Now I'm thoroughly confused. Isn't Jambo the other bald one( his brother)? I thought the main big group with eleven(?) females contained the two males Jomar and Flynn. Or have they done something else?
Twycross, Berlin, Leipzig, and Wuppertal all do. After that there's a lot of European with big ape houses/complexes including either chimps or bonobos, but struggling to think of others with both. However, to get four total that means no zoos at all in the rest of the world - I'd have thought there'd be at least one US zoo to add, if nothing else.
Is that the 'high-fiver'? I saw one of the cubs, then a year old, play with a kid on 1 May last year (2014) by putting his paw up against the kid's hand and moving it to match the kid. Others have seen this since (see 'playing with snow leopards' posting). Planning a Twycross visit soon - I'd miss my 'high-fiver' if he's gone to France!
I spotted yesterday that the planning application went in last week, so I think it's coming next year! Planning Docs
Flyn, Jambo and Jomar are in the big group with several females and they were trying to get Benji and Mongo into the same group.
Well that's good news. Hopefully it well get the go ahead and they can raise all the funding for it a.s.a.p. so they can get started.
I think you are right Benji was a fit healthy chimp before all of the moving when I saw the picture taken just before he died he looked as if he had given up this sounds horrible but perhaps this is what they are hoping will happen.
Yes it was a shame about Benji dying, it was three weeks ago tomorrow since he had a seizure. He was quite happy and fit when he lived in the old gorilla house before being moved into Joe's gorilla house where there are a lot of other male chimps living. Perhaps the stress of it all was too much for him resulting in him collapsing, he was 32, not a youngster but by no means an old man. How many casualties have there been at this zoo during this so called "intergration", I see Orange Person has reported that Jambo also has a cut on one of his legs.
Seriously? So you're suggesting they're moving all the chimps in together with the hope that the stress will kill a few of them? Sorry, I'm all for a contrary opinion on matters but your tunnel vision's coming across as paranoia.
I'm not against criticising Twycross (and I have some credulity issues with the currently announced plans and surrounding hyperbole) but it sometimes seems they can't win. They, rightly in my opinion, get criticised for holding the chimps in small groups and then get criticised if attempting to combine those groups has some sad knock-on effects. Realistically, and unfortunately, the "omlette-eggs" adage is applicable to the situation. Hopefully Benji will be the last casualty (if it is "move related) in which case I'd say the whole scheme was worth the risk and "cost".
Unfortunately, Animal Friendly was unable to express his sadness at the passing of Benji on zoo chat, as he had been reported to the powers that be resulting in him being banned off. He was very fond on Benji, not only his favourite chimp at this zoo, but also his favourite resident at Twycross. I am however pleased to say that I am on here today carrying on his good work.
It is now four years since this zoo commenced its intergration of chimpanzees. What has been achieved in this time?. Quite rightly the old chimp row no longer houses chimps, neither does the original old gorilla house, this houses Mara now I believe. Tommy and Danny now live in the Chimp Complex and have been living with a third chimp there now for some time, although separate from the main group that also reside there. All the rest are crammed into Joe's gorilla house, in both sides, a house that was originaly built in 1998 to house a small social group of gorillas on one side, and Joe in his pad on the other. I can think of at least three casualties during this time, if Benji died as a result of his move from the old gorilla house into Joe's former abode.
Whatever the c.o.d. for Benji, and 'seizure' does sound stress-related, moving some of these chimps into larger groups is bound to result in some minor injuries and possibly a more serious outcome for the odd individual also. I'm quite sure they don't wish to deliberately lose any chimps during these transfers, but they will be prepared for an occassional casualty.
IMO this is now their poorest Chimp display as the indoors of this 'Chimp colony' building looks old and bleak and with very small areas too. Indoors there are two males/three females as a group on one side, and the three males together on the other. I don't know if any attempts will be made to try and integrate them soon- or if they will wait until they have more space to do it i.e. in a new enclosure..
Perhaps it would have been better if Benji had just remained in the old gorilla house with his daughter and other female companions rather than put him into Joe's house where it was inevitable there would be conflict with other male chimps. It, just like the chimp complex, is old and dated but at least he would have been living stress free and possibly still been alive today. For the record, Benji was born at London Zoo in 1982, he was rejected by his mother so Molly Badham took him as a small infant and brought him up. He with, Mkundi, another Twycross chimp no longer alive, had a baby Tuli, he was a realy good looking chimp with a thick black coat of hair, and a real character.
My main memory of Benji is him sitting on a stump and Tuli sitting beneath juggling his testicles! Oh and his wave of recognition when his friends went to visit him.
I guess Tuli was probably the most recent Chimp to be born/reared at Twycross? The problem is until they try with mixing them, they can't know the outcomes. Sad that Benji has died(for whatever reason) but it could not be foreseen. A bit like the Gorilla 'Mamfe'- similar aged when he had heart failure, probably brought on by increased stress levels/excitement after the sudden arrival of two strange Gorillas, SamSam and Yinka, in Joe's old half of the same house.
