Photo Essay

I jump out of the way as a Zookeeper carries a heavy bucket of pale green cabbage, red peppers, and Banana leaf past me. We are on the rooftop above the San Diego Zoo’s Gorilla pen, fifteen feet away from seven Western Lowland Gorillas. One of the Keepers grabs a pepper with his latex-covered hand and throws it off the roof. The pepper hits the ground with a soft thud. A Eucalyptus tree is in the way, so I crane my neck to see a large, black and almost human-like hand grab the pepper. She pops it into her mouth, and then goes back for seconds. I scan her face, and try to memorize each wrinkle, how far apart her eyes are, and the sagittal crest on top of her head. “That’s Ndjole,” says Animal Care Supervisor, Greg Vicino. What looks to me like a smaller version of her runs past and my eyes follow him with intent. “That’s Boinje, but you can call him Bo. Bo is Ndjole’s son, and usually stays fairly close to her.”
Greg identified everyone in the Troop, and then had me name everyone in a random order. I was nervous because I knew identifying them would be crucial to my study, and if I mistook one Gorilla for another, it would affect my Focal Sheets tremendously. I remembered what Greg said—“You’ll be studying the two troops of Gorillas here at the Zoo. You will have to identify them, and record their behavioral patterns. Eventually you will come to know the Gorillas by their diverse personalities—not just by looks.”



In the first week of my study, I often disagreed with Greg. How could I come to know them by personality? I mean, they’re just animals, and they all look the same. However, after two days of studying the troops, I came to recognize each Gorilla by unique attributes—large sagittal crests, wrinkled faces, round heads, and round bodies. I still had trouble with a few of the females, but by the end of the week I could identify all 12 Gorillas at the Zoo.
Although I could identify them by looks, I still had trouble with their so-called “personalities.” I knew that animals had certain traits, but I never believed that I could get to know their personality unless I knew them for a long period of time. But three weeks? That certainly wasn’t long enough.
People who could identify the Gorillas by personality were those who came every day. These people, or as we called them- “Zoobies,” were occasionally convinced that the Gorillas favored them. I noticed that the Zoobies could point out a Gorilla, even when it had its back to us. However as days went by, and as I listened to their repetitive fake stories, and as I saw them crawl on the floor yelling “Oooooh baby Frank,” I eventually got tired of the Zoobies and went to continue my study up on the rooftop.



The rooftop became my office for the remainder of my internship. The roof has cactus plants, flowers, trees, and the occasional squirrel.  Each day, I would study the Gorillas in their outside habitat, and record onto the Focal sheets Greg had given me.  Focal sheets are five minute clips that focus on a certain Gorilla. In those five minutes, there are twenty 15-second intervals. For each 15 seconds, I would write down what my subject was doing.
I slowly came to learn their different behavioral patterns. The adults would sleep and eat longer, and the babies would play longer. I still wondered how they had personality, but after two weeks I noticed Azizi staring at me through the glass. I was down in the main viewing area because it was raining, and I couldn’t see the Gorillas from up top. While I sat on one of the benches, and recorded Azizi, she slowly walked up to me, looked at me directly in the eye, and stared at me for two minutes. Those two minutes sent shivers up my spine. I never knew I could have such a close relationship with one of these magnificent creatures. Greg had mentioned before that the Gorillas would come to recognize me, and I figured that this was one of those moments.



After my experience with Azizi, I noticed that the behavioral patterns I had studied gave each Gorilla a certain persona. The Silverbacks loved their children, and often let them do whatever they please. The males also kept their backs to the audience. This allowed them to only see their habitat, with their troop. The females loved to process their food, and eat most of the time, and then play with their children. Although the male and females had different characteristics, they each had a distinct personality. Alvila was a crotchety arthritic female, who loved to remain by herself. Mandazzi loved to make a mess, disturb the other members of the troop, and clap his hands when he saw food. Ndjia was always by herself, and seemed to remain aloof. Each and every Gorilla has a different personality, and I was surprised that I came to recognize them right off the bat.




Once I started to learn what each individual Gorilla acted like, I began to predict their actions, and for the most part I was right. I could identify each Gorilla, even with their back to me—just like the Zoobies had. I had grown in a sense, and had learned that even with little time, you can learn about animals’ personalities. Now, on February 16, I still miss the Gorillas and their funny acts. Hopefully each time I visit, they will still be there, waiting, just as Azizi had.