Taronga Zoo Chimpanzee Troop

While it offers little insight into her development, this article has some recent pictures of Cebele (now six months old):

We’re for Sydney | Daily Telegraph

Still no news from Taronga on the introductions. I'm guessing they're waiting for the new Sydney Zoo to open next year and work with the species coordinator to negotiate further exports (in addition to Hannah and Lani earlier this year) before any more integrations are attempted. There are clearly a few combinations at Taronga (mostly involving Koko) that are obviously never going to work any time soon, as well as the challenge of merging the adult males spread between the two groups.

Meanwhile this video of one of the young chimpanzees and some ducklings has gone viral:

Savage moment a chimpanzee kills seven ducklings with its bare hands in zoo | Daily Mail Online

Unsurprisingly, the ducklings don't make it out alive.

In my experience, this is the concept the majority of the public struggle with. 50 years ago, all apes were seen as terrifying beasts. Around 30 years ago, the public grew to learn about the gentle side of gorillas and change their perception of apes, and are therefore generally surprised to learn how savage chimpanzees can be (as part of their natural behaviour). The majority of people have quite mixed and confused perceptions as a result. And if you think they can differentiate between the nature of a gorilla vs the nature of a chimpanzee (and reconcile this with the concept that both species are apes), then lets not forget at least half the adults at any given zoo are still referring to these animals as monkeys.
 
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I think the public image of the chimpanzee is not helped at all by the use of young chimps in the media (television, movies, greeting cards) being portrayed as clown-like figures. People seem to like simplified ideas of animal natures; chimps are either clowns or violent monsters, and gorillas are 'gentle giants' (despite lethal gorilla-on-gorilla aggression occurring in the world), if they can differentiate between the species at all.

It's nice to see some recent pictures of Cebele, she looks like her mother. I will certainly be interested to hear how things develop for chimpanzees in the region with the opening of Sydney Zoo.
 
I can attest to human toddlers being just as violent with their interactions with ducklings and baby chicks... honestly, some people want to stay so sheltered as to reality... *sigh*

T.
 
If introductions of Ceres and Cebele to the main group were to take place, I don't know what Taronga's keepers could realistically do to guarantee the safety of the six month old infant. Surely there would be a high risk of injury from an attack occuring from one of the adults (male or female) upon their introduction to them.

It almost makes me wonder, unless a large export of chimpanzees in the main group (all adult males, aggressive or problematic females) occurs with the new Sydney Zoo opening up, if instead, Taronga will allow this small group to live alongside the main group and then introduce them when Cebele is around 5 or 6 years old and no longer so vulnerable. Of course, having the two groups isn't ideal as the dividing wall was only intended as a temporary means of separation to allow all chimpanzees full range of the large exhibit.
 
I would be extremely worried, and would expect a very long introduction process as has been the case so far. I have wondered if the intention was to allow Ceres to breed prior to the establishment of the full stable group.
 
marmolady said:
People seem to like simplified ideas of animal natures; chimps are either clow, and gorillas are 'gentle giants' (despite lethal gorilla-on-gorilla aggression occurring in the world), if they can differentiate between the species at all.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the 'Gentle Giants' myth for Gorillas is perpetuated almost everywhere, including by the zoos too, in just about every information board, guide book or literature. How gentle they are really and how the silverback protects his family etc. Nothing about how aggressive they can be to each other on occassion, or occasional infanticide, while in captivity silverbacks are usually real pigs over food too- they won't share with anybody else!
 
Obviously gorillas are much gentler than the previous 'King Kong' image, but reducing a species to a simple stereotype is unhelpful IMO. The world is far more shades of grey than black-and-white, and is more interesting for it.
 
World Chimpanzee Day/Taronga Zoo's Chimpanzee Community

Happy World Chimpanzee Day!

On 1 July 1960 a female Chimpanzee was born at Taronga Zoo. This female became known as Spitter, and was the first mother-raised infant at Taronga. Two weeks later a young English woman named Jane Goodall entered Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. Her discoveries there would revolutionise what the world understood about Chimpanzees.

This happy coincidence means that Spitter at 58, is not only one of the oldest verified Chimpanzees, but perhaps the oldest Chimpanzee still living in a Zoo. Spitter is a great-grandmother and as such still plays an important part in Taronga’s Chimpanzee community of 21 individuals.

Taronga’s Chimpanzee community has long been regarded as a benchmark in the Zoo community. Largely due to the way that they are managed. Our Chimpanzees exist in a multiple male, multiple female community 24/7. This replicates what Dr Jane Goodall observed in wild Chimpanzee communities all those years ago.

The success of Taronga’s Chimpanzee community is not solely the result of a multiple group. Here at Taronga we have a policy of minimal intervention, meaning we allow our group to self-manage. While of course we do influence parts of their lives, we do allow our Chimpanzees to work out Chimpanzee politics amongst themselves. We do this because of our understanding of Chimpanzee ecology, (as a result of the work of Dr Jane Goodall and others who followed her).

Chimpanzees often resolve issues through power (i.e. fighting). We acknowledge this and do not engage in keeper intervention. By allowing our Chimpanzees to self-manage, their disputes are settled quickly, our adult males feel empowered and our community displays a wide gamut of natural behaviours – many that are not seen in other Zoo communities, such as overhand clasp grooming and a variety of tool designs for termite dipping.

Chimpanzee communities have their own culture and Taronga’s Chimpanzee community is no exception. Overhand clasp grooming is only documented in three places in the world: Chimpanzee communities in the Eastern parts of Chimpanzee range in Africa; Yerkes Primate Centre in the US; and, Taronga Zoo.

Zoo husbandry is a constantly evolving profession and our management of Chimpanzees reflects that. When I first started working with chimps 25 years ago, we would separate males from females every evening, this was often an extremely lengthy and challenging experience for both Chimps and keepers. The reasoning for that was the globally accepted view that females needed protection from males overnight. We soon realised that this policy led to more intensive aggressive displays from the males the next morning, as individuals would strive to reassert their dominance. This led to a Taronga policy of keeping the Chimpanzees together 24/7.

A further evolution was the concept of leaving the Chimps with access to the outside habitats 24/7. This has resulted in a significant decrease in tension within the community.

However, it is not only the keepers that have evolved in regard to Taronga’s Chimpanzee community.

In 2015, in order to provide genetic diversity and enable Taronga’s community to continue to be successful for the next 50 to 100 years, new female Chimpanzees were moved from European zoos to Taronga. These new females did not display overhand clasp grooming and they were clueless in the art of termite dipping. We are happy to report that the new girls have embraced Taronga’s culture and exhibit these behaviours adeptly. We hope that they continue to grow and learn Taronga Chimpanzee culture.
 
I hear the entire community has now been integrated. Does anyone know anymore information? I.e. who is the alpha male? Is it still Lubutu or has he lost his status, due to being out of the main group for so long? I imagine the female hierachy has undergone quite a shake up with Kuma and then Shiba being the highest ranking females after Lubutu and Lani's removal (loss of status for Lisa) during the introduction phase.
 
marmolady said:
I’ve been given the impression Lubutu is still on top. I would think he would still have some influence in keeping Lisa in a high rank.
Click to expand...

No doubt Lisa is pleased to have him back then. I don't doubt Kuma enjoyed her moment as mother of the alpha male in his absence however and has been somewhat reluctant to relinquish this position. Hopefully we can look forward to more births within the community soon with Kuma and Naomi surely being priorities.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Biddy

Biddy was estimated to have been born 01/01/1950 in the wild. She arrived at Taronga Zoo 07/07/1954 and was sent to Singapore Zoo 08/09/1982.

Biddy gave birth eight times:

1) Jordie (30/03/1957) M (Sent to Sydney University 29/07/1969)

2) Spitter (01/07/1960) F (Still at Taronga Zoo)

3) Joanna (03/02/1966) F (Died at Taronga Zoo 15/08/1966)

4) Johno (04/07/1967) F (Died at Taronga Zoo 25/05/1969)

5) Unnamed (28/07/1971) F (Died at Taronga Zoo 30/07/1971)

6) Dennis (20/03/1973) M (Died at Taronga Zoo 12/07/1973)

7) Danny (22/07/1974) M (Sent to Hyderabad Zoo 16/10/1992)

8) Bianca (09/11/1979) F (Sent to Singapore Zoo 08/09/1982)
Click to expand...

A mystery solved?

As noted, Jordie (Biddy's son) was sent to Sydney University at the age of 12 years in 1969. Since I have no record of him dying at Taronga, I'd made the assumption he was living when he was sent to Sydney University. Obviously the chimpanzee didn't go there to study medicine, but I figured maybe he was sent there for animal behaviour studies.

Recently I was reading this article:

The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales on June 27, 1988 · Page 1

In the last year, Mary, matriarch of the Taronga Zoo chimpanzees, had become blind. She was missing out in the battle for food and was sticking nervously to the side of her youngest offspring, two-year-old Monty. But then Dr Jeff Smith, a veterinary eye specialist, had an idea. It was an idea that probably created a little surgical history yesterday afternoon. Since a chimpazee's eyes are so remarkably similiar to our own. Dr Smith reasoned, why shouldn't Mary be treated by one of Sydney's top human eye surgeons? Enter Dr Kim Frumar.

Dr Frumar, an ophthalmic surgeon, operates on his very unusual patient. Her eyes are just like yours ophthalmic surgeon who admits he has not operated on a chimpazee since medical school. To him, Mary's problems were routine shared with many in his North Shore waiting rooms. "It is probably the first rime in the world that any such operation has been carried out on a chimpanzee," Dr David Blyde, one of the zoo's veterinarians, said yesterday.

I looked up Dr Frumar, who passed away in 2016. According to online profiles, Dr Frumar studied at the University of Sydney; and an obituary noted he was born June 1950, making him 19 years old when Jordie died in 1969 (and therefore of university age).

I believe the chimpanzee he spoke about operating on in medical school was Jordie and that Jordie was deceased as:

A) Jordie never returned from Sydney University or appeared to go elsewhere.

B) Taronga Zoo surely wouldn't have trusted such an intricate operation on a living animal to students when there were more experienced people available.

C) Jordie was one of the first chimpanzees born at the zoo, and chimpanzee births in zoos were a rare event in those days. To build up their numbers, a lot of the earlier chimpanzees at Taronga were kept for breeding (Spitter -1960, Jojo - 1964), meaning it would have been unusual for them to have exported Jordie.

D) It's mentioned the eye operation on Mary is a world's first, yet the doctor mentions he 'operated' on a chimpanzee in medical school. Perhaps 'operated' was used here as a euphanism for 'experimented'?

In addition, deaths of chimpanzees were common during this time (through pneumonia etc.) and I note Jordie died in July (Sydney's coldest month). Maybe he died of pneumonia and was sent to Sydney University for medical students to experiment on.

Jordie was Biddy's first offspring and her second (Spitter) was noted as being the first mother raised chimpanzee at Taronga in article by Taronga Zoo earlier this year . If this is correct, this means Jordie was hand raised. His mother was young (only 7 years old), so this wouldn't be hard to imagine. A hand raised chimpanzee that was not within a community would presumably be more vulnerable to the cold (pneumonia etc.), than one that could benefit from the warmth of physical contact that a community could provide?

A lot of assumptions and speculation here of course, but possibly the answer to what happened to Jordie...
 
marmolady said:
Obviously gorillas are much gentler than the previous 'King Kong' image, but reducing a species to a simple stereotype is unhelpful IMO. The world is far more shades of grey than black-and-white, and is more interesting for it.
Click to expand...

I've noticed another misleading new trend in Gorilla info boards in the zoos- characterising the individuals and correlating their ages in human terms- so the(say) 14 year old female becomes a 'teenager'. She's not, she's a fully adult female.
 
Article on the Dynasties in the Taronga Zoo Chimpanzee Community (1989)

The article is below. My notes are in italics.

Source: The Age from Melbourne, Victoria - June 3, 1989 (Page 320)

The Age from Melbourne, Victoria on June 3, 1989 · Page 320

TARONGA GENERATIONS

DYNASTY ONE

Fifi: Born 1947. The highest-ranking female. Oldest member of troop, and head of most influential family. Keeper's comment: "The matriarch a stabilising influence on the group." Ficha: Born April 1981. Approaching sexual maturity. Playful (throws nuts to visitors). "Relies heavily on her mother: a sooky baby."

Fifi’s family at this time consisted only of her and her daughter, Ficha (who would give birth to Kuma two years later). Fifi’s status as the alpha female likely came from her being the eldest of the six founding females, combined with the fact her son Jo Jo was the alpha male for over a decade from 1975 to 1986. The fact Fifi was able to retain this alpha status, even after the export of her two adult sons in 1982 (Flint) and 1986 (Jo Jo), proves she was a powerful female. It’s clear where Kuma gets her toughness from.

DYNASTY TWO

Danny: Born July 1974. Dominant male. "A bit of a wimp. He's not natural leader material." Spitter: Born July 1960. Supports Danny. "Good at dishing out punishment, but not good at taking it." Sacha: Born June 1980. Strong personality, often initiates group activities. Friendly with Danny. "The ringleader of the adolescents." Sally: Born January 1985. Has protected infant status. "Likes playing with Snowy when she's brave enough to leave her mother." Gombe: Born December 1988. Infant in Spitter's arms.

Spitter took over as matriach of this family line, following the export of her mother Biddy in 1982. Spitter’s family is the only family group to date to produce two alpha males. Sally (exported to Wellington Zoo in 1992) is very similar to Spitter. She is an excellent mother, highly maternal and has a ferocious personality. Sally is currently the highest ranking female of Wellington Zoo’s group. It’s interesting to note Sacha’s change in personality from a strong, confident adolescent to a nervous, low ranking adult. No doubt her confidence came from being the relative of two alpha males during their respective reigns.

DYNASTY THREE

Melissa: Born January 1978. "Not a high-ranking female, but may well become so." Mervin: Born February 1982. Has now lost protected infant status, but cautiously self-assured. "Throws stones at other chimps, hair messy and knees and elbows grazed: a grotty little schoolboy." Montague: Born October 1985. Very friendly with Snowy. Watched over by Spitter since Mary's death. "Monte was the first chimp Spitter allowed to play with Gombe: she must trust him."

Melissa, Mervin and Monte were orphaned after the death of their mother, Mary, earlier in the year. Mary was one of the highest ranking females and was quite aggressive. Had she survived, I believe Melissa would have been a high ranking female also. Mary’s family were implicated in a number of deaths of infants. Mary attacked one of Lulu’s infants, leaving him so badly injured he had to be euthanised, as well as cannabilising the infant of another female (thought to be stillborn). Mervin killed four infants in 1989, leading to his isolation from the community (and eventual export in 1992). With the export of Melissa, Monte and Mali (Melissa’s son born 1991), the ‘M’ family no longer remains at Taronga Zoo.

DYNASTY FOUR

Bessie: Born 1950. One of the adults introduced to Snowy. "When her family members are threatened;', she's a force to be reckoned with." Chiki: Born July 1970. Uncertain of her own status. "She's scatterbrained: if she were human, she'd arrange to meet you somewhere at 3 o'clock then arrive at 6 o'clock and not apologise." Cara: Born September 1981. Teases and causes fights, and is often reprimanded. "An average member of a mediocre, middle-class family." Cheena: Born August 1985. Has protected infant status. Sometimes picked on by infants. "Food is the most important thing in her life."

Bessie suffered a number of infant deaths, stillbirths and miscarriages during her reproductive years, producing only two offspring to survive to adulthood – Chiki and Belle (exported 1986). Chiki was highly successful reproductively and offered some redemption to her family line.. Chiki was pregnant when this article was written with her third offspring (Chad). The ferocity of Bessie and the low ranking of Chiki is contrary to what I heard about them in later years, though I’d imagine with the death of her remaining family at Taronga and the onset of dementia, Bessie would have lost status significantly; while Chiki, at the time of her death at the age 31, would have risen substantially in ranking considering the continuation of her reproductive success and the loss of several higher ranking individuals (Mary and Suzie died, Ficha and Melissa were exported).

DYNASTY FIVE

Susie: Born 1948. Diabetic. Middle-ranking adult female. Vigorously solicits copulation. "Was one of the dominant females, but has never regained her status after being removed from the group for diabetes treatment." Sutu: Born December 1974. Often aloof. "Has her eye on higher position in the female hierarchy." Samantha: Born December 1983. Friendly to Snowy. A target for power plays by older juveniles. "Struggling to find her position in the group." Shona: Born October 1987. Infant. Shiba: Born May 1981. Was the first chimp to embrace Snowy, now his regular companion. "Attempts to dominate anyone younger, but otherwise fairly inconspicuous."

Susie’s family was relatively large at this time with two daughters – one (Sutu) with two offspring; the other (Shiba) pregnant with her first offspring. Susie was the most successful in terms of infant survival of the six founding females – she produced 9 offspring and all but one (a twin) survived to adulthood. Her daughter Shiba has a similar record (all but her first offspring have survived to date), as does her granddaughter, Samantha (all three of her offspring survived to adulthood). Susie, Shiba and Samantha have something else in common: all three of their dynasties were/are one of the largest or the largest in their respective communities and all three have shared the same ranking over the years – never the highest; never the lowest.

DYNASTY SIX

Lulu: Born 1952. Ex-circus performer. Powerful fighter. Fascinated by aircraft. "A small animal, but she packs a hell of a punch." Lisa: Born August 1979. One of the first to befriend Snowy, copulates with him. "A devoted sister, and well-liked member." Lewis: Born December, 1985. Has protected infant status. Very playful and acrobatic. "A future dominant male, he thinks."

While she was a founding female, Lulu arrived late in the community, compared to Fifi, Biddy, Bessie and Susie, who were there from the start. Her circus background meant she was very people oriented, but her fiery personality helped her hold her own. Lisa is pregnant with her first offspring (Lobo) in this article, though he was sired by Sonny (Susie’s son), before his untimely death. Lewis sadly died in adolescence. I believe he would have been a strong contender for the alpha role as the two older males (Snowy and Monte) both had no family support in the community; Lewis had Lulu.

DYNASTY SEVEN

Snowy: Born March 1983. Came to Taronga in November 1986. Heir-apparent to Danny. "When he first came, we didn't think all that much of him: now he's a bit of a favourite."

It seems unimaginable now that a juvenile of three years would be taken away from its mother and integrated into a new community like Snowy was done in 1986. The adult males, Danny and Sonny were removed, as was the adolescent Mervin; to avoid them killing Snowy. The females proved a challenge, with one of the adult females (described as an overprotective mother) almost ripping his arm off in one encounter and requiring Snowy to undergo surgery. After several years, Snowy was successfully integrated and while he died young in 1999 (aged 16), he sired several infants including Kuma, Lubutu and Sandali. Snowy was the son of Bebe at Wellington Zoo and an older brother of Boyd and Marty.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Bessie

Bessie was estimated to have been born 01/01/1950. She arrived at Taronga Zoo 21/12/1954.

Bessie gave birth nine times to ten offspring:

1) Unnamed (08/01/1962) M (Died 08/01/1962)

2) Unnamed (09/05/1963) M (Died 09/05/1963)

3) Unnamed (30/07/1964) M (Died 30/07/1964)

4) Unnamed (24/07/1965) F (Died 24/07/1965)

5) Betty (25/07/1967) F (Died 28/05/1969)

6) Chiki (06/07/1970) F (Died 18/04/2001)

7) Belle (18/09/1975) F (Sent to Jackson Zoo 16/10/1986)

8) Unnamed (01/11/1979) M (Died 01/11/1979)

9) Unnamed (03/11/1981) F (Died 03/11/1981)
9) Unnamed (03/11/1981) F (Died 03/11/1981)

Bessie died 11/01/2011 at Taronga Zoo.

Chiki gave birth five times:

1) Cara (10/09/1981) F (Sent to Wellington Zoo 24/04/1992)

2) Cheena (15/08/1985) F (Sent to Hyderabad Zoo 16/10/1992)

3) Chad (19/07/1989) M (Died 04/12/1989)

4) Chunga (13/03/1991) F (Sent to Taiping Zoo 30/07/1998)

5) Chimbuka (09/12/1995) M (Died 13/09/2011)

Belle gave birth two times:

1) Unnamed (08/08/1984) M (Died 08/08/1984)

2) Bartholomew (09/05/1986) M (Sent to Jackson Zoo 16/10/1986)


Additional notes/info:

Bessie has just one female descendant left in Australasia, her 35 year old grandaughter Cara, who lives at Wellington Zoo. Her family lined at Taronga Zoo ended with Chimbuka's death in 2011.
Click to expand...

Theory on Bessie’s lack of Reproductive Success

Bessie produced the second most offspring of any female chimpanzee in Taronga’s history, producing 10 infants between 1962 and 1981. Unfortunately, most of these infants were stillborn or died within hours of birth.

I’ve had a look over the data and I’ve come to one conclusion, albeit an obvious one: Bessie lost infants due to a biological/medical reason; as opposed to environmental i.e. trauma or pneumonia, which have been identified in research papers as leading causes of mortality in the Taronga chimpanzee community.

According to one of the online research papers, Bessie was sterilised after suffering repeated miscarriages and stillbirths; while another noted she had 14 recorded pregnancies.

Since we know from the records that she gave birth 9 times to 10 offspring (her last birth was twins), we know she had at least 5 miscarriages. These were probably quite late miscarriages as early miscarriages would have been difficult to pick up.

Of her 10 offspring, 7 died the day they were born, implying they were stillborn or died shortly after birth.

The strongest theory I have is that it was linked to Bessie’s blood type. To use an example, maybe Bessie was Rh negative? The majority of humans (85%) are Rh positive; but approximately 15% are Rh negative. Chimpanzee blood groups (and blood typing) are not identical to humans, but are very similar. I’d imagine the ratios of negative to positive blood types are similar (i.e. the majority of chimps are Rh positive).

If a female that is Rh negative has a baby, her infants can be:

If fathered by an Rh negative male: Rh negative; or,
If fathered by an Rh positive male: Rh negative OR Rh positive

From: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jmwh.12140

“Being Rh negative means that you do not have Rh proteins on your red blood cells. If your baby is Rh positive and you get a small amount of your baby’s blood into your circulation (bloodstream) when you are pregnant or when you give birth, your body can make antibodies that hurt and kill red blood cells that are Rh positive.

The most likely time that you would be exposed to your baby’s blood is when you give birth. This is why being Rh negative will not harm your baby during your first pregnancy. But in your next pregnancy, the antibodies that you made when you were exposed to Rh-positive blood at your first birth can cross the placenta and attack the Rh-positive red blood cells, if your next baby has Rh-positive blood. This is called Rh sensitization. Rh sensitization can cause fetal anemia (low iron in the blood), miscarriage, stillbirth, or a serious illness in the baby that is called hemolytic disease of the newborn. Fortunately, Rh sensitization is very rare because women who are Rh negative can get a shot that stops their body from making antibodies to Rh-positive blood.”

As noted, when an Rh negative mother has infants with an Rh positive male, the offspring can be either Rh negative or Rh positive. We could theorise that Bessie’s three offspring that survived more than a day (two of which survived to adulthood) were Rh negative; while the rest that were either stillborn or died the day they were born, were Rh positive and therefore suffered from the issues described above.

I don’t have a degree in haematology, so I’m the first to admit this theory has been detailed on a very basic level but I understand that Rh factor genotype (one gene from each parent) is detailed as

+/+ = Rh positive phenotype
+/- = Rh positive phenotype
-/- = Rh negative phenotype

Maybe a homozygous infant positive infant (+/+) would suffer the affects of Rh sensitisation on a greater level than a heterozygous infant (+/-) that also expressed the phenotype? This could offer a possible explanation to what is the bigest plot hole in this theory: if Bessie’s surviving offspring (Chiki and Belle) were Rh negative, then why weren’t they plagued with the same reproductive issues? It could be sheer luck that all their infants were Rh negative, but this is statistically unlikely (albeit possible).

Of course the explanation could be much simpler i.e. Bessie suffered from high blood pressure. Either way, the data points to a medical reason; not an environmental reason in my opinion. Probably a medical issue the veterinary team could diagnose and identify the solution to in an instant in today’s times.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Theory on Bessie’s lack of Reproductive Success

Bessie produced the second most offspring of any female chimpanzee in Taronga’s history, producing 10 infants between 1962 and 1981. Unfortunately, most of these infants were stillborn or died within hours of birth.

I’ve had a look over the data and I’ve come to one conclusion, albeit an obvious one: Bessie lost infants due to a biological/medical reason; as opposed to environmental i.e. trauma or pneumonia, which have been identified in research papers as leading causes of mortality in the Taronga chimpanzee community.

According to one of the online research papers, Bessie was sterilised after suffering repeated miscarriages and stillbirths; while another noted she had 14 recorded pregnancies.

Since we know from the records that she gave birth 9 times to 10 offspring (her last birth was twins), we know she had at least 5 miscarriages. These were probably quite late miscarriages as early miscarriages would have been difficult to pick up.

Of her 10 offspring, 7 died the day they were born, implying they were stillborn or died shortly after birth.

The strongest theory I have is that it was linked to Bessie’s blood type. To use an example, maybe Bessie was Rh negative? The majority of humans (85%) are Rh positive; but approximately 15% are Rh negative. Chimpanzee blood groups (and blood typing) are not identical to humans, but are very similar. I’d imagine the ratios of negative to positive blood types are similar (i.e. the majority of chimps are Rh positive).

If a female that is Rh negative has a baby, her infants can be:

If fathered by an Rh negative male: Rh negative; or,
If fathered by an Rh positive male: Rh negative OR Rh positive

From: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jmwh.12140

“Being Rh negative means that you do not have Rh proteins on your red blood cells. If your baby is Rh positive and you get a small amount of your baby’s blood into your circulation (bloodstream) when you are pregnant or when you give birth, your body can make antibodies that hurt and kill red blood cells that are Rh positive.

The most likely time that you would be exposed to your baby’s blood is when you give birth. This is why being Rh negative will not harm your baby during your first pregnancy. But in your next pregnancy, the antibodies that you made when you were exposed to Rh-positive blood at your first birth can cross the placenta and attack the Rh-positive red blood cells, if your next baby has Rh-positive blood. This is called Rh sensitization. Rh sensitization can cause fetal anemia (low iron in the blood), miscarriage, stillbirth, or a serious illness in the baby that is called hemolytic disease of the newborn. Fortunately, Rh sensitization is very rare because women who are Rh negative can get a shot that stops their body from making antibodies to Rh-positive blood.”

As noted, when an Rh negative mother has infants with an Rh positive male, the offspring can be either Rh negative or Rh positive. We could theorise that Bessie’s three offspring that survived more than a day (two of which survived to adulthood) were Rh negative; while the rest that were either stillborn or died the day they were born, were Rh positive and therefore suffered from the issues described above.

I don’t have a degree in haematology, so I’m the first to admit this theory has been detailed on a very basic level but I understand that Rh factor genotype (one gene from each parent) is detailed as

+/+ = Rh positive phenotype
+/- = Rh positive phenotype
-/- = Rh negative phenotype

Maybe a homozygous infant positive infant (+/+) would suffer the affects of Rh sensitisation on a greater level than a heterozygous infant (+/-) that also expressed the phenotype? This could offer a possible explanation to what is the bigest plot hole in this theory: if Bessie’s surviving offspring (Chiki and Belle) were Rh negative, then why weren’t they plagued with the same reproductive issues? It could be sheer luck that all their infants were Rh negative, but this is statistically unlikely (albeit possible).

Of course the explanation could be much simpler i.e. Bessie suffered from high blood pressure. Either way, the data points to a medical reason; not an environmental reason in my opinion. Probably a medical issue the veterinary team could diagnose and identify the solution to in an instant in today’s times.
Click to expand...

Whereabouts in her list of births, did Bessie's surviving offspring come? e.g.second and fifth etc.
 
Pertinax said:
Whereabouts in her list of births, did Bessie's surviving offspring come? e.g.second and fifth etc.
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Jambo said:
Bessie had 10 offspring from 1962 until 1981, and the last two of her children were twins. To answer your question, her two surviving offspring were her 6th and 7th born.
Click to expand...

For the purpose of the Rh theory, I also viewed the fifth offspring (Betty) as successful. While she didn’t survive to reproductive age (the true measure of success); her survival to the age of 22 months suggests her death was more likely due to an environmental factor i.e. trauma, pneumonia; than a biological cause, as I am proposing for the other seven infants which were stillborn/died within hours of birth.
 
On 7News tonight. Frala has given birth to a baby, earlier this month. Baby on display. Going tomorrow will put photos when get some. Also sex.
 
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