Posted
on December 22, 2014
Colo
is the oldest living gorilla in captivity in the world.
AND
she is the first gorilla ever to be born in captivity! In the world!
Colo's
name is a shortened version of her birthplace: COLumbus, Ohio. And
she and four of her offspring are still delighting Columbus Zoo
visitors--especially on a day like today: Colo's birthday!
Colo is 58 years old today.
Colo
was called Cuddles for a short while after her birth on this date in
1956. Perhaps the zookeepers who called her that helped to raise her.
It is sad to report that baby Colo had been rejected by her mother
and had to be hand-raised and bottle-fed by the zookeepers. Later,
the zoo held a contest in order to choose the best official name.
Colo
apparently did far better in the parenting category than did her
mother. She had her first baby at age 11, and she and her mate Bongo
had three offspring. They were all named after awards: Emmy, Oscar,
and Toni.
 |
| Colo and Bongo on their first play date |
In
1979 Colo became a grandma when her granddaughter Cora was born. In
1995, she became a great-grandma. Finally, in 2003, Colo became a –
you got it! – great, great grandma! At this point, Colo is the
direct ancestor of 21 living gorillas and of other gorillas who have
since died.
What
do you think...?
...About
animals being kept in zoos and put on display for humans to enjoy? Is
it a good thing? A bad thing?
Did
you know that zoos are a tool used to help species recover from near
extinction? Did you know that, when people actually get to see and
“meet” animals, they are much more passionate about helping them
and keeping their wild spaces intact? Did you know that zookeepers
often help species maintain genetic diversity?
However,
some zoos are not as good for animals as others, and certainly in the
past zoos were pretty horrible to animals. “Are zoos good for
wildlife?” is a really complicated question with a complicated
answer! |
| You can see how small and unnatural the old-style zoo enclosures were... Nowadays we do a lot better. |
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