Palm Oil and Gorilla Family Trees

As part of my zoo internship it is expected, but not required, that I complete a research project to be presented to other interns and keepers at the end of my term. At first I was at a complete loss as to what I could present that wouldn't seem generic or boring. Slowly though, research projects began to emerge naturally and I have taken on two research projects that I probably would have embarked on anyway.

The first is something that I have been passionate about for a few years and have really been able to sink my teeth into: The Palm Oil Crisis. Not familiar with this crisis? That may be because you are American; we can't seem to keep up with the rest of the world when it comes to ecological awareness. Let me enlighten you:

What is palm oil?



Palm oil is the most widely produced edible oil.

It is obtained from the fruit of the African oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis).

The majority of all palm oil is grown and produced in Borneo and Sumatra.

You probably use palm every day in food, cosmetics, and bath products.

On food labels it is often called palm kernel oil, palmitate and palmitic acid.

What is wrong with palm oil?



Supply and demand is driving palm oil production to an all time high.

Each year millions of acres of rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra are cut down to plant more oil palm.

Research indicates that the current rate of rainforest habitat destruction will drive orangutans to extinction in 10 to 15 years.

What does the destruction of rainforests nearly 10,000 miles away have to do with me?



It is our consumption of palm oil that drives the destruction of the rainforest.

What can I do?



Read labels! Don’t buy anything that doesn’t use sustainable palm oil.

If it doesn’t say sustainable palm oil then it isn’t!

The preceding text is something I wrote up for a new sign that I want to have printed and displayed at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Also I am working on designing a docent program and smart phone application for the zoo to raise awareness of the palm oil crisis.

People are now saying to not completely boycott palm oil; just the non-sustainable kind. The problem with this approach is that there really isn't any sustainable palm oil on the market to speak of. Many corporations have talked big about using the stuff but have fallen short on actually doing anything. With sustainable oil costing an extra ten percent, it takes you, the consumer to make buying choices that influence the corporations to make the switch.

Europe is far far ahead of the U.S. in palm oil awareness. They have corporations lunging for sustainable or alternative oils in droves. This is simply because the masses demand it.

In America, we have the occasional company mention that they are aiming for sustainable palm oil use by the year 2015. 2015?! Many scientists are pegging the extinction of the wild orangutan in 10 years! 2015 is 40% of that window! U.S. companies could make the switch in less than a year if their costumers told them to do so. The problem is that we don't, and at this rate, we won't. Getting people to care is the easy part; getting people to care for more than five minutes is nearly impossible!

This problem with attention span is one that I hope to harness with a smart phone zoo app that will ask visitors to sign a petition to require better palm oil labeling when they pass the Palm Oil Crisis sign. At the push of a button a visitor can help make a difference before they completely forget about the issue. Hopefully the act of signing the petition will help them remember the issue the next time they go grocery shopping.

My second project is of a lighter note. Gorilla family trees! This sounds more fun than it is. It consists of pouring through the gorilla studbook and constructing a family tree for each of the seven gorillas that live at the Pittsburgh Zoo.



Knowing that he would probably be the most challenging, I began with Harry. I now see why the gorilla SSP has forbidden Harry to reproduce: his family is enormous. I began the tree construction about a week ago and I am still plugging away at it. I found that Kiazi is both Harry's half niece (on his father's side) and his half cousin (on his mother's side). Construction of this monstrosity is exhausting. I can hardly wait to make Mrithi's tree since he is second generation wild-caught.



These are both imposingly huge projects and will certainly keep me busy through the length of my internship and perhaps beyond.

Gorilla Halloween and Job Hunting

It is quickly becoming apparent that the lack of degree is going to make securing a zoo job difficult. Though I feel like I have more knowledge, maturity, and passion than any zoo applicant fresh out of college, a paper certifying that I was given an education is foremost in most zoo's hiring requirements. Applications sent to The San Fransisco Zoo and The San Diego Zoo were rejected out of hand due to lack of degree and paid experience. Paid experience is another one. I could have 20 years of volunteer experience and it wouldn't be considered applicable as a consideration for employment in some zoos.



The Phoenix Zoo and The Bronx Zoo also both have applications of mine but I have not yet heard back from them. I don't expect to.



It is looking more and more like I will have to work for a roadside attraction, a sanctuary, or an animal education organization for a few years before I will have the experience necessary for zoo work. This means that we will probably heading south after Pittsburgh; Texas, Florida, Georgia, or Tennessee where these establishments are rampant and rather endemic.



Heather is all for the south (or certain areas of the south) and I am not uninterested but there is a sharp difference in zoos on the southern side of the Mason-Dixon line that is not apparent to the naked eye. Northern Zoos are much more likely to have unions, health care, and living wages (not to mention hospitable temperatures), while Dixie zoos are known for their minimum wage keeper positions. It is also a fact that zoos tend to treat their animals in much the same way as they treat their employees: if the keepers are offered a low wage, the animals are likely to be receiving rotten vegetables; if a keeper is offered a great benefits package, the animals are likely to get the veterinary care that they require. It would be frustrating to work at a zoo in which the animals were given sub-par care.

The ace up my sleeve is Roseann, my wonderful supervisor and teacher. She is a well respected keeper with nearly 30 years of experience and zoo contacts from all over the U.S. A good reference from her will hold a lot of weight in some quarters.

On a different note, fun goings-on are ever afoot at The Pittsburgh Zoo. For some reason Halloween is a major zoo holiday and the preparations are now well underway. The zoo is in the process of making a commercial for their Halloween festivities and the gorillas and I were happy to contribute. The other day I made a scarecrow with gorilla treats hidden throughout and today it was erected in their yard. Though it was my day off I was sitting front row when the action began.

Giving fun things for the animals to do is called enrichment, and providing enrichment is an important aspect of zoo keeping. Today was especially enriching for our gorillas because they were also given bedsheets and fig tree branches. The cherry on top was the fact that a peacock flew in to their enclosure right before they were let out. The gorillas didn't know what to run after first!

Here is a series of pictures documenting their fun.

First Roseann and Jon erected my masterpiece.



On with its head full of peanuts.



Even though the girls found it first, Mrithi demanded full privileges.



Mrithi picked it apart while the girls watched from a safe distance.



Anju was able to snag the straw hat.



Buggy enjoyed the show!



The girls find the sheets and fig tree limbs.



The girls patiently await their turn with the scarecrow (Anju has already ruined her hat).



"Alright, I'm done," grunts Mrithi as he saunters off to confiscate a bedsheet from someone.



Slim pickings for Ibo and Anju.



I knew that silly Ibo would end up with the head! Happy Halloween Ibo.

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.