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.