Deaf Gorilla Kambuka Become A Mom

WATCH [CC] - Jacksonville Zoo officials helping Deaf Gorilla become a mom in Florida.

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The Jacksonville Zoo hopes its gorilla Kambuka will soon become a first-time mom. But Kambuka’s journey to motherhood has been complicated by the recent discovery that she’s Deaf.

Jacksonville Zoo veterinarian Dr. Yousuf Jafarey said there is often tension between Kambuka and the other gorillas because she doesn’t hear social cues. He said helping Kambuka overcome socialization problems within her gorilla family is an important step to having a baby.

“The challenge arises in that other females, they view Kambuka differently. We are concerned about if she does have a baby, how will the troupe handle that baby? How will she handle that baby?” he said.

Video Source - Nemours

Zoo official JJ Vitale recounted a recent scenario that helped keepers realize Kambuka had a hearing problem.

She said the zoo staff gave all the gorillas whole coconuts. The other gorillas took their coconuts and banged them on the wall to get them open, but Kambuka did not hear the banging noise, so she did not understand the need for a hard surface to open hers. She started dropping her coconut on her soft hammock, but over and over again it just bounced back into the air. Finally, when keepers were able to get her attention and point out the wall trick, she threw it against the wall, picked up the broken coconut, and enjoyed her sweet treat.

“It was great. But it just kinda goes to show the fact that she’s not going to pick up on these things that the rest of the troupe is doing, without occasionally needing a little bit of help from her keepers,” she said. “They are doing everything they can to make sure she fits into this group and is a productive member of it.”

Kambuka moved from the Zoo Miami to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in 2015 in order to begin the breeding process. Jafarey said she has had a hard time fitting in with the other gorillas since arriving at the Great Apes exhibit, and keepers began to notice that her behaviour was similar to a Deaf child.

To confirm the diagnosis, the zoo partnered with Nemours Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville. Pediatric audiologist Dr. Christine Cook and pediatric otologist Dr. Drew Horlbeck performed a hearing test on a sedated Kambuka.

“This is something that I do every day with my patients at Nemours but this was the chance of a lifetime in my opinion,” Cook said. “Walking up to her for the first time, it took my breath away.”

Kambuka is a critically endangered Western Lowland Gorilla. According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are less than 100 thousand of these gorillas left in the wild. The WWF said the Western Lowland population has decreased by 60 percent since the early 1990s due to poaching, disease and habitat loss. Even if all threats to gorillas were eliminated, it would still take nearly 75 years for them to recover.

SOURCE - WLRN

Guinness Pint Helps To Prevent Hearing Loss

The study found that the high levels of iron in the Irish drink can do wonders for our sense of hearing.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- A pint of Guinness a day can help prevent people from going Deaf, scientists believe.

The Black Stuff contains high levels of iron, which experts believe helps to ward off hearing loss.

Leafy green vegetables, brown rice and some types of meat are also thought to be of benefit, according to a major new study.

An examination of more than 300,000 people found a link between iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) and hearing loss.

Pennsylvania State University researchers found a lack of the mineral can cause sensorinerual hearing loss, or damage to the cochlea or nerve pathways.

Study author Kathleen Schieffer said: “An association exists between IDA in adults and hearing loss.

“The next steps are to better understand this correlation and whether promptly diagnosing and treating IDA may positively affect the overall health status of adults with hearing loss.”

A further analysis confirmed the increased odds of both forms of hearing loss among patients with IDA, the study published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery found.

Iron deficiency anaemia is a condition where a lack of iron in the body leads to a reduction in the number of red blood cells.

It is believed to be very common, especially among women.

Guinness was famously marketed as a healthy pint in the 1920s under the slogan, ‘Guinness is good for you’.

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In England, post operative patients used to be given a pint because of its high iron content.

In addition, it may also work as a low dose of aspirin to prevent heart attacks.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin made the discovery earlier this year.

The Wisconsin scientists gave Guinness to dogs who had narrowed arteries.

They found the Guinness worked as well as aspirin in preventing clots forming.

The researchers told a convention of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida, that a pint of Guinness taken at meal time had the best impact.

It is believed antioxidant compounds in the drink, similar to those found in certain fruits and vegetables, are responsible for the health benefits because they slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls.

SOURCE - The Irish Sun