http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_837771.html

Granny gorilla instructs daughter on baby care

A granny gorilla has been spotted instructing her daughter on baby care in the US.

The daughter, an 11-year old captive western lowland gorilla called Ione, proved to be a hopeless parent when her first baby was born.

She neglected the infant, which in the end had to be raised by keepers at San Diego Wild Animal Park in California, reports New Scientist.

But when Ione's second baby arrived, her mother came to the rescue. Initially, Ione left her baby on the ground in front of her 21-year-old mother, Alberta, who picked him up and handed him back.

When Ione made no attempt to take the baby, Alberta moved closer, pushing the newborn into his mother's face until she accepted him. Keepers who were closely monitoring Ione observed similar behaviour several times over a period of two days.

By the third and fourth day, Ione was holding the baby.

New Scientist magazine reports: "Sometimes, Alberta would hold the baby's arm, and Ione would hand him over, but when the baby nestled into its grandmother, Ione quickly took him back. With time, Alberta became less involved."

Gorilla mothers are often seen teaching their young to walk and climb. But experts believe this is the first reported case of "granny knows best" among gorillas.

Ione died when the baby was 10 months old, but he was successfully fostered by another female gorilla.


Story filed: 21:05 Wednesday 12th November 2003

very interesting read. It can make you stop and think can't it? Sometimes I wonder just how smart an ape or chimp can be. They seem to be a lot smarter than some seem to give them credit for.

Thanks for posting that Lisa. That is an awesome story!
They are finding out more and more just how intelligent many different species are, aren't they?
When I worked at Hogle Zoo, UT, we had several gorillas. One was named Gorgeous. (I had mentioned her in a previous post)
Gorgeous had had eye problems (I think it was glacoma, if memory serves). She had eye surgery and it was like a whole new world was opened to her. Because of her previous eye disability, she had been around people since she was young. She was so maternal! Everyone loved Gorgeous.
One of the first times I got to meet Gorgeous shortly after her eye surgery, I had my son and niece with me. My son was about 2 years old at the time and my niece would have been about 1 1/2 years old. As I approached Gorgeous' exhibit and she saw who I had with me, she perked right up, came quickly waddling over to us the way gorillas do, and only had eyes for the babies! She gazed at them gently and actually clapped her hands softly to get the kids' attention. I was ignored completely.. LOL
Gorgeous became well known at the zoo for her love of babies. She could have cared less about the adults. Kids loved her!!!
The zoo finally had gotten her her own little black kitten (I forget kitty's name now). Gorgeous was so gentle with that kitten and raised it. The cat lived in the exhibit with Gorgeous. She was also protective over her kitty! One of the keepers was cleaning up Gorgeous' exhibit one day and as she was leaving, the cat tried to escape out of the door. The keeper used a broom to block the cat's path and the cat let out a "meow." Gorgeous came over very fast and bit the keeper on the butt! It didn't draw blood, but she was definitely bruised. Gorgeous then picked up her cat and walked to a corner and looked like she was inspecting the cat! (maybe checking for injuries, who knows lol) Lesson learned: Don't mess with Gorgeous' kitty!.
They really are intelligent. What other species, aside from people, keep and love pets? When you are around them (gorillas/apes) and you see them react to certain situations and see feelings expressed by them (happiness, sadness, jealosy, anger, etc.) that is so similar to how we think and feel... sometimes it was hard for me to separate that I am human and they are ape. It could almost seem eerie sometimes and I would feel like I was in the presence of something on the same level with me or very, VERY close to it. They have souls, just like we do (I believe all animals have souls JMO).

I have another story about a chimp attack that blows my mind but may have to save that for another day as I am out of time:)
Rebecca

Thanks for sharing that! I've always been intrigued by how much gorillas resemble us in their facial expressions and mannerisms. It is awesome. I have stood entranced at the zoo just watching them for hours.

I truly enjoyed hearing about Gorgeous and her kitty. I didn't know they would keep pets like that. That is really kewl. Now I am anxious to hear the chimp story too.

Lisa

In February 1999 my ex-husband (he worked at Hogle Zoo at the time) witnessed an attack of 2 chimpanzees on 2 keepers. Here is a link:

http://www.igorilla.com/gorilla/animal/1999/Salt_Lake_chimp_attack.htm

(I no longer worked at the zoo, however my ex-husband did and witnessed this)

Chip was the name of a mature chimp that resided at Hogle Zoo. I have seen Chip plenty of times and he DID NOT like most men (including my ex-husband). I had witnessed Chip become agressive several times when he would see my ex-husband approach the exhibit. His aggression usually was shown by throwing feces at the glass separating my ex and Chip, pounding the glass hard, screaming, and throwing things at the glass. He would do this to other men also that worked there.
There were 2 other chimps in the enclosure. A male (Cookie) and a female (forgot her name).
They had hired two young, inexperienced keepers to clean out the chimp exhibit. To do this, the chimps would go into a separate room/enclosure through a door that was in their exhibit. The door would be locked to keep the chimps in their holding room while the exhibit was cleaned. (they are smart and CAN and WILL open a door if it isn't locked).
The keepers were a guy named Jamie who had little or no experience with chimps and a girl (Jennifer?) who had very limited experience with chimps.
Chip seemed to like Jennifer (he had an eye for the ladies!) but he DID NOT like Jamie. He had shown aggression towards Jamie previously. Jamie had been warned to stay out of the chimp exhibit by the head keeper as everyone knew how Chip felt about Jamie.
On the particular day of the attack, the 3 chimps had gone into their holding area as usual to wait while their exhibit was cleaned. Jennifer was assigned to clean the exhibit. My ex-husband had said Jamie went into help Jennifer as it is a good sized exhibit. I do not know how the chimps got out of the holding room (there was an investigation and I do not know what they found). Whether the door wasn't locked, or they broke it, I don't know. Chip would have known that Jamie was in his exhibit as he would have been able to smell/see him.
Chip and the other male, Cookie, came bursting out of the holding room and attacked Jamie. They were trying to kill him. As Jamie was being attacked, Jennifer was screaming for them to stop. Jamie went so far as to run up to Chip and stuck her fist in Chip's mouth to try to get him to stop biting Jamie. Chip would grab her Jennifer's fist firmly and move it away from his mouth and then proceed to attack Jamie again. Neither chimp hurt Jennifer. I think she only had a few scratches. Jennifer, while screaming and in a panic, tried several times to put herself between the chimps and Jamie with the same result; the chimps would push her away gently but firmly and then go after Jamie again. They knew what they were doing.
Other keepers were finally able to get into the exhibit (this all happened very quickly) and somehow get the chimps off of Jamie. Chip and Cookie managed to escape and got into the kitchen area where they were both shot and killed.
It caused a huge controversy.
Jamie was in critical condition. He had his nose torn off, was missing 4 fingers and had multiple puncture wounds in his arms, legs and head from being bitten. He also suffered several broken bones. He was lucky to have survived.
Jennifer had a few scratches. She didn't require one single stitch that I am aware of.

My opinion. Chip was just waiting for his chance and he got it. I was sorry to hear Chip and Cookie were both killed. I do blame inexperience and lack of communication for this tragedy. I was also very sorry for Jamie. He was messed up and had a very long road to recovery and several surgeries. I don't know if they were able to salvage what was left of his fingers and face. He had to have several reconstructive surgeries and physical therapy.

One thing I will say. The chimps exhibit was indoors. Those chimps never got to go outside. They were basically in a huge room with a concrete floor, some tall fake trees, a little hay on the floor and a big window with faces peering at them all day.
Not much of a life, is it?
I know I would feel angry and frustrated if that is how I had to live also. They are so smart. They deserve better than that. I am not excusing what happened. But I think it all boils down to human error.
Jennifer put herself in harms way to try to help her friend. Chip and Cookie liked Jennifer and didn't want to hurt her. That says alot.
Sorry this was so long.

This is one of the reasons I hope they never capture the "big guy." I would be scared to death to come face-to-face with a bigfoot. Probably pee myself. They are too much like us. Maybe too smart for us too, eh? They don't belong in a zoo.

I am not even going to go into how I feel about circuses using animals in their acts! LOL
Don't get me started. Tell me to shut up now Lisa! lol
Rebecca

I would love to hear the chimp story you have also Rebecca. Do you think maybe you could tell us now? I loved the story you told about the gorilla. I have always thought that animals knew more than people give them credit forand especially chimps and apes,because they are so close to being like us.

Sorry! I accidently hit the wrong button and lost my last message..

As I was saying/asking, the BFRO website has a DVD for sale called "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science."

Have either one of you seen this yet? What did you think?
I am thinking of putting that on my Christmas "Wish List."

I like getting some kind of scientific information and am really curious to information on the "Skookum Cast."

Again, thanks for this forum. I am also glad to have found the other Bigfoot forum. It is nice to talk to other people about something that is still met with extreme skepticism :)

Rebecca

I highly recommend the "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science" DVD. It is IMHO the best documentary film on the subject to date. It is well worth the money.

Lisa

This is THE best you're gonna find (still hoping and praying for a LMS II!), and very well worth the money. Definitely a must-have!!

I would most certainly say that the "Legend meets Science" is worth the money and worth watching. It has a lot of good information on it and it is very interesting.

Rebecca, LMS is a must have in my opinion. The extras on the DVD alone are worth the cost.

Ranshirl, remember when we watched the DVD in OK and at the end of the Freeman footage it looked like the creature was picking up the little BF? Well, last night during Mysterious Encounters my smarty son decided that the reason the creature is looking down so much and being careful where it steps is that the little one was walking in front of it. He thinks it must have been a baby and was hidden by the bushes when the camera was on. Then, when the big one felt it was hidden again, it picked up the little one so they could move out of the area faster. Possible? Who knows. I guess I'll still be debating this footage when the cows finally come home.