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#331526 - Tue Nov 14 2006 11:19 AM Aussies send us a dud gorilla!
sue943 Offline
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Registered: Sun Dec 19 1999
Posts: 38005
Loc: Jersey
Channel Islands    
I will paste the whole article from this evening's Jersey Evening Post as I know from past experience the link will not work after a day.
.......

Durrell seek a breeding breakthrough

By Anthony Lewis

THE Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust are resorting to artificial insemination because male gorilla Ya Kwanza is showing no signs of mating with all but one of the females in his group.

Durrell have described this as one of the most important programmes in their 47-year history, but it has only worked once in the world before - and the result of that was Ya Kwanza himself 22 years ago in Australia.

The giant silverback gorilla went under anaesthetic for a second time to enable semen to be taken. An earlier attempt at artificially inseminating the female Bahasha failed and, frustratingly for the medical team, the second attempt had to be abandoned too.

Although Ya Kwanza has fathered two offspring in Jersey as a result of mating with Hlala Kahilli, he has not yet shown signs of interest in any of the other females. Durrell admit that since the death of Jambo gorilla breeding has been 'disappointing' and it was for that reason that they decided to intervene. It was deemed necessary because of the genetic importance of Ya Kwanza's lineage to the European managed gorilla programme.

Published 14/11/06
........

The printed article says that his sperm isn't up to much so they had to abort the second attempt to impregnate one of the other females!

The team who carried out the work included an anaesthetist and gynaecologist from our General Hospital!

Do we think this could be a lack of Marmite in his youth?
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#331527 - Tue Nov 14 2006 12:52 PM Re: Aussies send us a dud gorilla!
Copago Offline
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Registered: Tue May 15 2001
Posts: 14384
Loc: Australia
Quote:

Do we think this could be a lack of Marmite in his youth?



HA!!!! Quite possibly! Doesn't sound much different to the rest of the male population here ...

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#331528 - Wed Nov 15 2006 03:13 PM Re: Aussies send us a dud gorilla!
Engadine Offline
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Registered: Sun Aug 08 2004
Posts: 3609
Loc: Sth East Qld Australia      
Yup, typical male of the species . . .
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#331529 - Wed Nov 15 2006 05:12 PM Re: Aussies send us a dud gorilla!
ozzz2002 Online   FT-cool
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Registered: Mon Dec 03 2001
Posts: 20911
Loc: Sydney
NSW Australia
(Spoken with a gorilla accent).Harrumph, mate!

The whole problem is quite easily fixed- just give the poor fella a couple of beers...
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#331530 - Wed Nov 15 2006 05:59 PM Re: Aussies send us a dud gorilla!
Copago Offline
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Registered: Tue May 15 2001
Posts: 14384
Loc: Australia
I was going to say the same thing, Ozzz.

Set up a gorilla pub, give Ya Kwanza a couple of VBs, let the little woman have a cocktail or two with pretty little umbrellas in them, make sure he's got enough money to afford a few drinks for her, have a jukebox blaring Khe San in the back ground, make sure he has a corny pick up line, give him a couple more beers and she will look even more attractive, have his best mate there to gaffaw at Ya Kwanza when he notices he's after this woman, let the woman have a couple mates there also to go to the loo with and talk about how good looking Ya Kwanza is. Call last orders and push them out the doors half an hour later, chuck them in a taxi and send them home and 9 months later you'll have a baby.

It may sound crass but we just call it a mating ritual here....

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#331531 - Wed Nov 15 2006 06:11 PM Re: Aussies send us a dud gorilla!
Bruyere Offline
Star Poster

Registered: Sat Feb 10 2001
Posts: 18899
Loc: California USA
Does anyone recall the Bill Cosby sketch about Bobo the
Gorilla who didn't know how to mate? It was a classic and I just learned he really existed and has been preserved!
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#331532 - Wed Nov 15 2006 06:18 PM Re: Aussies send us a dud gorilla!
ozzz2002 Online   FT-cool
Moderator

Registered: Mon Dec 03 2001
Posts: 20911
Loc: Sydney
NSW Australia
ROFL!!

The genteel Jersey Islanders would be horrified, of course, and the enclosure will have to have the bars replaced by one-way glass.

Oh, and you forgot the Vegemite and Berocca..
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#331533 - Wed Nov 15 2006 06:35 PM Re: Aussies send us a dud gorilla!
Copago Offline
Moderator

Registered: Tue May 15 2001
Posts: 14384
Loc: Australia
lol, yeah. And I also forgot to mention she'd never hear from him again.

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#331534 - Thu Nov 16 2006 08:25 AM Re: Aussies send us a dud gorilla!
sue943 Offline
Administrator

Registered: Sun Dec 19 1999
Posts: 38005
Loc: Jersey
Channel Islands    
You have to feel sorry for him, he didn't know his daddy!

Makes you wonder why they are so anxious to get his bloodline in the mix, he was conceived by AI himself and if he is firing blanks then what is the point in using him as breeding stock?

On the other hand, with our beloved and departed Jambo, he was quite the opposite and produced many offspring. I suppose this means that many of the gorillas in captivity breeding programmes have his genes so the risk of inbreeding would be high. OK, so let's use the Aussie.
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#331535 - Sat Nov 18 2006 09:17 AM Re: Aussies send us a dud gorilla!
lady1 Offline
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Registered: Wed Jun 07 2006
Posts: 20697
Loc: Gauteng South Africa          
Maybe he just doesn't like Bahasha or he needs something stronger than beer.
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