Dublin zoo » Dublin Zoo

01-07-2008

More new arrivals on their way
No paws for zoo's big boom in babies - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie

01-07-2008

Does anyone know which of the gorillas is pregnant?

02-07-2008

I am visiting Dublin Zoo tommrrow, so I will try to find out for you.

02-07-2008

They only have two female Gorillas- 'Lena' the breeding female and a younger one obtained a couple of years back. Could be either- my money would be on 'Lena' though (her fourth)...

02-07-2008

Are you saying you do not know the identity of the younger female?
How is the breeding male at Dublin Zoo (origins)?

02-07-2008

Dublin currently have 4.2. Lena (born Rotterdam), adult male Harry, their 3 male offspring, Kesho, Alfie and Evindi. Young female Mayani,(born Barcelona) is Snowflake's granddaughter

02-07-2008

How do Dublin do it?, with what is universally regarded as one of the poorest gorilla enclosures in Europe they have a cohesive group of gorillas here in a breeding situation, anyone know how this can be?

02-07-2008

that's a risky statement for Dublin zoo to make in the press - announcing breeding success before the animals are born. As much as Dublin has really transformed in recent years, the hand-rearing of a rothschild's giraffe, the first generation birth by imported semi-wild white rhino and the successful calving of elephants that had arrived at the zoo already pregnant hardly constitutes one of the world's top collections. All good, but a bit too early to shout about it I would say.

02-07-2008

No- I just forgot the exact spelling of her name and didn't look it up!!

The breeding male at Dublin is Harry(previously called Horst) born at Frankfurt(Matz x Dorret) He is a full brother of 'Klaus' who was a founder of Paignton's batchelor group and who later died at Bristol.

I haven't ever seen the Dublin gorillas but I have heard Harry is a rather strange male as he often walks about hunched up, holding a hand over his ear and he also mutilates his fingers, all which can be seen in photos, yet he came from a normal mother/group reared situation at Frankfurt and obviously he does breed normally with Lena.

02-07-2008

Its unusual as its really just a breeding pair (Harry & Lena) plus their 3 offspring(all males) and a younger female recently aquired to balance the group a bit better.

Harry, the silverback is a rather strange male and seems depressed(see above) despite coming from a very good social background. I've heard the enclosure is very basic- certainly the photos I've seen of the outdoor area show that's the case. I gather there are plans to build something better now.

02-07-2008

This is what I'd expect from say, South Lakes, but most major zoos are chary about making 'pregnancy' announcements in case things go wrong. I was a little surprised too at Dublin doing this.

02-07-2008

That's a bit unfair if you don't mind me saying.

Dublin has bred gorillas, snow leopards, and flamingos (the three species mentioned in the article) successfully before so to anticipate further births is not particulary risky or arrogant. Dublin zoo is a business so perhaps it is drumming up a little publicity before the summer starts.

Many zoos publicise breeding attempts before they have any tangible results - eg we all knew about the baby Sumatran rhino long before it was born.

BTW what have you got against South Lakes? Have you been there yet? Perhaps you could ride your high horse up there over the summer...

03-07-2008

1. Why is another Frankfurt combination silverback being allowed to breed. To my mind quite a few in Europe are derived from this line ... Are they not a little over-represented?
2. Why is Mayani not being bred by Harry?
3. Any chance of a new gorilla exhibit in the future at Dublin which is more gorilla friendly?

03-07-2008

What I find out from my visit was that they are improving the savannah area of african plains and adding the rhinos to this, in order to use the rhino area to build a rainforest for the Gorillas. There were many people wandering around the african plains with architecture plans and disscusing what was going to happen.

03-07-2008

Hey, I would- but he doesn't like Motorway traffic!!