Pertinax

Pertinax (Born 13th April 1982) is a western lowland gorilla residing at Paignton Zoo in Devon, England who is likely the 2nd oldest male gorilla in the United Kingdom after Old Bob as well as the oldest male gorilla residing in a British Zoo. Pertinax was born at Stuttgart Zoo, Baden-Württemberg in Germany on the 13th April 1982 and lived there for the first 15 years of his life. He was transferred to Paignton Zoo on the 22nd April 1997 and has lived their for the past 23 years. His parents, Banjo and Dina were born in the wild and brought to Stuttgart Zoo at some point in the 1970s.

Around the time of his arrival at Paignton Zoo, Pertinax became the alpha of the gorilla group where he was renowned for his “ mellow, laid-back temperament“ and his ability to teach young gorillas social skills and help them raise families, thereby propagating his species. On the 20th September 2018, after 21 years in control, Pertinax retired and let Kiondo, Kivu and N’Dowe take over control of his group. According to the Mammal keepers at Paignton Zoo, Anne Lunt and Gemma Keohane who know him better than anyone as they have worked with him for many years. “He’s grumpy with strangers but he’s chilled with people he’s familiar with,” said Anne. “He likes what he knows – he’s set in his ways! But he definitely became much more relaxed and content once he was separated from the others.”

Pertinax has several health problems, including bad feet, colitis and a reduction in his activity. But his health problems are stable and he is regularly checked by his keepers. In September 2019, he was given rugby balls by Lovell Rugby and enjoyed playing with them especially as his keepers smeared honey on the ball. Senior keeper Alex Perry explained: “This is an excellent form of environmental enrichment – the balls are novel items and stimulate the gorillas to play. We smeared a little honey on the ball, too, as an incentive. It’s great to have a locally-based company like Lovell help us out by donating balls.”

Pertinax’s diet vegetarian usually consists of peppers, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, beetroot, kale, leeks, aubergine, chicory and parsnips, however occasionally includes other foods (such as honey). He weighs around 30 stone. Following a bout of constipation, he was treated by Transfaunation, a process that works by mixing faecal samples from healthy gorillas, honey and apple and blackcurrant squash, diluted with warm water. The treatment was successful and Pertinax enjoyed his beverage. In December 2015, Pertinax underwent root canal surgery after an exposed nerve was caused by fracturing a tooth. The operation lasted 40 minutes and was completely successful.