Cincinnati zoo workers dress and act like gorillas to help abandoned baby

Baby Gladys was abandoned by her mom.

A team of up to 10 Cincinnati Zoo workers are doing their best to fill the maternal position and adjust the young gorilla to a new home by wearing all black, grunting affectionately and imitating adult gorillas. Soon they'll graduate to wearing hairy vests and kneepads and gloves, carrying the baby gorilla on their backs as they knuckle-walk and climb trees.

The workers work in 8-hour shifts to ensure Gladys, who is alert, curious and is gaining weight quickly, has 24-hour companionship.

"This will certainly be a labor of love," said Thane Maynard, Executive Director of the Cincinnati Zoo. "We will have a surrogacy team, made up of 7-10 staff members, who will be hand-rearing the infant 24/7 until we can safely introduce her to a gorilla surrogate mom. This is such a huge responsibility and privilege and we are honoured to be doing our part."

According to the zoo's website, "Zoo surrogates are providing 24/7 care, working 8-hour shifts. These shifts involve a lot more than just cuddling the adorable new addition. Surrogacy involves understanding primate behavior, vocalizations and mothering instincts. The Baby Suite has been upgraded to feature 2-inch mesh that will assist keepers when they (eventually) bottle feed and cameras for around-the-clock monitoring. In addition, the suite will be outfitted with a mattress for Zoo staff to sit on during their long shifts, especially overnights. The baby suite is located directly across the hall from the rest of the Cincinnati Zoo’s gorillas — to give both parties plenty of time to see, smell and hear each other before introductions begin."

"Whatever a gorilla mom would do with her baby is what we have to do with this baby," Ron Evans, the zoo's primate team leader and one of Gladys' human surrogates, told the Associated Press. "Everything that we can do...obviously, I'm not producing milk."

Gladys was transferred from Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, after her mother showed little interest in her. At the Cincinnati Zoo, there are two gorillas who have experience as surrogate mothers. One of them will likely take over from the zoo workers as "mom" in four or five months.

Zoo spokeswoman Tiffany Barnes told the Associated Press that thousands of emails and social media responses have indicated that if the zoo needs volunteers to work with the gorillas, it will have plenty to choose from.

"At this point, we aren't in need of volunteers, as we are using zoo staff members who have ape behavior knowledge and experience," she said. "That being said, if we ever needed volunteers, we know we don't have to look far."