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In
this series, we share our gorilla research and care activities
with you through the following features:
1)
Caregiver Corner (what
it's like to interact and communicate with gorillas Koko, Ndume
and Michael)
2) Research Revelations
(what we're learning through interspecies communication and
what it means for humanity)
prepared
by our staff under the supervision of Dr. Penny Patterson, Director
of Research. (Journal PhotoBlog
Archive) |
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| "Eat Like a Gorilla for a Day" by Betsy Herrelko |
March 22, 2007 |
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Dr.
Francine "Penny" Patterson has a Ph.D. in Developmental
Psychology from Stanford. She is President and Research
Director of The Gorilla Foundation, and a Member
of the Board of ApeNet - a consortium of foundations
supporting the welfare of great apes through interspecies
communication. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of
"Gorilla, the journal of The Gorilla Foundation/Koko.org."
"Penny's Journal" provides insight into her facinating
relationship with Koko and a way to share with us
her experiences as Koko lives, learns and communicates
"The
differences between humans and gorillas are greatly
overshadowed by what we have in common — and by
communicating with them, we can learn as much about
our own true nature as theirs." Penny Patterson |
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A Sample Day of Koko's Meals
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Caregiver's
Corner:
Free-living gorillas are often on the move looking for food.
Eating from at least 97 different species of plants and trees,
an adult male can consume over 40 pounds of food in one day.
At the Gorilla Foundation, with selections from a variety of
190 different foods and more than 20 people spending many hours
over the course of a week planning and preparing meals, Koko
and Ndume don’t need to exert as much energy making sure
they have enough to eat. Even though we hide food for each of
them to search for and find throughout the day, the energy they
expend is less than their free-living cousins and so the amount
of food they require is less.
In addition to this difference, we have discovered certain food
sensitivities that influence the way we prepare meals. For example,
Koko’s diet does not currently include nightshade vegetables–
tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes¬–and Ndume’s
diet is gluten-free.
Caloric restrictions also help shape the meals. Still, we are
able to be resourceful and creative with the produce and presentation.
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to eat like a gorilla?
We invite you to eat like a gorilla for a day with a sample
from Koko’s meal history (the total weight for each meal
is divided among the ingredients with quantities larger for
the lower calorie items).
Koko starts the day with a hearty breakfast, followed by a light
lunch, a bountiful tray of greens in the middle of the afternoon,
a light dinner, and an additional tray of greens that she can
snack on after bedtime.
Koko’s Breakfast (2.5 to 3 lbs total,
approximately 900 calories)
— 2/3 cup of cooked whole grain cereal (currently quinoa)
— 1/4 cup of cooked lentils or beans
— 4 oz. of alfalfa sprouts
— 2 fresh figs, an apple, orange or one of a wide variety
of other fruits
— Raw green beans and/or 1/2 cucumber
— 2 cups of cooked mixed vegetables
— 1/10 of an organic or raw food bar
Koko’s Lunch (1.5 lb total, approximately
450 calories)
— Raw or steamed butternut squash
— Raw or steamed broccoli
— Organic banana peel with 1” of banana inside
— Avocado slice
— Raw corn on the cob (1/2 cob)
— Protein of the day (4 oz.)
— Tamarind pod
— Dark (85%) chocolate square (1/2 ounce)
Home to a special main-event vegetable (or several smaller main-event
vegetables), the afternoon greens tray is an early afternoon
highlight. We select the best-looking vegetable(s) available,
preferably items Koko hasn’t had in a few days, like cabbage,
jicama, tiny pumpkin, fennel bulb, large leek, etc. All vegetables
on the tray are raw and always whole--raw because Koko likes
to eat crunchy foods and because they do a great job cleaning
her teeth, and whole because, well, have you seen how large
a gorilla mouth is?
Koko’s Afternoon Greens Tray (3 to 3.5
lbs total, approximately 450 calories)
— 1 bunch parsley
— 1 bunch dill
— 1 bunch cilantro
— Raw fennel bulb with green top
— Carrot
— 6 grapes
— Head of lettuce
Koko’s Dinner (1 lb total, approximately
300 calories)
— Steamed 1/4 onion
— Steamed small sweet potato
— Steamed asparagus (4)
— Steamed garlic cloves (2)
— Steamed zucchini squash
— Apple
— Sandwich – millet bread with peanut butter and
mango slices
Koko’s Evening Greens Tray (3 to 3.5
lbs total, approximately 420 calories)
— 1 bunch mint
— 1 bunch chives
— 1 whole celery
— 1 English cucumber
— 2 lettuce heads (Romaine, escarole, etc.)
— 1 artichoke
Even though we generally provide Koko and Ndume with foods that
we know they like, sometimes there are leftovers. We record
the weight and types of these and use the resulting data on
their changing food preferences to inform meal planning and
help monitor their health.
Koko has told us that what gorillas like to do best is “Eat
good.” In the interest of providing as diverse a diet
as possible and enriching their lives, we introduce novel foods
often. If a newly-introduced item is rejected, we wait awhile
and try again. For Ndume, the third time is often the charm.
For Koko, we sometimes try offering the same item cooked instead
of raw.
A satisfied gorilla is a happy gorilla and that is certainly
our goal in the kitchen at the Gorilla Foundation.
Special Acknowledgement:
The Gorilla Foundation would like to take this opportunity to
thank all of our esteemed "produce volunteers" (coordinated
by Colleen Champion, our staff Food Prep Manager) who help prepare
these wonderful meals for the gorillas. Such dedicated people
enable us to provide the best possible care and enrichment for
gorillas Koko and Ndume.
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Betsy
Herrelko is a Research Assistant / Gorilla Caregiver
at the Gorilla Foundation. Before
coming to the Gorilla Foundation, Betsy earned her Masters
in Psychology with a concentration in Animal Behavior
and Conservation from Hunter College-CUNY, and though
she initially dedicated her research studies to ungulates,
she was afforded the opportunity to segue into studying
squirrel monkeys for her thesis "Effects of Environmental
and Demographic Changes on Social Behavior Within a Captive
Troop of Squirrel Monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)."
It was in the midst of preparing this thesis that Betsy's
devotion to primates was cemented. She
has had a love of animals since childhood and acquired
substantial animal care experience in parallel with her
studies, as well as a 5-year stint volunteering as a Docent
at the Bronx Zoo.
Betsy is excited to continue the mission of the Gorilla
Foundation through safe gorilla care practices and innovative
research methods. It's a great combination of her studies
and experiences, and her passion for learning from animals
is ideal since Koko and Ndume are quite the teachers!
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Please
email us at research_feedback@koko.org
if you have any questions, or would like to share an observation
or insight about the preceding interspecies conversations.
Your feedback can inform our research and is a vital part
of our mission.
Thank you,
Dr. Francine Penny Patterson
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