It had them up and doing from dawn to dusk. The gorillas could tell by the sweet smell that the baby would not be long. There is huge appreciation for this team's dedication from all ARTIS colleagues, who are over the moon that Yanga has found her bearings among the gorilla troop.ĭafina gave birth on 18 October at 1:45 pm, after her water broke early in the morning. Her successful introduction has required enormous devotion and patience by the gorilla keepers and the supporting team in the past year and a half. Yanga is only too keen on showing that she belongs to the group. She enters or leaves the enclosure alongside the troop and spends the night in their presence. Yanga stays with the entire group of gorillas for the remainder of the day. She is now just over 2.5 years old, and gorilla young are nursed until the age of around four or five. Yanga has since only been separated from the troop for bottle-feeding. In the end, it was plain to see that Yanga had accepted Akili's leadership, while Akili had welcomed Yanga among the group. Perhaps she got overconfident, as Akili occasionally demonstrated his dominance and Yanga quickly learnt how to handle his behaviour. Her keepers were taken aback by her confident stride within touching distance of Akili. In late May, Douli and Akili separately rejoined Yanga's troop, who no longer had access to quarters of her own. She was even allowed to play with the newborn baby of the female gorilla Dafina. Whenever she felt that things were getting too animated, a gorilla would sit down between the young players and her. Yanga and the young male gorillas liked to play. She gradually gained in confidence and hardly retreated to her own quarters any more. In response, Yanga was put with a group where she would be safe, away from Douli and Akili. Her introduction moved backwards instead of forwards. As a result, she grew unavailable to not only Akili but also Douli, who loved to play with her – if perhaps a little too roughly. as she started isolating herself in her quarters more frequently and for longer periods of time. The zookeepers and Yanga reached a stalemate by mid-April. The first series of encounters left Yanga slightly timid, after which she retreated to her separate quarters. She received protection from the other members of the troop, who would create a stir in an attempt to distract the silverback. Her message was that of accepting his dominance. Yanga also displayed recognisable gorilla behaviour: she would make herself smaller, keep her head down and remain frozen. This behaviour may sound excessive, but it is nothing unusual for a male gorilla. When doing so, Akili would demonstrate his dominance by pushing her, looming over her, pounding on his chest and once even standing on top of her. In response, the silverback would immediately intervene and forcefully restore order. As Yanga was not raised in a troop, however, she was quick to scream when playing with the group's young male gorillas. Young gorillas only scream in case of panic. If others push them over, they just get back on their feet. By nature, gorillas grow up in a group and become accustomed to its dynamics at an early age. Yanga has had several encounters with Akili since the previous stage of her introduction.
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