Only once have I been able to observe one of our western lowland gorillas during a procedure here at the Harter Veterinary Medical Center (HVMC). On that first occasion it was 34-year old Winston, a nearly 600-pound (270-kilogram) male who lives at the Wild Animal Park. When I walked through the doors to the hospital, there was a very strange, pungent odor I had never experienced before. As ever, my curiosity got the best of me, so I followed the smelly trail to the large animal treatment room and was surprised to be staring at a very large, very imposing - and very anesthetized, I was happy to discover - gorilla. It was a humbling experience.

Last week, when I heard that one of Winston’s troop-mates, 17-year old Penny (pictured above), was to come to the hospital for a routine health assessment, I wanted to be sure I didn’t miss the opportunity to see a female gorilla up close and watch the procedure. So I put on a lab coat, gloves, mask and shoe covers - all required to be worn by participants in any primate procedure – and got ready to experience my second gorilla introduction.

Penny was brought to the HVMC in a specially designed primate transport container and prepared for her upcoming procedures. I was surprised to see how much smaller she seemed up close than she appears in the Park’s gorilla exhibit. In fact, she weighed in at 181 pounds (82.4 kilograms). Her size and stature are vastly different than her troop-mate, Winston!

During Penny’s examination, there was blood drawn to check her blood count, chemistry, and hormone levels, and vaccinations were given - all things you and I might expect during a visit to our family doctor. The difference with this procedure was that Penny received ultrasounds and radiographs, as well as a thorough cleaning and polishing of her big, gorilla choppers! It would be too stressful for the gorillas to have all these things done over time and on different days like we humans do, so all bases are covered at the same time when they get their “physicals.”

In order to ensure Penny wasn’t under anesthesia any longer than absolutely necessary, a human radiologist and cardiologist assisted our veterinarians in performing and evaluating the digital chest radiographs and ultrasounds of the heart and reproductive tract. An echocardiogram was also performed, which is done in order to record important baseline information for the Gorilla SSP (Species Survival Plan).

With veterinarians, consultants, registered veterinary technicians, keepers, and CRES researchers, the room was filled to capacity with competent professionals, all focused on the importance of caring for Penny and documenting the valuable information she would provide. Given that one-fourth of the world’s 625 primate species and subspecies could be extinct within 20 years, these periodic, routine examinations the gorillas receive here at the HVMC benefit them as individuals, as well as their species.

It was another humbling experience for me to get the chance to meet Penny, watch, and learn just how valuable our western lowland gorilla troop is to conservation efforts worldwide.

Valerie Stoddard is the senior administrative assistant at the Wild Animal Park’s Harter Veterinary Medical Center.

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