That's adorable. Does Sule show the same interest in Cebele and Safiri? Has Shabani ever sired any infants? Do the males have favourite females?
Somebody like @Osprey71 would know more than me; but I'd guess probably not re. Sule showing the same interest in Cebele and Safiri. Fumo was the first infant Sule had seen and was a novelty to him. As an eleven year old male, his focus now is more likely on who is in season. I'd be interested to know if Sule and Fumo still have a close friendship however. Shabani has not been confirmed as the sire of any infants; though paternity testing is not done on the infants that are stillborn or die in the first few days so it's possible he has sired at least one infant. He and Kamili have always been close so my bet would be on Shabani having sired at least one or two of her infants (all deceased). Last I heard, Lubutu is fond of Shona and Ceres; Shabani is fond of Kamili; Shikamoo is fond of Kuma; Furahi is fond of Lisa. According to Jane Goodall's research, males prefer older, high ranking females; while people on here have observed that the younger females (with the biggest swellings) attract the most attention. Kuma (a prime age, high ranking female) therefore must cause quite a stir!
Koko I’ve just found out Koko was euthanised in May this year after suffering from severe arthritis, which became unmanageable. Koko was the second eldest chimpanzee at Taronga Zoo after Spitter and was in her late fourties. She arrived at Melbourne Zoo as a juvenile in 1976 via Rotterdam Zoo and came to Taronga Zoo in 1993. Koko gave birth to five offspring at Taronga Zoo between 1994 and 2014; only one of which, Kamili (born 1995), survived infancy. Due to her hand raised background, Koko displayed some maladaptive social behaviour and from a management perspective, caused many issues in the community - especially for new or lower ranking females. Her presence in the community was both a blessing and a curse for her daughter Kamili, who is now the only remaining member of her family line; and will no doubt drop further in ranking as females like Ceres build up their families and rise in status. Koko was the most genetically valuable female in the community and I think it’s a great shame she was never more successful in raising offspring. Despite having an unpredictable relationship with infants (not least her own), it was surprising to see her form a bond with Fumo; especially considering Koko and Kuma used to be rivals. She was one of his favourite choices of playmate amongst the adults when he was an infant.
As mentioned by @WhistlingKite24 in the main Taronga news thread, Lubutu the alpha male has passed away due to lung failure. From the zoos Facebook: “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Lubutu, our alpha male Chimpanzee, who suddenly and unexpectedly passed away last week with his community around him. Preliminary tests indicate a sudden lung failure. Lubutu was 26 years of age and had been the dominant male in the Chimpanzee community for 18 years. He was a born a natural leader, he was kind, fair and playful. He was such a significant animal in our community and made quite the impression on both humans and chimps. As you can imagine our Chimpanzee group are currently mourning. This is also an extremely emotional time for all those who loved and cared for Lubutu, especially our Primate Team who shared a particularly special bond with him. The animals within our care at Taronga are like family and the loss of a family member can be a difficult time, that is why we would like to invite you to leave a message of condolence and support that can be shared with our Taronga community.”
This is really shocking news! Lubutu was just 26 and I don’t doubt his death came as a complete surprise to his keepers. How sad for them to lose a second adult from their community in seven months (Koko died in May - Post #545). Lubutu had the longest reign of any alpha male of the Chimpanzee troop at 18 years. The previous alpha males reigned for just two years (Gombe) and eight years (Snowy). The previous record holder was Bobby at 15 years (reigned 1960-1975). No doubt there will be an unsettled period to follow as Lisa adjusts to life in the community with just a five year old son in her family unit; and the males settle their disputes on who will take over the alpha role. Lubutu (1993-2019)
RIP Lubutu. He seemed like such a gentle soul. 26 seems so young when there are chimps in the troop that have lived to 60 (including his gran - Lulu).
Very unexpected news. My thoughts are with the Taronga team, and the chimps. RIP Lubutu 1993-2019 Photo courtesy of @Jabiru96
Correction: It’s noted that Susie’s two eldest offspring, Mary (born 1960) and Swappie (born 1962), were sent to Moscow Zoo in 1968. The notes I have available state they were sent to Moscow, and I filled in the blanks by assuming this meant the Moscow Zoo. As noted, Mary gave birth to Cassius (born at Natureland Zoo in 1971). With this in mind, it seems highly unlikely that she was sent to the Moscow Zoo and then reimported to Australia less than three years later. Upon doing some further research, I’ve learnt there was a circus called The Great Moscow Circus which was brought to Australia from Moscow in 1965. It’s my belief that these two Chimpanzee were sent there instead. I have no further information on what happened to Swappie; but it’s noted Mary was then sent to Natureland Zoo 01/01/1971, where she gave birth to Cassius 18/10/1971. She died at Natureland Zoo 01/11/1977.
Fate of Chiko: It’s noted that the fate of Fifi’s first offspring Chiko (born 23/05/1961) is unknown. While I have been unable to find any information on Chiko; I did discover that another Chimpanzee, Sadie, gave birth to a male infant (also named Chiko) less than a year later on 15/04/1962. This implies that Chiko (1961) was no longer at the zoo upon the birth of Chiko (1962), as it would have been confusing to have had two chimps with the same name. The logical assumption is that Chiko (1961) died in his first year of life and the named was reused. This was not an uncommon practice in zoos during the 20th century. For example, the name Sheba was reused on Susie’s daughter (albeit altered to Shiba) in 1981, three years after the death of Spitter’s infant of the same name in 1978. The other possibility (though in my mind this is less likely) is that Chiko (1961) was sold to a private collector or circus. This was the fate of three of Sadie’s four offspring (the fourth died the day it was born), which were exported at one day, 21 months and 24 months respectively. Chiko (1962) eventually ended up at Natureland Zoo, where he sired three infants (including Cassius); before dying of septicaemia 31/12/1976.
Do you have the names/DOBs of Sadie's offspring? I assume Sadie was imported? Did she die at Taronga or was she exported?
Sadie was imported in 1956 via San Diego Zoo: Sadie (F) Born in the wild 01/01/1951 Arrived at Taronga Zoo 07/11/1956 Sent to Unknown Circus 13/05/1976 Sadie gave birth to four offspring at Taronga Zoo: Charlie (M) Born at Taronga Zoo 22/07/1960 Sent to Private Collector 23/07/1960 Unnamed (U) Born at Taronga Zoo 31/05/1961 Died at Taronga Zoo 31/05/1961 Chiko (M) Born at Taronga Zoo 15/04/1962 Sent to Silver’s Circus and Zoo 08/01/1964 Rosie (F) Born at Taronga Zoo 04/10/1964 Sent to Private Collector 19/10/1966
Chimpanzee Community Update I was surprised to learn that Lubutu’s right hand man, Samaki, did not assume the alpha role immediately following Lubutu’s death and to date, neither have any of the other males. The community has been unsettled since Lubutu’s death and it will take time for the hierarchy to adjust accordingly. The females have reportedly been putting their support behind different males, which will add to the complexity of the situation. In my opinion, Samaki and Furahi are the two obvious candidates: Samaki had had a taste of authority and leadership alongside Lubutu for several years, and has enjoyed the benefits of this. He will also have the support of his high ranking mother, Shiba. However, it’s important to note that Samaki (unlike his older brother) has never made a play for the alpha role. He went straight into supporting Lubutu as his right hand man. Also, the fact there is division amongst the females (a month on) over who to support indicates he also doesn’t have a majority backing, as the role was essentially his to take. Even prior to Lubutu’s death, Furahi was a high ranking male (second only to the Lubutu/Samaki alliance). He will have the support of his mother, Kuma, who is the one of the highest ranking females (if not, the highest). Lisa (another high ranking female) has always had a fondness for Furahi; and it’s probable her previous support of Samaki was only incidental to the support of his alliance with her son.
At the moment with the hierarchy situation being pretty muddled, none of the chimps will have clear rankings ect. But, once things are sorted out, I would say it’s almost certain that her ranking will drop. She’ll probably be still higher than Shona and Naomi (neither have infants), and Ceres; but I think Shiba, Sacha and Kuma will all overtake her.
I agree. Ultimately I think Lisa's place in the hierarchy will be behind Shiba and Kuma; but ahead of Shona, Kamili, Ceres, Naomi and Sembe. In terms of offspring, Lisa is in a stronger position than all five of these females as her five year old son is only a few years away from entering the hierarchy, whereas they either have no offspring; or in Ceres' case, a daughter. It's also worth noting that a female's status is increased/assisted by the presence of adult male offspring, but it's not the be all and end all. Sally (the alpha female at Wellington Zoo) has been high ranking for many years, despite never having a son survive to adulthood. Sally is social and maternal. She's very much like her mother, Spitter, who was a high ranking female in her prime; and these traits have helped her go far. In contrast, Samantha, who is not so social (like the rest of her family line) dropped in status rapidly when her son (the beta male) died. Fifi was another example of a female who maintained her high ranking, even after the removal (export) of her offspring (one of which was the alpha male).
Interesting article re. Kuma and Fumo: https://www.smh.com.au/environment/...taronga-zoo-health-check-20200312-p549fu.html During a routine medical check-up, Taronga Zoo's senior veterinarian Larry Vogelnest took blood from his patient, gave him vaccinations and conducted a physical exam. The patient was a cheeky six-year-old chimpanzee named Fumo, who was born at the zoo. The chimpanzees, which are considered one of the most dangerous animals at the zoo, undergo a health check every 18 months. This week, Kuma, 28, and Fumo, her son, were sedated and taken to the zoo's animal hospital for a check-up. It's remarkably similar to the check-ups that humans undergo. To minimise risk to the staff in case the chimpanzees unexpectedly wake up, they're fitted with secondary restraints as an extra precaution, thick chains and belts around their ankles. Even for regular procedures like this, experience and knowledge make everything run smoothly and, having worked at the zoo for 30 years, Dr Vogelnest has been there when things didn't quite go to plan. He described a moment from about 15 years ago when a chimpanzee woke up during a medical procedure. The animal sat up, looked around and, to the relief of the vets and keepers in the room, fell back to sleep. "I think out of all the great apes they're probably, to me anyway, the most human-like because they have all those sorts of [traits such as] caring, compassion, aggression, craziness, politics that they follow, that people have. So they're just fascinating animals like that," Dr Vogelnest said. The primates are so close to humans the same contraception methods are used on them. Kuma was fitted with a new contraceptive implant, the same kind that's used by doctors for their human patients, in her upper left arm. The good news is that both chimps passed the health check and are fine. The biggest concern for the animals is the group dynamics that acting primate unit supervisor Laura Fidler says are "critically important". “They've got multi-male, multi-female, they're very much like a wild group and that means that they're political, they're strategic, they can be aggressive, they can be playful, caring, everything that you'd see across the whole range of behaviours," she said. Following the procedures at the zoo, Kuma and Fumo spent the night together apart from the others. They were reintroduced to their enclosure the next day. This can be a challenging time, Ms Fidler said, as animals see an opportunity to start to assert their dominance and a power play over hierarchy can begin. It's trickier to reintroduce a very low-ranking animal to the group than a very dominant animal, Dr Vogelnest said. "The dominant animal will just go in there, whereas a low ranking animal usually gets picked on." Kuma, who weighs 89.3 kilograms, is a highly ranked female and the keepers aren't concerned about her reintroduction. "She's a very large female and, you know, in size and personality, so nobody really wants to mess with Kumar because you get in trouble if you do." And Fumo gets his mother's protection, so there's no trouble for him either. ~~~~~ It’s interesting to know that Kuma has been fitted with a new contraceptive implant. This suggests that TZ have no plans in the meantime for Kuma to breed. She currently had two sons; Furahi (M) B 28/02/2003 Lubutu x Kuma Fumo (M) B 09/10/2013 Shikamoo x Kuma Kuma is currently 28, and this implant should last until she is 32 (2023). My assumption would be that from here, she will be allowed to breed once more. By the time this infant is weaned, Kuma will be about 36/37 (depending on how long it takes her to fall pregnant), of which she will be approaching menopause.
That's a shame Kuma won't be breeding in the near future. There was a decade between Furahi and Fumo; and it looks like they'll be a similar age gap between Fumo and her next infant. It's likely because Kuma's uncle (Jojo) sired many of the adult females in the region (including Lisa, Sacha, Shiba, Ficha, Cara, Samantha and Sally) so most of the chimps are therefore direct descendants of Fifi's line. I knew Kuma was a large female, but 89kg! For comparison, here are the weights of some of Wellington's females (from a 2006 research paper): Cara (then aged 25) = 53kg Samantha (then aged 23) = 57kg Sally (then aged 21) = 60kg Chima (then aged 12) = 48kg The largest male (Sam) was then 77kg; with the others adolescent/adult males (Boyd, Marty, Gombe and Temba) ranging from 52-68kg.
