Chimpanzee Video Taronga Zoo have released a video of their chimpanzees fishing at the termite mound: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=553713801996957 There’s some decent shots of some of the younger members of the community. Fumo, aged six and a half, is getting huge; and Safiri, aged 12 months, has become very mobile in recent months. Shiba (1981) and Safiri (2019) at - 3:49 Cebele (2017) at - 3:42 Safiri (2019) at - 1:29 Cebele (2017) at - 1:14 Fumo at - 0:39
Safiri has grown up a lot. I hope there are more babies soon. Has the sire of Safiri been determined yet?
Not yet. My money is on Shikamoo, considering he sired Shiba’s last infant; and two of the adult males are her sons - mothers and sons usually avoid breeding with each other. With Kuma, Kamili and Sembe on contraception; it’s likely the next infants will come from sisters, Ceres and Naomi. Cebele will be almost weaned by now, with Ceres resuming cycling in the coming months; while Naomi is yet to produce her first infant.
Safari is one tomorrow. My money is also on Shikamoo, though it would be good to see Furahi as a dad. I wonder why Naomi hasn’t bred yet. Was she recently taken off contraception? When the three girls first arrived, she was quite the favourite, so i’m surprised she’s the final one to breed.
They seem to be restricting Kuma’s line lately - by putting her on contraception; while Shiba now has five offspring in the community. Most likely because Shiba is the daughter of a founder; whereas Kuma is second generation and a direct descendent from Fifi (the common ancestor of the community). Breeding Ceres with Samaki was clearly a conscious decision as he was the only reproductively capable male in the splinter group she was part of at the time. Naomi was put on contraception when she arrived in 2015 and remanined on contraception for at least the first two years. The reasoning was that they prefer to delay breeding females until their mid to late teens. I believe she’s been off contraception for some time now, so I’m not sure what the delay is. Taronga Zoo would never announce an unsuccessful birth so that’s a possibility (especially since nobody on ZooChat goes regularly enough to report a pregnancy); however it’s equally likely it’s just taking time - like it did with Soona (Monarto) and Sanda (Hamilton); or like it is with Galatea (Monarto).
I found an answer as to why Naomi hasn't successfully produced offspring. It will be covered on the zoo's TV show in the next episode. From their website: In the seventh episode of the season, we’ll take you back to the Taronga Wildlife Hospital and behind-the-scenes of a unique health check. Naomi, a female Chimpanzee at Taronga, has had trouble carrying her young to full-term, and after two unsuccessful pregnancies, our vet team and Chimpanzee keepers are looking to find out why. We’ve called on some reproductive experts to assist with the investigations in the hope that whatever is standing in the way of Naomi becoming a mum can be fixed. Taronga Documentary Episode 7 | Taronga Conservation Society Australia
It’ll be interesting to see what the problem is and if it’s something that can be fixed. In a world where reproductively healthy chimpanzees are put on contraception all their lives or even sterilised, this really demonstrates Taronga’s dedication to breeding from Naomi. The idea was the new five females from Europe (two from Denmark; two from Sweden; and one from Poland) would sustain the community for the next 50 years. With the cancellation of the import from Sweden (for reasons unknown); and the export of Hannah; it’d be sad to see their efforts reduced even further to just one breeding female - Ceres. Ceres and Naomi are sisters, so should be viewed as the same line; though at almost 30 years, Ceres’ reproductive years are limited compared to 19 year old Naomi. At least the recent spate of female births in the region could potentially provide a source of new genetics - Capri and Hope being the most valuable.
I’ve recently come across this blog site (not mine), which features a post on Taronga’s chimpanzees: Exploring the Chimpanzee Troop at the Taronga Zoo. It was especially interesting to hear about the different parenting styles of the females: “Shiba is a very protective mother and is very careful about who her offspring are allowed to interact with for a very long time. Although she tends to let her sons have more free range than her daughters. Sacha is protective however she seems to allow her offspring to interact and engage with others at an earlier age than Shiba. Her offspring appear more independent as a result. Kuma is very much a relaxed mother. Her offspring are off and exploring at a very early age and she’s not fussed about who they are with quite early on and as a result her sons are well entrenched in the groups community and have built bonds with everyone. Lisa is a combination. She is relaxed at times but can be fiercely protective. She was Lubutu’s mother and still maintains a high position in the hierarchy. She is an older chimp so very much goes with the flow with 5 year old Liwali however will fly to his defence if needed.” According to the keeper, my assumptions of Furahi and Samaki being the main contenders for the alpha role are correct. With Kuma’s backing, I’m predicting Furahi will be the new alpha - assuming he has the support of the females. It’s interesting to note that Naomi is now back on contraception, with the reason being the instability following Lubutu’s death. This suggests the keepers see Furahi as a very likely contender to the alpha role (and a potential threat to Naomi’s infant) vs Samaki, who was closely aligned with Lubutu.
Thanks to @WhistlingKite24 for providing this update on Naomi and the attempts to investigate her lack of success in producing viable offspring. As detailed, Naomi has had two pregnancies - both of which resulted in a stillborn infant (including one premature). Examinations showed there was no abnormalities in Naomi’s reproductive tract, yet the infants interestingly were both growth restricted. Possible Causes: The most common cause of fetal growth restriction is chronic hypertension (high blood pressure), which is linked to Type 2 diabetes. It’s possible Naomi has this, though I’d say it’s unlikely given her age. Also, this would be one of the easiest causes to identify and treat. Less common causes include an infection like Toxoplasmosis. These are not uncommon in zoos, but again would be easy to identify. We can also rule out Naomi’s nutrition/physical condition. She weighs 62kg, which compares favourably to other chimps in the region. For example, a study at Wellington Zoo recorded four of the prime aged females as weighing 48-60kg; and the males at 52-68kg. One possible cause is lung disease in the mother. I’d be interested to know if Naomi’s lung function was investigated; especially after Lubutu died unexpectedly/prematurely of lung failure last year. In 2018 and 2019, there was a significant increase in hazardous or very poor air quality days recorded in Sydney - with a record 81 days of poor air quality recorded last year.
Taronga Zoo have 20 Common chimpanzee in eight family groups (listed in approximate order of hierarchy) : 0.1 Kuma (1991) Snnowy x Ficha 1.0 Furahi (2003) Lubutu x Kuma 1.0 Fumo (2013) Shikamoo x Kuma 0.1 Shiba (1981) Jojo x Susie 1.0 Shabani (1994) Monte x Shiba 1.0 Samaki (2001) Lubutu x Shiba 0.1 Sembe (2008) Lubutu x Shiba 1.0 Sudi (2014) Shikamoo x Shiba 0.1 Safiri (2019) Unknown x Shiba 0.1 Lisa (1979) Jojo x Lulu 1.0 Liwali (2014) Samaki x Lisa 0.1 Spitter (1960) Sailor x Biddy 0.1 Sacha (1980) Jojo x Spitter 1.0 Shikamoo (2003) Lubutu x Sacha 1.0 Sule (2008) Lubutu x Sacha 0.1 Ceres (1990) Imported 2015 0.1 Cebele (2017) Samaki x Ceres 0.1 Naomi (2001) Imported 2015 0.1 Kamili (1995) Snowy x Koko 0.1 Shona (1987) Danny x Sutu
Chimpanzee Community Update Introduction: I’ve recently caught up with a good friend, who has been regularly visiting Taronga Zoo and has been able to provide me with some updates on the community. I will summarise and discuss this over a couple of posts - the first focussing on the males and their hierarchy. This information, combined with the info from Who’s Who in the Zoo (kindly relayed from @WhistlingKite24); and the Q&A linked in Post #588 are the first decent updates we’ve had on Taronga’s chimpanzee community in years. The Male Hierachy: Six months on from the death of Lubutu, the community is still no closer to finding an alpha male. Samaki has shown little interest in taking on an alpha role and doesn’t network prolifically like Lubutu used to. During Lubutu’s reign, Samaki supported him by placing peace keeper in the group - breaking up disputes. Samaki still does this when required and maintains a high ranking. He often spends time with his offspring - Liwali and Cebele. Furahi has shown ambition for the alpha role, but has very little support. Furahi is the most aggressive of the males and is feared by many of the females. At this stage, he’s only really liked by Kuma and Fumo. The others realise that Furahi would have a tyrannical style of leadership and are reluctant to allow him to become alpha. When Lubutu died, it was my initial assumption that Furahi would quickly assume the alpha role. However, his lack of popularity, combined with the fact he has not managed to seize the alpha role six months on, suggest it is unlikely to happen as things stand. Shabani and Sule are the lowest ranking of the five adult males. Shabani is not popular. He’s only liked by Shiba, Kamili, Ceres and Naomi; and the latter three are all low ranking females. Ceres and Naomi like Shabani because he doesn’t display like the other males. Sule has become something of a loner since adolescence, which surprised me as he was always such friendly, interactive juvenile. He spends most of his time alone, or with his immediate family. He shows little to no interest in the infants and doesn’t network. Shikamoo is currently showing the most promise for alpha. He networks extensively within the community and is well liked by several of the females - including Shiba and Kuma. Shikamoo suffered from digestive problems throughout early 2020, which apparently affected his ambition; but he appears to have recovered and now we might see a change. Shikamoo likes all the infants - but is especially close to his sons, Fumo and Sudi. He is to date the only adult male that’s shows interest in Safiri and is likely her sire based on these observations. Fumo is almost seven years old. He’s entered adolescence and is starting to enter the male hierarchy. He’s significantly larger than Sudi and Liwali, who are a year younger. Fumo is very interactive with the other members of the community and is fascinated with the infants - Cebele and Safiri. As a result, he has a lot of interactions with their mothers, Ceres and Shiba. While he’s not old enough to make a play for the alpha role, Fumo could be crucial in supporting one of the adult males as their right hand man. Conclusion: Fumo is closest to Furahi and Shikamoo, so my money is on an alliance between Furahi (alpha) and Fumo (beta); or Shikamoo (alpha) and Fumo (beta). Shikamoo is the most popular of the males amongst the females (including the high ranking females), which combined with his ambition and networking make him the most likely contender in my opinion. Shikamoo could arguably assume the alpha role on this alone, but support from Fumo would surely cement his position and/or get him there faster.
Chimpanzee Community Update The Female Hierachy: Shiba and Kuma are the two highest ranking females. They’re very evenly matched and it’s difficult to determine if one of them is higher ranking than the other. Shiba has five offspring in the community (the most of any female) and is popular within the community. As well as her family, Shiba has close friendships with Lisa, Sacha, Shikamoo and Kuma. She and Kuma often choose to rest next to each other in the afternoon, while they are napping. Kuma is not as popular as Shiba, but is respected due to her size and ferocity. She is the heaviest female, close to Samaki (the heaviest male) in size. Kuma often spends time with her two offspring; as well as Shiba and Shikamoo. Kuma is never afraid to challenge the males (she even used to challenge Lubutu); but is receptive to the attention Shikamoo lavishes upon her and genuinely seems to like him. The support of Shiba and Kuma could be critical to Shikamoo’s chances of assuming the alpha role in the near future. Lisa is third in the female hierarchy. Even before Lubutu’s death, Lisa had started to withdraw from networking within the community and this withdrawal has escalated over the last few months. Lisa still spends time with some of the others, including Shiba and Samaki; but at least half her time is spent up on the platforms with Liwali. Although Lisa’s status has dropped, she is still well respected within the community. Spitter and her daughter Sacha are fourth and fifth in the female hierarchy. Like Lisa, Spitter is respected due to her age and experience; though she has long given up the networking and politics she was so adept at in her prime. Spitter will turn 60 next month and is one of the oldest living chimpanzees in the world. Sacha still screams hysterically when upset by one of the others. She tugs on Spitter’s arm, trying to incite her support; but Spitter usually ignores her these days, rather than getting involved in the conflict. Despite her age, Spitter has remained very ingrained in the community and often has time for the infants. If Shikamoo assumes the alpha role, Sacha will likely rise in rank; though it’s unlikely she’ll overtake Shiba and Kuma. Ceres and Naomi are sixth and seventh in the female hierarchy - middle to low ranking. The two sisters have settled well into the community, but are still low ranking and will be for a number of years. Ceres is an excellent mother to Cebele; but is a small, lightly built female and struggles to defend herself against the others (especially with Cebele clinging to her). Ceres’ position became even more unstable following Lubutu’s death, as he used to offer her protection. Ceres receives a lot of support from Naomi, who is equally small; but powerfully built and ferocious in personality. Naomi isn’t afraid of confrontation and is one of the only females to display. She has a dislike for Kuma and won’t hesitate to back Ceres up if they are drawn into conflict with her. Kamili is the second lowest ranking female in the hierarchy. She receives little attention from the others in the community; with the males only showing interest when she has swellings. Kamili is the only member of her family line since the death of her mother last year. Given her inability to raise offspring in the community, Kamili’s status is unlikely to increase. Shona is the lowest ranking female in the hierarchy. She was close to Lubutu and appears to miss him. She often sits by his favourite spot near the waterfall. Shona spends most of her time alone, or following Shiba and her family. Shona is unable to have offspring, so like Kamili, will remain low ranking. The only adult female that is difficult to place in the hierarchy is Sembe. Sembe turned twelve this year and is now an adult. She appears unsure of her own ranking and is caught between functioning as an extension of her mother’s high ranking and forging her own place in the community. Socially, Sembe spends most of her time with Ceres and Naomi and will likely assume a position in the hierarchy similar to theirs. Sembe attracts little attention from the males. Her swellings are not yet as large as the prime aged females. Sule and Fumo show the most interest in Sembe. I will post a third and final update tomorrow on the infants and juveniles within the community.
Chimpanzee Community Update Juveniles and Infants: Fumo is the oldest of the juveniles - but at almost seven years is on the verge of adolescence. He has bulked up considerably in the last year and is showing interest in females - especially Sembe. He’s all but lost his white tuft. Fumo is fascinated with infants and spends a lot of time with Ceres and Cebele. Fumo is usually gentle with Cebele but sometimes gets too rough or hits her. Ceres will discipline him and if a conflict ensures, Kuma rushes to Fumo’s defence. It’s for this reason that Shiba was wary of allowing Fumo to interact with Safiri, as she’s reluctant to incur the wrath of Kuma for disciplining Fumo. She’s relaxed in recent months and allows Fumo to play with Safiri and carry her. Both Fumo and Sudi like to spend time with their father - Shikamoo. Fumo enjoys spending quiet time with him; while Sudi prefers rough and tumble play behaviour. Sudi is six years old this year and still a juvenile. He’s noticeably smaller than Fumo. Sudi is a troublemaker and likes to antagonise the adults by hitting them with sticks. When Safiri was born, Sudi became withdrawn and sulked. He spent a lot of time with Kuma and Fumo; and Lisa and Liwali. What’s interesting is that Sembe went through a similar depression when Sudi was born in 2014. It’s believed that because Shiba is such an attentive mother, her offspring resent the sudden drop in attention when a sibling is born. After a few months, Sudi came to accept his younger sibling and now enjoys playing with her. One of his favourite games is to pick her up and carry her off. Shiba allows him to do this to a point, then retrieves Safiri. Liwali is more reserved than Fumo and Sudi. He’s similar in size to Sudi, whose the same age, and enjoys rough housing with him. Aside from his mother, who he spends the majority of his time with; one of Liwali’s favourite playmates is Cebele. Liwali is gentle with Cebele. Liwali is exceptionally acrobatic. A previous juvenile in Taronga’s community noted for being highly acrobatic was Gombe (1988-2001). Interestingly Gombe was the alpha male when Liwali’s father (Samaki) was conceived - though his sire was the then adolescent Lubutu. Cebele is two and half years old. Cebele has a light build, like her mother. Taronga staff report that Cebele is small for her age, though this could just be her mother’s genes. Most of the infants born at Taronga since the mid 70’s descend directly from Fifi (a large female), so it’s reasonable to assume the infants in the Taronga community would inherit her genes for size and are therefore larger than average. Shiba and Kuma (granddaughters of Fifi) are both huge females; and Lisa (granddaughter of Fifi) is also above average. Safiri is 13 months old and catching up in size to Cebele. She rides jockey style on her mother’s back and has become increasingly mobile, climbing on the ropes. Sembe has shown mild interest in Safiri recently, which is encouraging as Sembe has shown very little maternal instinct to date. It’s an interesting observation that the last five males born at Taronga Zoo (Shikamoo, Sule, Fumo, Sudi and Liwali) all had/have a fascination for infants; while the females (Lani and Sembe) have been disinterested. All females are currently on contraception until the hierarchy becomes more settled. Hopefully when some stability has returned, they will welcome infants to Ceres, Kuma and Naomi in the coming years; and possibly Sembe, depending on whether the plan is for her to remain in the community long term.
Alpha Males of the Chimpanzee Community With the role of alpha male under contention within the community, I thought I’d review the previous alpha males of Taronga Zoo. They are (in order): 1. Bobby (1960-1975) 2. Jojo (1975-1986) 3. Danny (1986-1988; 1989-1991) 4. Sonny (1988-1989) 5. Snowy (1991-1999) 6. Gombe (1999-2001) 7. Lubutu (2001-2019) Bobby Born in the wild 01/01/1950 Arrived at Taronga Zoo 07/07/1954 Died at Taronga Zoo 08/07/1975 Duration as alpha: 1960-1975 (15 years) Age attained alpha status: 10 years Number of offspring: 37 Notable offspring: Jojo (born 1964 to Fifi), Chiki (born 1970 to Bessie), Mike (born 1973 to Mary), Danny (born 1974 to Biddy), Sutu (born 1974 to Susie) and Lucy (born 1975 to Lulu) Jojo Born at Taronga Zoo 18/09/1964 Sent to Jackson Zoo 16/10/1986 Duration as alpha: 1975-1986 (11 years) Age attained alpha status: 10 years Number of offspring: 24 Notable offspring: Sonny (born 1978 to Susie), Lisa (born 1979 to Lisa), Sacha (born 1980 to Spitter), Ficha (born 1981 to Fifi), Shiba (born 1981 to Susie), Cara (born 1981 to Chiki), Samantha (born 1983 to Sutu) and Sally (born 1985 to Spitter) Danny Born at Taronga Zoo 22/07/1974 Sent to Hyderabad Zoo 16/10/1992 Duration as alpha: 1986-1988 (2 years); 1989-1991(2 years) years) Age attained alpha status: 12 years; 15 years Number of offspring: 12 Notable offspring: Shona (born 1987 to Sutu) and Gombe (born 1988 to Spitter) Sonny Born at Taronga Zoo 24/02/1978 Died at Taronga Zoo 20/04/1989 Duration as alpha: 1988-1989 (1 year) Age attained alpha status: 10 years Number of offspring: 4 Notable offspring: Lobo (born 1989 to Lisa) Snowy Born at Wellington Zoo 07/03/1983 Arrived at Taronga Zoo 27/11/1986 Died at Taronga Zoo 15/07/1999 Duration as alpha: 1991-1999 (8 years) Age attained alpha status: 8 years Number of offspring: 13 Notable offspring: Kuma (born 1991 to Ficha), Lubutu (born 1993 to Lisa), Kamili (born 1995 to Koko) and Sandali (born 1996 to Sacha) Gombe Born at Taronga Zoo 25/12/1988 Died at Taronga Zoo 04/05/2001 Duration as alpha: 1999-2001 (2 years) Age attained alpha status: 10 years Number of offspring: 0 Notable offspring: N/A Lubutu Born at Taronga Zoo 05/06/1993 Died at Taronga Zoo 03/12/2019 Duration as alpha: 2001-2019 (18 years) Age attained alpha status: 8 years Number of offspring: 9 Notable offspring: Samaki (born 2001 to Shiba), Lani (born 2002 to Lisa), Furahi (born 2003 to Kuma), Shikamoo (born 2003 to Sacha), Sembe (born 2008 to Shiba) and Sule (born 2008 to Sacha) Additional notes/info: Of the seven alpha males, four became alpha at the age of ten years; and no male was older than fifteen years when assuming the role. This means that if any of the likely candidates assume the role - Samaki (18 years), Furahi (17 years) or Shikamoo (17 years), they will be the oldest male on record to be become alpha. Of the seven previous alpha males - only one (Sonny) actively challenged and seized the role from another male; Bobby was the only adolescent/adult male when the community was founded; and the other five males all assumed the role by virtue of being the oldest male in the community when the previous alpha was removed or died. This means the next alpha male will be only the second in the history of the community to defeat challenges from other males to assume the alpha position. Of the founding females - Biddy’s line has produced two alphas (Danny and Gombe); Fifi’s has produced one alpha (Jojo); Susie’s has produced one alpha (Sonny) and Lulu’s has produced one alpha (Lubutu). The next alpha will be from either Biddy, Fifi or Susie’s line. Paternity of infants was historically assigned to the alpha male at the time of conception. Paternity testing did not become routine within the region until the 1990’s. All surviving infants are now tested to ascertain paternity if there is any doubt. Paternity testing was additionally carried out on Lewis (born 1985), Gombe (born 1988) and Lobo (born 1989). Interestingly, all three of these infants were sired by the beta male at the time. For the sake of comparison, I have assigned Lubutu as the sire of the three non surviving infants conceived during his reign as alpha, whose paternity was undetermined.
Sure did. I'd say it's unlikely his record will be beaten for a few generations as it'd be unusual for a male to maintain his position into his thirties - and the current contenders are all in their late teens. Given that they appear to be following the wild social groupings of retaining sons, it's also unlikely a male as young as eight would again find himself in Lubutu's position to take the role. It's interesting how five of the seven alphas died young. I'm confident both Lubutu and Bobby would have retained their positions for at least another 3-5 years if they'd survived. Snowy's days as alpha were numbered from day one. He had no family support and became alpha by virtue of being the eldest male in the community. Danny, Sonny and Mervin were also removed to help facilitate his introduction. Snowy reportedly had poor social skills (likely due to being removed from his mother/community at age three), which meant the females disliked him as alpha.
Taronga Talks Podcast (Season 2 Episode 3) - Celebrating 60 - A Chimpanzee Special: A very interesting podcast about Taronga Zoo's chimp community marking Spitter's 60th birthday. The first portion (which is around 24 minutes) of the podcast was recorded in the chimp house and all the vocalisations/sounds are fascinating. The podcast also provides insight into the community's current routine and some historical anecdotes. Celebrating Sixty
Chimpanzee Pregnancy Kamili appears to be heavily pregnant. Her baby bump is highly noticeable, compared to her usual slim build. From the photos I was sent, I would estimate she is due around September. Kamili has previously given birth three times: 0.0.1 Unnamed (02/07/2005) Died at Taronga Zoo 02/07/2005 1.0 Unnamed (26/03/2013) Stillborn at Taronga Zoo 26/03/2013 1.0 Unnamed (29/06/2014) Died at Taronga Zoo 29/06/2014 Given that the information we were given recently was that Naomi was put back on contraception due to the instability of the community, I’d guess this pregnancy was unplanned. That said, Kamili turns 25 next month (born 02/09/95); and as the only member of her family left at Taronga, she really needs to breed sooner rather than later if she’s to have any family support in her old age. While it’s debatable whether female great apes can learn mothering skills past the critical learning period, one would hope Kamili has learned something from the recent string of births in the community and can be successful this time around.
