He has, though, turned almost completely grey, with a bald patch at the back of his head behind his impressive quiff. ‘Still, he’s in very good shape for his age,’ says Mark, ‘And he’s still got a good set of teeth - which is pretty helpful, because you can’t exactly get in there with a toothbrush.’ I could tell that he recognised me when I was on Animal Park, and he found it a bit strange me being there feeding him, while I was also on the telly.’Įven though Nico loves watching TV, he doesn’t spend all days indoors and loves to run around outside - although in old age, he can no longer climb the tree in his back garden the way he used to. ‘He gets really excited whenever any animals are on, although other gorillas can get him a bit agitated, because he’s worried they might be rivals. If you stand in front of the telly, he’ll peer round you to get a look. ‘He could sit anywhere, but he likes to sit opposite the telly,’ says Mark, ‘He spreads his bedding around him, sits with his legs crossed, and his toes perching on the bars, stuffing his face. Not impressed: Nico looks suspiciously at his birthday roses and (right) the TV he watches from his cage It comes on at 7am, on a timer switch, and goes off at 11pm. The TV was suggested as a solution - and he’s been glued to it ever since. When Nico was first acquired from a Swiss travelling zoo in 1986, his keeper was worried that he might get bored to distraction by the six months of indoor quarantine which he faced. ‘The local supermarket gives us all their just out-of-date food, so he eats very well,’ says Mark.īut Nico’s treat is the big Panasonic TV that sits on the other side of the bars facing the central cage. And the cartoon cliches are spot on: the gorilla’s favourite snack is a banana, closely followed by grapes and strawberries - although he does wash it down with litres of Ribena, which he loves for its sweet, fruity taste. At lunch he restricts himself to a banana, an apple, an orange and a few other pieces of fruit and veg.Īll THIS is topped up with a health-nut’s dream selection of multi- vitamins, iron supplements, yoghurt and aloe vera.
In the evening, he has the same, plus a peanut mix with nutritional supplements. When the keeper comes in, at 9.30am, Nico has one iceberg lettuce, two spring greens, two bananas, two apples, two oranges, four tomatoes and one extra piece of fruit or veg. His straw bedding is changed every day and his menu is neatly written up on a white-board, headed ‘Nico’s Diet’ - which looks much like the eating plan of a very hungry, but very healthy, supermodel. He has all the basic home comforts, though. Inside, the decor is a little more primitive, with three separate barred cages.
On either side of the house, there are two heated verandahs, supported by tree trunks. Built in the late Seventiess, Nico’s centrally-heated home is made of brick and seasoned timber, with a tiled roof and pretty casement windows with white glazing bars. Nico has a gorilla house to himself that, from the outside anyway, could easily pass as a respectable country bolt-hole for many humans. And there are other days when he’s in a right foul mood, and I don’t risk it - I put his vitamins on the bars of his cage.’ There are days when he’s happy to take his vitamins from me straight into his mouth. Stately living: Nico's grand island home at Longleat includes a satellite dish for his television which he spends hours watching
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