Tiny, a western lowland gorilla who died on Friday at London Zoo
When he was born Tiny became the first gorilla in 22 years to be born at London Zoo in Regent’s Park. But his arrival and the fanfare last year was not without some concern. His biological father had died in March and a new silverback (Kesho) had been brought in to lead the group of females.
In the wild, when a new male takes over an existing gorilla harem, there’s a danger he will kill any young fathered by another male – it’s how they ensure their genes survive. It’s the sexual selection hypothesis, that a male may commit infanticide.
So when the Zoological Society of London which runs London Zoo began to gradually introduce the 7-month old to the adult silverback, it not only raised some eyebrows but also caused many to look away and cross their fingers. Their first meeting went well, but their second encounter on Thursday was their last.
Tiny broke his arm during a scuffle between the group instigated by Kesho. He underwent a three-hour operation to pin his arm but vets were unable to revive him. It’s thought Tiny died from internal bleeding. A post-mortem is being carried out.
Following Tiny’s death on Friday, ZSL director David Field said: “Everyone here is utterly devastated. Although we had tried to be prepared for the worst, we are all completely heartbroken by this.”
But one leading expert in the field of evolutionary anthropology, Professor Volker Sommer, who’s also an advisor to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on great apes has criticised the actions of ZSL calling those responsible “incompetent”.
In a letter sent to ZSL he said he was bewildered that London Zoo went ahead with the introduction and added that the zoo should on longer keep apes if it is not up to scratch with what science tells us.
He added: “What on Earth did ZSL expect to happen? Any undergraduate student of zoology could have told you what to expect!
“How can it be that ZSL, an organisation known for being guided by scientific knowledge, ignores findings that have been accumulated over the last 40 years?”
Officials at ZSL told me they felt Professor Sommer had missed the point and that they always knew the risks involved.
Keepers waited months to introduce Tiny and his mother Mjukuu to the new male
In a statement a spokesman for ZSL denied the allegations of incompetence and said: “We were very open from the beginning about the fact that bringing a new male into a situation where a female was pregnant by another male was very challenging.
“We were advised by the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) at the time to find a new male for the long-term welfare of the group as a whole. It would be un-natural to keep female gorillas without a male leader and would not have met their complex social needs satisfactorily.
“We did all that we possibly could to mitigate the known risks but fundamentally we cannot stop wild animals exhibiting their natural behaviours, and neither should we.”
Keepers returned Tiny’s body to Mjukuu, his mother, over the weekend so she could come to terms with his death. How great apes grieve is a subject of much debate among scientists, but science aside, like most parents I doubt she’ll ever get over losing her first offspring.
whogivesamonkeys 
William
May 15, 2011
Why didn’t Professor Sommer say something before the incident? it’s easy to criticise after this event but he would have known London Zoo’s plans beforehand. What were London Zoo supposed to do anyway? not have an adult male and have an imbalanced group, or move the mother and baby to another zoo? which wouldn’t have an adult male? it’s a massive shame, but I think the Zoo were trying to do the right thing. If only the baby’s father hadn’t died.
urbanprimate
May 15, 2011
Keeping apes in captivity is a very difficult and complex situation. Males and females can migrate out of their natal group. Mature gorilla males usually leave to set up their own harem or take over an existing one. So in a perfect world Tiny would have grown up with his mum and then would have transferred to another zoo to be the dominant male of a female group to sire his own kin. Infant gorillas are not as robust as chimpanzees and Tiny’s loss is a grave shame. Whether the decision should have gone ahead in the first place is bound to split opinion; everyone in the field knew the risks involved. Prof Sommer didn’t need to remind officials there. But as ZSL has said, it made a decision following advice from the EEP and did all it could to minimise the risks.
urbanprimate
May 15, 2011
Prof Sommer has contacted me with his response to ZSL and has said: “Zoos constantly prevent animals from exhibiting “wild behaviours”: birds have their wings clipped; predators are not allowed to hunt; sick animals are cared for. If zoos would really encourage wild behaviours, then they would let the tiger into the deer enclosure and the flamingos would soar into the sky – and the injured baby gorilla would not have been treated. So, zoos cannot have it both ways; if you force animals into an “unnatural” situation, then you have a responsibility to minimise the damage.
“Many primate species have a flexible social organisation. This is also true for gorilla sociality, which, “in the wild”, comes in various forms: All-male bands exist, lone males, bisexual groups with a single male, bisexual groups with two males; groups with only females.
“London Zoo should have waited until the gorilla infant was weaned; in fact, primate mothers with nursing infants will often leave a group to avoid contact with an incoming male.”
Pauline Hodson
October 15, 2013
seems to me that London Zoo chose the wrong time to introduce a male to the female group. they obviously should have waited for the right time – when no babies were around – obviously. You just expect that these ‘Experts’ would understand the fundamental basics of life.
joan wilson
May 15, 2011
it makes me sick to think there statement says “they were open from the begining that bringing in a etc ect, but theres no reason to open to somethink when the outcome is blatenly recorded what would happen in said situation. now they have decreased the gorrilla population when every birth should be monitored instead they jumped the gun . personally they dont deserve to be allowed to be in any breeding programmes if they cant follow there own or the relevant specialist. what a sad loss for the mother of the gorrilla and the species
Monika Nink
May 15, 2011
Stories like this break my heart. It is unfortunate that the humans who are entrusted with these precious lives and their safety are not held more accountable. There is no excuse for what happen to Tiny and there is no excuse for those who allowed it to happen. RIP Tiny.
William
May 15, 2011
Did the EEP know one of the females was pregnant when they said it would be a good idea to bring in another male? (I guess they must have?) Maybe this scenario has happened in another zoo in the past? and it went ok? I don’t really know much about gorillas and their behaviour, I just can’t believe London Zoo could make such a school boy error? (I feel like I am playing devil’s advocate, I don’t think I am in anyway knowledgeable enough to do so though!) Thanks.
Louise Edwards
May 15, 2011
I am not an expert but I have followed the situation with the gorillas at LZ with great interest. I think the zoo was clearly in a complete bind, and having watched the ITV documentary last year I really believe the keepers would have done everything they could to avoid this – it was evident they care deeply about the animals. Yes, Prof Sommer is right and zoos do intervene in nature on many occasions, but we should not confuse all kinds of intervention (ie. veterinary care) with stifling natural behaviour altogether.
It is a dreadfully sad turn of events, but I do have faith in the zoo and believe the keepers only want the best for those gorillas and have been hit with some really bad luck.
I’m also not sure how I feel about Prof Sommer, he seems to want to go the same way as the baby gorilla himself which is a bit unusual… http://www.naijablog.co.uk/2008/04/professor-volker-sommer-on-best-way-to.html
an undergraduate student
May 18, 2011
“What on Earth did ZSL expect to happen? Any undergraduate student of zoology could have told you what to expect!” Yes and I did tell them too… I’m not an expert, but I have studied these animals in their wild environment and ZSL still didn’t think I was worthy of their response. Granted, both the EEP and ZSL were in a difficult situation here but I question whether they even considered other options before continuing with this path of action…
urbanprimate
May 18, 2011
Dear undergrad, thanks for the comment. Don’t take it personally that the ‘experts’ didn’t respond to you. It appears they had already decided how they wanted to proceed regardless of other voices.
Best
A
an undergraduate student
May 18, 2011
Oh yes for sure… I know of other, more highly qualified people than I, that also voiced their concerns. Not only do I feel their methods of handling this situation were ill-judged, but also their attempts to educate the public (as this is a zoo after all and this is part of their remit no?) While I’m reassured to see others echoing my opinion, it is a tragedy that a young infant Western Lowland Gorilla had to die in order for them to be voiced.
urbanprimate
May 18, 2011
It is a grave shame that a young life was cut so tragically short and I sincerely hope that lessons have been learned and won’t be repeated.
Sorry but I had to sub your comments down as they were libellous. Thanks for the comments, it’s always good to hear a wide range of opinions and I do appreciate you taking the time to voice these. Feel free to subscribe to the blog and continue to comment.
Best
A
H
May 20, 2011
I too am devastated by the death of Tiny, ZSLs baby gorilla, yet I find I am unable to offer my sympathies to the Zoo keepers or the institution itself. I cannot even bring myself to call it a tragedy as it has been branded by some. Tiny was sent to his almost certain death by his introduction to Kesho. This is fact. Tiny’s death was well recognised to be the likely outcome of this attempted integration, therefore the decision to proceed, which was taken by the zoo and its keepers, is one it alone can bear the responsibility for.
I would appreciate this being recognised in any further statements from the zoo. Advices and theorists consulted cannot be used to hide behind now. As the Zoo decided the ‘complex’ social needs of the 3 female gorillas were a priority over the life of the baby then it would be better to be more upfront about it. The grief of your keepers is deserved and frankly you should be demonstrating more sympathies to friends, fellows and visitors to the zoo, who have been lending their support to your organisation in the hope you would behave sensitively and responsibly in looking after this young Gorilla’s life.
The Zoo’s statement that Gorillas should be allowed to exhibit their natural behaviour even if it means infanticide is an odd one to proffer…. I mean really – this is a zoo! Its an unnatural environment to begin with. As for those who stand behind the Daily Mail article, I would like to reply by offering another trusted source of fiction in Aesops Fable, “The Scorpion and the Frog” [1] .
I hope there will be an independent enquiry which will be made public. ZSL keepers should be accountable for this appauling decision that led to this heartbreaking and avoidable death.
[1] The Scorpion and the Frog is a fable about a scorpion asking a frog to carry him across a river. The frog is afraid of being stung, but the scorpion argues that if it stung, the frog would sink and the scorpion would drown. The frog agrees and the scorpion stings the frog during the crossing, dooming them both. When asked why, the scorpion points out that this is its nature.
urbanprimate
May 20, 2011
Hi IGM.
Many thanks for the comments you have posted. I must give right of reply to the Zoo. Here is the latest statement from ZSL’s newsletter in May:
“Kesho’s arrival in August 2010 was recommended by the Gorilla EEP (European Endangered Species Programme) species committee after the death of the zoo’s male gorilla.
He was gradually introduced to females Effie and Zaire, but we had waited for many months until we were confident we had the best chance of a successful introduction to Mjukuu and the baby.
“Every sign prior to the introduction had indicated that the gorillas were ready, but these animals have complex social structures, and the outcomes can never be predicted with any certainty. The death of the baby is a great loss to ZSL, especially our keepers and vets, who have worked tirelessly with our gorillas. Gorilla introductions will continue with the adults in order to create a stable, secure group.”
B
May 20, 2011
I totally agree with H in this matter and think there should be an enquiry into this which should be made public.
urbanprimate
May 20, 2011
I’m not convinced an inquiry would find anything new. The facts are already clear for all to see, there’s no question what happened, how it came about and where it took place. Perhaps if people feel strongly about this, they should write to the EEP to ask for written assurance that this type of advice will not be repeated.
A