Charlie died during introductions and Luis died during a general health check under anaesthetic.
Australasian Common Chimpanzee Population
- Thread starter Zoofan15
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Charlie died during introductions and Luis died during a general health check under anaesthetic.
Thank you for that information.
It’s sad to hear Mr Muggins was euthanised, but there would have been few alternatives given he was an adolescent male chimpanzee that’d been handraised from 18 months of age.
That’s also a shame Charlie died during introductions to Luis and Holly. I’ll admit I was surprised to hear the introduction of two adult males was attempted in the first place - though it has been successfully done at Monarto (in the absence of females).
Coco (Samantha's mother)
Whilst we don't know much, I've contacted Rockhampton directly and they advised me that both of Samantha's parents (Charlie and Coco) were wildborn.
Coco apparently initially made her way to Taronga prior to her transfer to Dunedin Zoo.
After some quick research, I came across an article mentioning a chimp named 'Koko' at Taronga in the 50's: In the mid 1950s, a former circus-performing chimpanzee named Koko escaped her enclosure in the mid 1950s and clambered into an office manager’s car, from where she was easily subdued with chloroform and returned to her cage.
It would make sense if she was wild born and initially came from a circus, but it would then mean she would've been quite old at the time Samantha was born in 1983 (at least in her mid to late 30's).
Charlie was apparently moved to Dunedin in the late 70's, joining Coco there. They had Samantha in 1983 before moving to Willowbank in 1985 where Coco later gave birth to a son, Milo, in 1988. Coco and Milo both died in the early 90's.
Whilst we don't know much, I've contacted Rockhampton directly and they advised me that both of Samantha's parents (Charlie and Coco) were wildborn.
Coco apparently initially made her way to Taronga prior to her transfer to Dunedin Zoo.
After some quick research, I came across an article mentioning a chimp named 'Koko' at Taronga in the 50's: In the mid 1950s, a former circus-performing chimpanzee named Koko escaped her enclosure in the mid 1950s and clambered into an office manager’s car, from where she was easily subdued with chloroform and returned to her cage.
It would make sense if she was wild born and initially came from a circus, but it would then mean she would've been quite old at the time Samantha was born in 1983 (at least in her mid to late 30's).
Charlie was apparently moved to Dunedin in the late 70's, joining Coco there. They had Samantha in 1983 before moving to Willowbank in 1985 where Coco later gave birth to a son, Milo, in 1988. Coco and Milo both died in the early 90's.
Thank you for following that up.
The theory Coco may have been Lulu’s daughter (dated 2004) was accompanied by a notation that Samantha would be genetically tested to confirm Coco’s history upon import into Australia. Clearly this was done and confirmed Coco was wild born. Sadly, it looks like Samantha will be the end of this line.
The records I have for Coco are as follows:
0.1 Coco
Born 01/01/1969 in the wild
Arrived at Dunedin 01/01/1980
Arrived at Willowbank 01/01/1985
Died at Willowbank 31/07/1990
That leaves 11 years to account for - in which she apparently spent time at Taronga Zoo, which I have no record of; but has been verified by multiple older members of the forum, including those in the industry.
Taronga imported several wild born chimpanzees - some of the last of which (Lulu, Mary and Butch) were imported through Mervin King (circus owner), arriving at Taronga in 1964 and 1965. It appears Coco had a similar entry into the regional population.
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The records for both Charlie and Coco are so poor and so many different stories have been discussed through the years it’s hard to know what to believe. What I do know from speaking with the founder of Willowbank many years ago was that Coco was transferred from taronga to Dunedin botanical gardens and zoo to be paired with Charlie when he was rescued from the circus. There are no records stating cocos birth location so it is still unknown whether she was born at Taronga or wild born and transferred through Taronga. Both Charlie and coco had the same birth date written down 1/1/1969 as their birth dates were unknown.
They were transferred along with Samantha to Willowbank in 1985.
Milo was born 9/12/1988.
Coco died 31/7/1990
Milo died 25/9/1996 at 7y 9m old.
And then Samantha and Charlie transferred to Mogo at the end of 2010.
Just thought I would do some further digging and turns out that the other two chimps, Buddy and Sonny were transferred to Chimfunshi in the early 2000’s. Would be interesting to know if they are still around. Sounds like the two ridgeway brothers had differing opinions on the treatment of chimps with Cary Ridgeway opposed to animals in circuses.
Chimpanzee rescue - SAFE Animals&Us
It would make sense if Coco did in fact come from a circus background - with her origins being unknown.
If she was in fact the same Coco that was there in the 50's, her death in 1990 would fit as she would've been in her 40's. Her giving birth at an older age wouldn't also be out of question, as we've recently seen Lisa successfully deliver an offspring at the age of 43.
It's interesting that there was absolutely no record of her at Taronga, as she was even at Taronga right up until their move to the current exhibit in 1980. Maybe she was listed under another name? Is there a female that disappeared out of Taronga sometime around then?
Yes, I found some information on the two brothers, see post #277.
Aside from *the* Koko (mother of Kamili), I only have records of this Koko living at Taronga:
0.1 Koko
Born in the wild 01/01/1952 (Assumed/Unknown)
Arrived at Cells Brothers Circus 01/01/1952
Sent to Taronga Zoo 09/12/1966
Died at Taronga Zoo 26/10/1972
This female produced no offspring at Taronga Zoo.
I’m wondering if this female is the “Escape Koko” and the articles were wrong when they said she escaped in the 50’s. Are there any accounts of this escape actually from the 50’s? I can only find recent sources (the last decade) which may be out by a decade when they say the escape happened in the 50’s - since this Koko arrived in the mid-60’s (1966).
The other possibility is whether Taronga had visiting circus performing animals on site (some zoos did this) and this Koko escaped in the 50’s when she was visiting as a performer with her circus.
If not, that means there could have been up to four Coco/Koko’s at Taronga: Coco (Willowbank), Koko (50’s escape), Koko (arrived 1966) and Koko (Kamili)!
@Primatologist may be able to clarify.
I haven't found much to prove the escapee Coco did indeed escape in the 50's. Searching through newspaper archives dosen't mention anything relevant from around that time besides an orangutan escape.Aside from *the* Koko (mother of Kamili), I only have records of this Koko living at Taronga:
0.1 Koko
Born in the wild 01/01/1952 (Assumed/Unknown)
Arrived at Cells Brothers Circus 01/01/1952
Sent to Taronga Zoo 09/12/1966
Died at Taronga Zoo 26/10/1972
This female produced no offspring at Taronga Zoo.
I’m wondering if this female is the “Escape Koko” and the articles were wrong when they said she escaped in the 50’s. Are there any accounts of this escape actually from the 50’s? I can only find recent sources (the last decade) which may be out by a decade when they say the escape happened in the 50’s - since this Koko arrived in the mid-60’s (1966).
The other possibility is whether Taronga had visiting circus performing animals on site (some zoos did this) and this Koko escaped in the 50’s when she was visiting as a performer with her circus.
If not, that means there could have been up to four Coco/Koko’s at Taronga: Coco (Willowbank), Koko (50’s escape), Koko (arrived 1966) and Koko (Kamili)!
@Primatologist may be able to clarify.
Considering multiple reports over the years claim 'Koko' escaped in the 50's; it's possible she did, but this may have evaded reporting if she was in fact a circus chimp only living there temporarily as you said. Otherwise it wouldn't make much sense to have two Koko's at the same time.
I think it would be safe to say that that Koko is unlikely to be Samantha’s mother based on the estimated birthdate timeframe as that would place her 15-20 years older than she was.
Founders of the Australasian Population
Introduction:
I thought it would be interesting to total up the number of founders of the regional population. The total is 30 chimpanzees.
For the purpose of this exercise, only living founders or deceased founders with living descendants are counted; imported relatives are counted as individual founders; and living non viable founders (e.g. castrated males) are omitted if they have no known offspring.
A follow up post will detail number of descendants per founder.
—————————————
Deceased Founders:
There are 5.13 deceased founders:
As with many captive great ape populations, many of the early founders are heavily represented - with alpha males such as Bobby (Taronga) and Tom (Wellington) known or suspected to have sired most of the infants born during their tenure.
Yoka and Fifi are in turn well represented through their descendants - particularly through Jojo (son of Fifi) and Snowy (grandson of Yoka).
—————————————
Living Founders:
There are 1.5 living founders:
This list demonstrates the challenges of introducing male founders to the regional population, with this being a female dispersal species.
By virtue of being a young alpha with no competition, Alon will likely sire several more infants; while the females have all had 1-3 offspring (with Ceres currently pregnant).
—————————————
Living Unrepresented Founders:
There are 1.5 living unrepresented founders:
I hesitated to include Sydney’s chimpanzees as there’s been no indication they plan to breed. Potentially, they may receive males from within the region to breed with their females when Fritz (their remaining intact male) dies.
Galatea has produced one non surviving infant to date. She is currently off contraception and will hopefully experience success in the future.
—————————————
Introduction:
I thought it would be interesting to total up the number of founders of the regional population. The total is 30 chimpanzees.
For the purpose of this exercise, only living founders or deceased founders with living descendants are counted; imported relatives are counted as individual founders; and living non viable founders (e.g. castrated males) are omitted if they have no known offspring.
A follow up post will detail number of descendants per founder.
—————————————
Deceased Founders:
There are 5.13 deceased founders:
1.0 Sailor (1936-1966) Taronga/Melbourne
0.1 Fifi (1947-2007) Taronga
0.1 Susie (1948-1995) Taronga
1.0 Tom (1950-1990) Wellington
1.0 Bobby (1950-1975) Taronga
0.1 Bessie (1950-2011) Taronga
0.1 Biddy (1950-1989) Taronga
1.0 Peter (1953-1994) Adelaide
0.1 Yoka (1953-1979) Wellington
0.1 Molly (1953-1981) Wellington/Melbourne
0.1 Mary (1956-1989) Taronga
0.1 Sarah (1959-1985) Wellington
0.1 Lulu (1960-2014) Taronga
0.1 Sadie (1951-1980) Taronga
0.1 Fimi (1965-2012) Adelaide/Hamilton
1.0 Charlie (1969-2010 Willowbank/Mogo
0.1 Coco (1969-1990) Taronga/Willowbank
0.1 Koko (1972-2019) Melbourne/Taronga
0.1 Fifi (1947-2007) Taronga
0.1 Susie (1948-1995) Taronga
1.0 Tom (1950-1990) Wellington
1.0 Bobby (1950-1975) Taronga
0.1 Bessie (1950-2011) Taronga
0.1 Biddy (1950-1989) Taronga
1.0 Peter (1953-1994) Adelaide
0.1 Yoka (1953-1979) Wellington
0.1 Molly (1953-1981) Wellington/Melbourne
0.1 Mary (1956-1989) Taronga
0.1 Sarah (1959-1985) Wellington
0.1 Lulu (1960-2014) Taronga
0.1 Sadie (1951-1980) Taronga
0.1 Fimi (1965-2012) Adelaide/Hamilton
1.0 Charlie (1969-2010 Willowbank/Mogo
0.1 Coco (1969-1990) Taronga/Willowbank
0.1 Koko (1972-2019) Melbourne/Taronga
As with many captive great ape populations, many of the early founders are heavily represented - with alpha males such as Bobby (Taronga) and Tom (Wellington) known or suspected to have sired most of the infants born during their tenure.
Yoka and Fifi are in turn well represented through their descendants - particularly through Jojo (son of Fifi) and Snowy (grandson of Yoka).
—————————————
Living Founders:
There are 1.5 living founders:
0.1 Ceres (1990 -) Taronga
0.1 Hannah (1993 -) Taronga/Monarto
0.1 Zombi (1993 -) Monarto
0.1 Leakey (1993 -) Rockhampton
0.1 Naomi (2001 -) Taronga
1.0 Alon (2008 -) Rockhampton
*Ceres and Naomi are full sisters
0.1 Hannah (1993 -) Taronga/Monarto
0.1 Zombi (1993 -) Monarto
0.1 Leakey (1993 -) Rockhampton
0.1 Naomi (2001 -) Taronga
1.0 Alon (2008 -) Rockhampton
*Ceres and Naomi are full sisters
This list demonstrates the challenges of introducing male founders to the regional population, with this being a female dispersal species.
By virtue of being a young alpha with no competition, Alon will likely sire several more infants; while the females have all had 1-3 offspring (with Ceres currently pregnant).
—————————————
Living Unrepresented Founders:
There are 1.5 living unrepresented founders:
1.0 Fritz (1982-) Sydney
0.1 Babsi (1984-) Sydney
0.1 Julchen (1985-) Sydney
0.1 Galatea (1999-) Monarto
0.1 Mary (2002-) Sydney
0.1 Sile (2006-) Sydney
*Julchen and Sile are mother and daughter
0.1 Babsi (1984-) Sydney
0.1 Julchen (1985-) Sydney
0.1 Galatea (1999-) Monarto
0.1 Mary (2002-) Sydney
0.1 Sile (2006-) Sydney
*Julchen and Sile are mother and daughter
I hesitated to include Sydney’s chimpanzees as there’s been no indication they plan to breed. Potentially, they may receive males from within the region to breed with their females when Fritz (their remaining intact male) dies.
Galatea has produced one non surviving infant to date. She is currently off contraception and will hopefully experience success in the future.
—————————————
Founders of the Australasian Region (Part 2)
I have listed the founders in order of the number of descendants they each have, which gives some indication of which lines should be prioritised in future breeding decisions; as well as four lines which are likely to die out.
Deceased Founders:
1.0 Bobby (1950-1975) Taronga 37-39
0.1 Fifi (1947-2007) Taronga 30-32
1.0 Tom (1950-1990) Wellington 28-31
0.1 Yoka (1953-1979) Wellington 25-28
0.1 Lulu (1960-2014) Taronga 19
1.0 Sailor (1936-1966) Taronga/Melbourne 13-16
0.1 Biddy (1950-1989) Taronga 14-17
0.1 Susie (1948-1995) Taronga 13-14
1.0 Peter (1953-1994) Adelaide 4-6
0.1 Fimi (1965-2012) Adelaide/Hamilton 4-6
0.1 Mary (1956-1989) Taronga 5
0.1 Bessie (1950-2011) Taronga 3
0.1 Sarah (1959-1985) Wellington 3
0.1 Molly (1953-1981) Wellington/Melbourne 1
0.1 Sadie (1951-1980) Taronga 1
1.0 Charlie (1969-2010 Willowbank/Mogo 1
0.1 Coco (1969-1990) Taronga/Willowbank 1
0.1 Koko (1972-2019) Melbourne/Taronga 1
Living Founders:
1.0 Alon (2008 -) Rockhampton 3
0.1 Zombi (1993 -) Monarto 3
0.1 Hannah (1993 -) Taronga/Monarto 2
0.1 Leakey (1993 -) Rockhampton 2
0.1 Ceres (1990 -) Taronga 1
0.1 Naomi (2001 -) Taronga 1
1.0 Fritz (1982-) Sydney 0
0.1 Babsi (1984-) Sydney 0
0.1 Julchen (1985-) Sydney 0
0.1 Galatea (1999-) Monarto 0
0.1 Mary (2002-) Sydney 0
0.1 Sile (2006-) Sydney 0
I have listed the founders in order of the number of descendants they each have, which gives some indication of which lines should be prioritised in future breeding decisions; as well as four lines which are likely to die out.
Deceased Founders:
1.0 Bobby (1950-1975) Taronga 37-39
0.1 Fifi (1947-2007) Taronga 30-32
1.0 Tom (1950-1990) Wellington 28-31
0.1 Yoka (1953-1979) Wellington 25-28
0.1 Lulu (1960-2014) Taronga 19
1.0 Sailor (1936-1966) Taronga/Melbourne 13-16
0.1 Biddy (1950-1989) Taronga 14-17
0.1 Susie (1948-1995) Taronga 13-14
1.0 Peter (1953-1994) Adelaide 4-6
0.1 Fimi (1965-2012) Adelaide/Hamilton 4-6
0.1 Mary (1956-1989) Taronga 5
0.1 Bessie (1950-2011) Taronga 3
0.1 Sarah (1959-1985) Wellington 3
0.1 Molly (1953-1981) Wellington/Melbourne 1
0.1 Sadie (1951-1980) Taronga 1
1.0 Charlie (1969-2010 Willowbank/Mogo 1
0.1 Coco (1969-1990) Taronga/Willowbank 1
0.1 Koko (1972-2019) Melbourne/Taronga 1
Bobby, Fifi, Tom and Yoka reign supreme and given how widespread their family lines are, this is unlikely to change.
Lulu is well represented and with eight of Taronga’s nine males among her descendants, I don’t see this changing. She also has five reproductive aged descendants at Hamilton and Monarto.
Bar Biddy’s sterilised grandaughter, her and Sailor share representation through their daughter Spitter. Spitter’s grandsons have been successful in siring infants at Taronga and Monarto - with another three potential infants to be added to this line once paternity is confirmed.
Susie has a decent representation through her daughters, Shiba and Sutu. Representation will likely come mainly from her female descendants in the near future, with Shikamoo and Sule likely to outcompete Shiba’s sons in siring infants at Taronga for the forseable.
Peter and Fimi share descendants via their son and daughter. An additional two infants could be added to their line once paternity of Monarto’s youngest infants is confirmed. Their three confirmed grandaughters will surely ensure the continuation of this line.
Mary has five descendants - including three grandsons and two great grandaughters. The latter represent an excellent chance of her line continuing for decades to come.
Bessie’s line was almost lost from the region following a string of tragedies going back to her own offspring. A twist of fate has seen her great grandson assume the alpha position at Wellington. He’s sired one infant to date and will likely sire at least one more.
Sarah’s line survives via her three grandchildren at Wellington Zoo. Her eldest grandson is a strong candidate for alpha and due to her genetics, her grandaughter will likely breed.
Molly has a single descendant - Gandali at Rockhampton. Given he’s also sired by a founder, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him be prioritised for breeding. A transfer to Hamilton upon the passing of their males appears the obvious route.
Sadie, Charlie, Coco and Koko each have one surviving descendant (Charlie and Coco share this descendant). It’s likely these lines will be lost in the future due to the poor reproductive prospects of their respective descendants.
Lulu is well represented and with eight of Taronga’s nine males among her descendants, I don’t see this changing. She also has five reproductive aged descendants at Hamilton and Monarto.
Bar Biddy’s sterilised grandaughter, her and Sailor share representation through their daughter Spitter. Spitter’s grandsons have been successful in siring infants at Taronga and Monarto - with another three potential infants to be added to this line once paternity is confirmed.
Susie has a decent representation through her daughters, Shiba and Sutu. Representation will likely come mainly from her female descendants in the near future, with Shikamoo and Sule likely to outcompete Shiba’s sons in siring infants at Taronga for the forseable.
Peter and Fimi share descendants via their son and daughter. An additional two infants could be added to their line once paternity of Monarto’s youngest infants is confirmed. Their three confirmed grandaughters will surely ensure the continuation of this line.
Mary has five descendants - including three grandsons and two great grandaughters. The latter represent an excellent chance of her line continuing for decades to come.
Bessie’s line was almost lost from the region following a string of tragedies going back to her own offspring. A twist of fate has seen her great grandson assume the alpha position at Wellington. He’s sired one infant to date and will likely sire at least one more.
Sarah’s line survives via her three grandchildren at Wellington Zoo. Her eldest grandson is a strong candidate for alpha and due to her genetics, her grandaughter will likely breed.
Molly has a single descendant - Gandali at Rockhampton. Given he’s also sired by a founder, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him be prioritised for breeding. A transfer to Hamilton upon the passing of their males appears the obvious route.
Sadie, Charlie, Coco and Koko each have one surviving descendant (Charlie and Coco share this descendant). It’s likely these lines will be lost in the future due to the poor reproductive prospects of their respective descendants.
Living Founders:
1.0 Alon (2008 -) Rockhampton 3
0.1 Zombi (1993 -) Monarto 3
0.1 Hannah (1993 -) Taronga/Monarto 2
0.1 Leakey (1993 -) Rockhampton 2
0.1 Ceres (1990 -) Taronga 1
0.1 Naomi (2001 -) Taronga 1
1.0 Fritz (1982-) Sydney 0
0.1 Babsi (1984-) Sydney 0
0.1 Julchen (1985-) Sydney 0
0.1 Galatea (1999-) Monarto 0
0.1 Mary (2002-) Sydney 0
0.1 Sile (2006-) Sydney 0
Except for the six at Sydney Zoo, all of these chimpanzees are in breeding situations and are expected to have more offspring in the future.
Alon will likely become well represented by virtue of being a male founder; while Zombi has three offspring already - including a son who (bar his premature death/removal) will almost certainly become the alpha of Monarto’s troop.
Alon will likely become well represented by virtue of being a male founder; while Zombi has three offspring already - including a son who (bar his premature death/removal) will almost certainly become the alpha of Monarto’s troop.
A keeper I talked to told me that Sydney’s group are a non breeding group unfortunately. The females won’t be used to breed and that’s the advice they’ve received thus far.
In saying that he did advise me that there’s a very high chance they will join the regional breeding program following the deaths of their current troop members. He said this could still be many years away and won’t be until all of their males have passed. The new group will likely be compromised of individuals from both within the region and from overseas, similar to what was done with Monarto.
That’s a shame given their genetic value. I understand the facility they came from handraised a number of chimpanzee, so the ability of the females to raise offspring is unknown.
Rockhampton Zoo will be introducing one of Sydney’s castrated males to their intact alpha male, so if this is undertaken successfully, it gives me hope Sydney could receive adolescent males in the future once Fritz has passed on (to integrate with their remaining castrated males).
I remember thinking at the time what a good opportunity it could have been for Taronga to have sent some of their chimpanzees to Sydney Zoo - either splitting their troop in two or creating a bachelor troop at Sydney. It would have saved Sydney Zoo the bother of importing and freed up space at Taronga for breeding.
Future regional breeding discussion:
I decided to write up a discussion of the females that I believe should breed within the next few years and also, any moves that may occur to help support regional diversity. This list will only take into account the next two to three years.
Rockhampton
Breeding from Leakey again should be a priority within the next few years. She’s only had two offspring to date and as a founder who’ll soon be entering her 30’s, it’ll be crucial to get another two or three offspring from here.
Importing additional females should be the goal but that won’t be occurring until Leakey’s two daughters are sent elsewhere due to spatial constraints.
Taronga
Ceres is currently pregnant with her second offspring. Kuma and Kamili are also off contraception. I do expect Kuma to conceive soon if she hasn’t already, and give birth either later this year or next year.
Naomi should also be breeding again in the coming years as well; but probably in the next cohort which will be two or three years away.
Sembe’s an option for export alongside Kamili for support; but I believe her close relationship with Naomi may be one of the reasons she’s remained at Taronga. Now 15, she’s of prime breeding age and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was allowed to breed in the next cohort with her close friend, Naomi.
Monarto
Galatea and Lani are currently both off contraception. Both will hopefully consider already if they haven’t already.
It’s essential Galatea breeds due to being an unrepresented founder whereas Lani will be breeding primarily for support.
Following these two, I can definitely see the next cohort consisting of Hannah and Galatea again.
Hamilton
Breeding from Sanda again should be the main focus. She’s currently 38, but it has been two and a half years since her last offspring so she should theoretically be looking to conceive again soon.
Both her and Luka are very valuable chimps.
Wellington
Keza’s off contraception and should conceive soon if she hasn’t already. A birth for her later this year or next year is the target. I’d also be behind breeding from Malika for the first time as well.
She’s 13 this year, so this would still be a few years away but with an export now looking very unlikely it seems she will remain at Wellington long term.
Breeding from her going forward and halting her sister Keza from breeding after he next offspring makes the most sense.
I decided to write up a discussion of the females that I believe should breed within the next few years and also, any moves that may occur to help support regional diversity. This list will only take into account the next two to three years.
Rockhampton
Breeding from Leakey again should be a priority within the next few years. She’s only had two offspring to date and as a founder who’ll soon be entering her 30’s, it’ll be crucial to get another two or three offspring from here.
Importing additional females should be the goal but that won’t be occurring until Leakey’s two daughters are sent elsewhere due to spatial constraints.
Taronga
Ceres is currently pregnant with her second offspring. Kuma and Kamili are also off contraception. I do expect Kuma to conceive soon if she hasn’t already, and give birth either later this year or next year.
Naomi should also be breeding again in the coming years as well; but probably in the next cohort which will be two or three years away.
Sembe’s an option for export alongside Kamili for support; but I believe her close relationship with Naomi may be one of the reasons she’s remained at Taronga. Now 15, she’s of prime breeding age and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was allowed to breed in the next cohort with her close friend, Naomi.
Monarto
Galatea and Lani are currently both off contraception. Both will hopefully consider already if they haven’t already.
It’s essential Galatea breeds due to being an unrepresented founder whereas Lani will be breeding primarily for support.
Following these two, I can definitely see the next cohort consisting of Hannah and Galatea again.
Hamilton
Breeding from Sanda again should be the main focus. She’s currently 38, but it has been two and a half years since her last offspring so she should theoretically be looking to conceive again soon.
Both her and Luka are very valuable chimps.
Wellington
Keza’s off contraception and should conceive soon if she hasn’t already. A birth for her later this year or next year is the target. I’d also be behind breeding from Malika for the first time as well.
She’s 13 this year, so this would still be a few years away but with an export now looking very unlikely it seems she will remain at Wellington long term.
Breeding from her going forward and halting her sister Keza from breeding after he next offspring makes the most sense.
He seemed to be indicating it was more of a decision made by their previous facility to not breed them, so it’s very possible some of the females may have been hand raised which may be one of the contributing factors to why they’re electing to not breed from them.
Sydney Zoo could potentially receive males in the future, but I imagine these males would have to be castrated as they seem firm on the notion of no breeding. Taronga could easily send some of their surplus young males over going forward (Fumo and Sudi being lead candidates).
I definitely agree with that re. acquiring chimps from Taronga instead. Taronga had many potential candidates for export at the time, and it could’ve ultimately allowed them to import more females from overseas. Looking at their population at the time the best candidates for export would’ve been: Shiba, Shona, Kuma, Sembe, Kamili, Shabani, Sudi, Furahi, Fumo, Safiri. Almost a direct split; but I do see a lot of other alternatives as well.
All good ideas! A few of my thoughts:
Rockhampton Zoo:
Rockhampton Zoo’s masterplan outlines plans to expand the chimpanzee exhibit. It’s currently 1000m2 (and has a capacity of five adults), so by receiving Jerry (castrated male), they’re back up to capacity. It’d be nice to see them receive additional females once this is done.
All I know long term about their plans is that Capri and Mzuri will be leaving due to being related to the males and being such genetically valuable females. If Leakey has a son in the future, I’m confident he’d be retained.
Hamilton Zoo:
I’ll be interested to see if Luka and Sanda breed again as a son would complicate plans to bring in unrelated males once Luka and Lucifer pass. Potentially it could work if adolescent males are brought in when he’s an adolescent himself.
Another female offspring would be ideal as then she and Kendi could go to another zoo together - with Chiku (2016) remaining at Hamilton to breed.
Wellington Zoo:
I believe Keza is mainly breeding for social dynamics (company for Sally’s juvenile son), though there’s no harm in breeding another infant from Alexis while he’s in the alpha role. Bakari will likely take over within the decade.
I too believe Malika would have left by now if she was going to. I imagine the death of her brother (Temba) influenced the decision to retain her as Alexis (Boyd x Cara) is now the alpha male and likely to sire her infant. He’s the most distantly related male the troop has to offer.
Rockhampton Zoos capacity is 12-15.
Has the expansion of the exhibit (previously 1000m2) now been completed?
Hamilton and Monarto opened chimpanzee exhibits that were 3000m2 each and had a capacity to hold 15 chimpanzees - so would be surprised to hear of an exhibit a third of the size having the same capacity.
I don’t believe it has.
I would be interested to know what the current size of Hamilton’s exhibit is as they reduced its size when the perimeter was redone.
Going by the current nsw exhibiting primate standards exhibit formula to house 12 adult chimpanzees only requires 564m2. Not saying that these standards should be followed and an exhibit this small is okay but going by that rockhampton zoo certainly has capacity to expand their population.
I would say that the exhibit capacity that Hamilton and Monarto have would be their capacity preferences rather than the true numbers those exhibits could hold.