisily two feet away from ones face is enough to cause a man to jump out of his pants. Hopefully Harry and I can come to an understanding before too long.

Moka is a dark and thoughtful female. She was named for her parent’s places of origin: Miami and Oklahoma. She was brought to the Pittsburgh Zoo as the intended wife of the lead silverback though they don’t like each other one bit. Harry, on the other hand, is irreparably smitten with her.

Kiazi Kitamu, meaning sweet potato has a poofy hairdo and an adventurous character. She loves her mother, Zakula, and protects her from bullying. Kiazi is nice to me and is one of my favorites.

Lastly, but positively not least, is Mrithi. This mastodonic mass of sinew and hair weighs in at about 500 pounds. Luckily he has the serene confidence that comes with the job of king silverback. When he is pleased with his dinner he rumbles a deep boom of satisfaction that is both terrifying and thrilling to a new intern like myself.

In order to breed gorillas a zoo must have a recommendation from the SSP (Species Survival Plan). Every endangered species has an SSP and they are used to manage a species in captivity to insure genetic purity. Harry is considered unimportant genetically and has been forbidden to breed. The SSP recommended that Harry be moved to a bachelor group or isolated for the rest of his life. Pittsburgh knew that Harry would suffer from a move away from the group that he had known since he was two and so got permission to give him a vasectomy, an extremely rare gorilla operation. Imagine the urologist’s surprise when he looked at his appointment book that day!

Mrithi has been cleared to breed, but having nothing but a mother, a sister, and a half-sister to breed with, Moka was sent to Pittsburgh. We give Anju, Kiazi, and Ibo birth control that we shove inside a grape every morning (Zakula is 42 years old and so is post-menopausal) and slip the infused treats to them when Mrithi isn‘t looking (he feels that his position in the group entitles him to first consideration for treats). Moka doesn’t receive an infused grape because we want Mrithi to knock her up. Alas, Mrithi doesn’t feel the least inclined. Moka has offered herself, but Mrithi just walks away in disgust. To complicate matters, Harry jealously disciplines Moka for approaching Mrithi. Ah well, no young gorillalings for Pittsburgh in the near future.

Tuesday held more gorilla fun. After the distribution of birth control grapes I was asked to give Mrithi, Harry, and Zakula their medicated juices. This entails enticing the gorilla to the bars with the plastic coke bottle and pouring the prepared elixir into their proffered lips. Zakula was easy because she never misses a chance to flirt. Mrithi was simple but thrilling; pouring a bottle into such a giant monster’s mouth is something! Roseann expressed doubt that Harry would accept the bottle from me but I went ahead and tried it anyway. To both our surprise Harry dutifully scooted to the bars and began to sip. The moment the last drop fell into his mouth he chomped down on the bottle and tried to yank it into the pen though I somehow was able to hang on to the container. I was encouraged that Harry drank from my hands even if he was just trying to capitalize on my inexperience.

Wonder follows wonder here at the zoo. The activities of Tuesday included being challenged by a mandrill, having a 500 pound bear daintily slurp grapes and peanuts from my fingers, and mixing vitamin powder into ground horse meat for the painted dogs. I look forward to every day at the zoo and I feel relieved to have found the career that I was meant for.

Most of my life I have wanted to work with wild animals. Zoos particularly seemed to me a wonderland. As a young child I told myself that I would one day care for tigers, elephants, and gorillas; in those early years when zookeeper, astronaut, and fireman all make the top of any young boy’s list of future careers.

The word “career” seems for me a particularly apt one as its alternate meaning is a rapid forward lurching motion. I wandered into the fast current of life and was swept away with the flow, turning what was meant to be a temporary position to pay the bills into a decade-long career.

A divorce, and a four winter sojourn in Maine has helped to clear my head and reorder my life in a manner conducive to following my dreams. The main ingredient for such an endeavor?: a supportive wife. I got married towards the end of my stay in Maine to Heather, an incredible girl from Maryland. It may have been Lao Tzu that said, “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. .” My beautiful, smart, talented, and adventurous wife equips me with both courage and strength in abundant supply.


For about the last four years I have been immersing myself in independent wild animal studies; the last year almost exclusively in zoos and animal care. At one point I naively attempted to create a spreadsheet of all existing zoo animals in the U.S. This undertaking consisted of first cataloging all zoos and their contact info in America. Though I quickly discovered that a comprehensive list was utterly impossible, I eventually moved on to the second step: contacting each zoo and requesting a list of their animals. This proved to be very difficult. Even if I, by some miracle, was able to get an animal curator on the phone, they were nine times out of ten very reluctant to give this information to me. Why? Because they were afraid of PETA-type freaks using this information against them somehow. When I was asked for what this information would be used, I did not have a well thought out answer. I guess I just think that the conservation of our wild charges should be a community effort and that there should be some comprehensive information available from all zoos -to all zoos, starting with a database of all zoo animals. Although zoos are moving away from the “for profit” model, most zoos are run from funds generated by selling tickets and concessions which, when factored with the controversy of keeping captive animals, breeds a culture of privacy. I finally abandoned the project when I discovered a group of about half a dozen seasoned zoo professionals with millions of dollars in funding that were compiling a similar database. How could I compete?

My efforts were not completely wasted however. I feel that I learned much about the way different zoos are run, the many different kinds of zoos there are, where the zoos are located, and which zoos best fit my concept of what a zoo ought to be. Most importantly maybe was that it kept me engaged in all things zoo. My friend Murph once told me that if you want to do something badly enough you must live and breath it throughout your quest. Murph badly wanted to become a long-liner fisherman in an industry that dislikes “green” fisherman. In Murph’s spare time he assiduously practiced knot tying, read fisherman magazines, and kept up on fish prices. During his day job, pitching halibut, he constantly asked fisherman for leads on job openings and pestered potential captains. Today Murph is doing exactly what he set out to do: he is a long-liner in the Bering Sea fishing for black cod.


Murph’s guide to success requires a heavy dose of pestering so I began a diligent campaign to land an internship with a reputable zoo. The Pittsburgh Zoo was my top choice but I considered it a long shot. I applied to more than twelve internships around the country and began receiving a steady flow of denial letters. I could see that the lack of a related degree was going to be an issue.

Finally I landed a telephone interview with the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence that I felt like I really nailed with my passionate address to their question as to the importance of zoos. Sure enough they offered me the internship and we prepared ourselves for a fall internship in Rhode Island.

Right before we left Maine for a week in Maryland (before leaving to Alaska for the summer) I received an email from a gorilla keeper at the Pittsburgh Zoo suggesting an interest in taking me on as an intern. After a few more emails and a telephone call I was offered an internship at the Pittsburgh Zoo caring for the gorillas and painted dogs. The fact that I wasn’t a young college student and was switching careers to do something I was passionate about ended up working in my favor. The keeper that offered the internship to me had become a keeper later in life in much the same manner and so understood my position.

After my internship in Pittsburgh I could end up just about anywhere in the U.S (except Wyoming; they have no zoos) or beyond. The only state’s zoos I would rather not work in are the farthest south zoos as I melt in extremely high temperatures. Other than that Heather and I are pretty open.

So here we are in Pittsburgh, settled in and ready to learn my new trade. I just emailed Roseann, my supervisor and teacher for the next three or four months, and expect a reply tomorrow when she gets back to work.