The Animals in Our Care – Geladas
Geladas are fascinating animals, but they cause us a few headaches. Endemic to Ethiopia, they are sometimes called mountain baboons because they firstly bear something of a physical resemblance to the more common olive baboon (Papio anubis) and secondly because they only live at high altitudes. Geladas are not only a different species, they are so unusual that they are classified in a genus all of their own – scientifically speaking they are called Theropithecus gelada.
We have two geladas at Ensessakotteh:
Harbert
Harbert was found and given to us by one of the team working for B L Harbert International, the construction firm built the US Embassy in Addis Ababa. B L Harbert made an incredibly generous donation of tools and equipment earlier in the year. And when I say generous, I mean very generous. The ladders, generator, mesh, wood and tools must have been worth thousands of dollars. So we certainly wanted to help them out when they explained they had a gelada they wanted us to take!
Harbert is a late adolescent. Not particularly well adjusted socially, he is OK with most of us but definitely has his likes and his dislikes. Unfortunately, one his dislikes now lives next door to him!
Lily
Lily only arrived at the end of August 2011. We have no information about where she came from or who used to look after her. All we know is that the Wildlife Conservation Authority confiscated her and needed us to look after her. After a week’s quarantine, we moved her to Ensessakotteh and put her in an enclosure next to Harbert’s. Like him she must be three to four years old but is very thin. We hope she will put on weight quite quickly as she is otherwise fit and healthy.
There is always something very rewarding about releasing animals from a rope or chain. Nearly every animal we receive was once been tied up – the lions on a chain and the primates on a rope. Sometimes, the animals will carry the scar of the rope burn with them throughout their life.
Sadly, getting Lily’s rope off was not so rewarding. It was a horrid piece of tightly twisted and knotted string. There was no way we could untie it and so we had to cut it. Because of the proximity of the knife or scissors to her neck, Lily had to be restrained. I held her while Tilahun neatly sliced through the string and pulled it away. I then released Lily who promptly turned around and clamped down on my wrist. Ouch! No thanks there then. However, there was no damage done and with the high pitched squeaks and squeals characteristic of Geladas she then turned around and invited me to groom her.
The problem we have in caring for geladas is their social structure, which we cannot really replicate. They live in large troops made up of one dominant male, and many related females and their offspring. The females live in what is called a harem and it is they who choose who is to be the dominant male. Consequently, there is a lot of politicking in gelada society with the male always trying to keep his harem on side. Outside of the harems are bachelor groups of unstable composition. Some of the members may be related, brothers or step brothers, who left the troop at the same time. Other males may join a bachelor group after being deposed from a harem. Similarly, they may leave if they find a harem they can take over or split up.
The result of this is that we cannot really introduce geladas to each other. They have to choose who they associate with. Indeed, because family connections run throughout gelada society, females in particular may take an instant dislike to any new gelada and may not even recognise it as ‘one of their own kind’. One researcher even went as far as to say it is “almost as if they all speak a different language.”
The other problem with geladas is that they sleep on cliffs. While Ensessakotteh is hilly and rocky there are definitely no cliffs. Bereket, my deputy’s homework is to come up with ideas on how are going to build a cliff! In the meantime, Meseret and Sinke, our young animal carers, are trying to keep Lily company as she settles into her new life with us and Harbert. Who knows, she may eventually accept that the thing squeaking at her from next door may actually turn out to be friend.
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