Behind the Scenes: A Day In The Life Of A Gorilla Wellness Check At OKC Zoo

We all love a great trip to the zoo, but there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to take care of the animals so that we can enjoy these trips.

It’s a rare occurrence for the kids as well as the zoo medical staff.

“So today we are doing a wellness check on Makala one of our adult female gorillas,” said Dr. Gretchen Cole, a veterinarian at the OKC zoo.

At 20 years old it was time for Makala’s first full health check.

“Today we’re doing a physical exam, we are going to check her teeth,” said Dr. Cole.

As with all the animals at the zoo they are trained to do regular health checks while awake.

“So, we are able to do visual or have her present her body parts to look at, but this is her first full anesthesia,” said Dr. Cole.

Anesthesia administered is very similar to the human process.

“She was actually able to participate with the hand injection for her anesthesia drug, so we didn’t have to dart her or anything she participates in her health care,” said Dr. Cole.

Part of today’s procedure is a heart check.

“We do a full medical exam to make the heart chamber sizes and thicknesses are normal and that the function is normal because they get heart disease just like humans do,” said registered sonographer Lynne Size with the OKC zoo.

The whole procedure takes about two hours, but it is important that it is done as swiftly as possible.

“The silverback Togo he's our male in the group and he likes to make sure he knows where everybody is at, just like any good leader of any group would want to know,” said Dr. Cole.

The best times to view procedures are midmorning on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Procedures are typically listed on the zoo’s social media pages, where they also stream many of the procedures. Visit them on Facebook @Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden, on Instagram @OKCZoo, or visit their website www.okczoo.org