Notes on the introduction of an 11 week-old infant Western lowland gorillaGorilla gorilla gorillato a non-lactating surrogate mother sat Zoo Atlanta

Abstract

In summer 1998 a ♂ infant Western lowland gorilla Gorilla gorilla gorilla at Zoo Atlanta was hand‐reared and integrated into a social group. Because the biological mother would not accept the infant, he was introduced to a non‐lactating surrogate mother. Gorilla infants are usually ≥ 6 months old at the time of introduction but this infant was successfully introduced to the surrogate at only 11 weeks of age. Behavioural observations made during the first year of development indicate that this infant's behaviour is similar to that of mother‐reared gorillas and he shows no signs of abnormal or stereotyped behaviour. The choice of surrogate mother, the training of both the surrogate and infant for bottle feeding, and the dedication of the nursery‐care staff who worked long hours to provide the infant with a stimulating nursery environment, all contributed to the success of the introduction.

Surrogate rearing a keystone species to enhance population and ecosystem restoration

“…Surrogacy has been previously implemented in isolated cases to rear orphaned young that remain in captivity (e.g. Rogers, 1985; Ridgway et al, 1995; Gaspar et al, 2000; Hoff et al, 2005). Our study is the first case in which surrogacy has been used to bolster a wild population.…”

Analysis of factors that affect maternal behaviour and breeding success in great apes in captivity

“…Therefore, hand-reared infants should be integrated into a social group as early as possible (before they are 2 years old or earlier if a suitable surrogate is available) so they can observe the natural behaviour of conspecifics. The age of such integration can significantly affect the development of social and breeding behaviours (Beck & Power, 1988;Meder, 1990;Hoff et al, 2005).…”