Currently the infant gorillas are being bottle fed by
>humans, and are on display with human surrogate mothers, while their own
>mothers are walled away from them and will not get to see them until they are
>about 2 years old.  These intelligent primates have had their parenting skills
>destroyed by generations of baby theft.


Catherine, this is fascinating.  Gorillas and chimpanzees, like humans,
really *so much* on learning, not like the totally instinctive mothering of
my Golden Retriever.  If not raised around other gorillas mothering their
infants, they won't learn how to do it.  Captive raised gorillas and chimps
even have to be taught how to have sex (they use porno movies and films of
wild primates) or else be artificially inseminated.  My Golden Retriever
figured it out all on her own!  People don't realize that the differences
between humans and the Great Apes (gorillas and chimpanzees) are only slight
one of degree.  Some of Jane Goodall's movies of chimpanzees in Tanzania
talk about how much the daughters of the famous "Flo" learned about
mothering from watching Flo raise their younger siblings.


>Have an interesting case that I could use some input on.  One year old boy
>with Down Syndrome, nurses beautifully (!!), had open heart surgery in April
>weighing 11 #, and has gained 4 # since then.  Looks very healthy, lots of
>chubby little limbs, double chin, etc. but is small.
> Are there some other inventive ways we might get the supplement into him?
> Any input?

I don't have my Down Syndrome growth charts here with me, but there ARE
special growth charts for kids with Down Syndrome (Cronk, Chris is the first
author, I think), because they grow much slower physically than "normal
kids."  Also, don't kids with heart defects also grow very slowly?  Taking
both these factors into account, is this child really too little?  Why can't
a one year old eat solids, instead of the Kindercal (of which I know
absolutely nothing, but sounds nauseating to the max).  If he just needs
more calories, feed him cookies!  Sorry, I'm talking like the mother of a
child with Down Syndrome here . . . .


Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Anthropology, Texas A&M University
e-mail to [log in to unmask]