Mobi clings to the rope in the exhibition and observes visitors to the Dja Reserve pavilion. Photo by Oliver Le Que, Prague Zoo
Female gorilla Mobi, born in January at the Prague Zoo, is the current star of the Reserve Dja pavilion. She is learning to walk and hang on a rope, while her mother Duni allows her to go on increasingly daring expeditions around the area. The almost six-month-old cub is also trying to communicate with the cloaked gueres that inhabit the same exhibit, and through the glass with the visitors as well. Mobi also started looking for contact with the second cub, the two-and-a-half-month-old Gaia.
“The period that we have all been looking forward to here is coming. Baby gorillas are finally starting to interact,” says the director of the Prague Zoo, Miroslav Bobek. “As beautiful as it is to see the two cubs together, perhaps even more impressive is tiny Mobi playing with her father, the mighty Kisum. A male silverback allows his firstborn daughter to touch his face and rummage through his fur. It never ceases to amaze me how strong the bonds these primates form with each other.”
Baby gorillas already know about each other and spend time together more and more often. From left, Gaia, Mobi and her mother Duni. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
The female Mobi, whose half-year birthday awaits on July 2, is already trying to swallow the food of adult gorillas – vegetables, leaves or a bite from branches, in addition to sucking mother’s milk. So far she just chewed it up and spit it out.
“Mobi waddles around the exhibit and when a gorilla drops a bite from its mouth, she tries to chew it herself. She also swallows and digests the new solid food – the change in color of her droppings is proof for us,” explains Martin Vojáček, chief primate keeper of the Prague Zoo. “Gaia is only sucking milk so far, but we just found out that her two lower incisors have already cut through. Both cubs are developing completely healthily and the situation in the whole troop is very calm. It’s still true that eight-year-old Ajabu is the biggest provocateur, and it’s nice that his wish to play with the cubs is slowly coming true,” he adds.
It is best for visitors to the Prague Zoo to come to the Dja Reserve around 10 am or 3 pm. Gorillas are active feeding at that time. During the current summer temperatures, a family of lowland gorillas can also be found in a large outdoor enclosure. The whole group prefers to go there after 4 p.m. With the exception of the indoor pavilions, the Prague Zoo is currently open until 9 p.m.
At the age of less than half a year, Mobi is very inquisitive and under the increasingly benevolent supervision of her mother Duni (right) shows an interest in her surroundings. The female Kijivu (and also Moba’s great-grandmother, left) lends her daughter Gaia a careful touch without any problems. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo