Australasian Common Chimpanzee Population

[Zoofan15]

Wow very tragic and unexpected news. My thoughts are with the keepers and of course the chimp community, especially Cebeli.

It’s a large shame as Cebeli was a big support to Ceres and this loss will surely effect Ceres’s status. It’s also tragic as she was almost destined to remain in the troop to breed long term.

Ceres being 33 does concern me a bit. She’ll only have two, maybe three offspring at most. Since she’s never destined to be a high ranking female, support from offspring would have been essential going forward and Cebeli would’ve provided that for her, especially when she too would’ve breed down the line. Ceres will now have to rely on maybe some sons to help her going forward but taking into account her age any future offspring won’t be around with her long enough to provide major support in adulthood.

I had the same thought. Shabani and Samaki will likely not site any more infants; and the same might go for Sudi too if Shikamoo and Sule stay in power. I do see Taronga’s reasoning on breeding Shiba more frequently than the other females now; Susie’s line will be heavily reliant on breeding from Shiba’s daughters now. It would make a whole lot of sense for Sembe to be bred from in the next interval.

Cebele would have been a great support to Ceres in raising this next infant. Unlike some of the previous juveniles, Cebele appeared to be quite maternal and enjoyed carrying around Safiri and Niambi at times. There’s five years between Liwali and Safiri - and Cebele bridged that gap.

Ceres future prospects in the community aren’t helped by this concept of delaying breeding females until their mid-teens. Though Cebele would have been subject to this, at least her breeding would have only been eight years away. If her next offspring is female, it’d be nice to see an exception made to this rule.

Considering Ceres is more settled in the community, albeit not high ranking, they may allow her to breed at natural birth intervals in producing her next offspring after the infant due in September. Potentially she could have offspring in 2023, 2027 and then a final offspring circa 2032. Males don’t enter the hierarchy until around 10 years of age, so Ceres will be at least mid-40’s before she sees any benefit from a son.

I’m tempted to say if Sule doesn’t sire any infants conceived, Shikamoo will. It won’t be like the Lubutu/Samaki leadership for obvious reasons and so it’s certainly less likely the other males will succeed via opportune matings.

I hope they breed from Sembe soon. She would certainly benefit from having an infant from a social perspective and like you say, it’s beneficial to ensure representation of Susie. While Malika at Wellington is third generation, she’s it’d also make sense to breed from her while Alexis is in power. He’s a better match than Bakari, who’s her half-brother and a likely contender for alpha male in the near future.

 

[marmolady]

I feel Sembe would need to be exported to breed; she's half-sibling (or full) to all the adult males. To be honest, the region has a real problem with a lack of males related to the majority of the population. At Taronga all the males are closely related so any female offspring really would need to be exported to avoid in-breeding... but then that removes important support they'd give their mothers.

 

[Zoofan15]

I feel Sembe would need to be exported to breed; she's half-sibling (or full) to all the adult males. To be honest, the region has a real problem with a lack of males related to the majority of the population. At Taronga all the males are closely related so any female offspring really would need to be exported to avoid in-breeding... but then that removes important support they'd give their mothers.

Furthermore, opportunities for a complete changeover of males are rare. Hamilton are the only facility with a clear path to doing so, with Lucifer and Luka aged 30 and 35 years; and possibly Sydney Zoo, who could arguably integrate males with their castrated males once the reaming intact male passes.

The ideal solution would be for females to have sufficient family support from their sons to warrant the export of their daughters. But females are breeding less and there’s no guarantees of the provision of either gender. Ideally, unrelated females would join the troop at the dispersal age and breed at the dispersal age to allow them the best chance of establishing their line. Entering a new community as a low ranking 10-12 year old is no great hardship, if allowed the opportunity to increase in rank via reproduction.

 

[marmolady]

The best possible solution imo-- though not necessarily a feasible one-- would be to form a bachelor group somewhere so Taronga can start pretty much from scratch males-wise. This would require a) a holder to take on a bachelor group, and b) a substantial import of new founder males from outside the region. The expense for such an undertaking would be enormous, so as I say, likely not feasible.

The loss of Tsotsi at Monarto has been a huge one. I'm very much hoping he sired Happy, as the only two reproductive males are Sandali (over-represented through Snowy, and potentially through Sacha as her two other sons will be siring more offspring at Taronga), and Sandali's son. Ideally, Monarto could really use another unrelated male or two... but because it's male chimpanzees, it would be logistically extremely difficult.

 

[Zoofan15]

The best possible solution imo-- though not necessarily a feasible one-- would be to form a bachelor group somewhere so Taronga can start pretty much from scratch males-wise. This would require a) a holder to take on a bachelor group, and b) a substantial import of new founder males from outside the region. The expense for such an undertaking would be enormous, so as I say, likely not feasible.

The loss of Tsotsi at Monarto has been a huge one. I'm very much hoping he sired Happy, as the only two reproductive males are Sandali (over-represented through Snowy, and potentially through Sacha as her two other sons will be siring more offspring at Taronga), and Sandali's son. Ideally, Monarto could really use another unrelated male or two... but because it's male chimpanzees, it would be logistically extremely difficult.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but the best opportunity to do this was when Sydney Zoo opened in December 2019. Taronga Zoo could have sent them Shabani, Samaki, Furahi, Shikamoo and Sule and then transferred over Fumo, Sudi and Liwali a couple of years later.

The best chance of implementing your idea would probably be via Dubbo, if ever they wished to go into chimps. In either of these scenarios, breeding at Taronga would need to cease so infants weren’t in the group upon the arrival of new males; but three to four males could then be sourced from Europe - ideally from at least two unrelated lines.

I think Monarto are stuck with Sandali/Enzi as breeding males for the foreseeable, but it’s likely Tsotsi’s daughter, Hope, will now remain in the troop to breed with them.

 

[Jambo]

Found a tribute to the late Tsotsi that was penned by one of Monarto’s senior primate keepers, Laura Hanley.

It’s a very interesting read covering Tsotsi and his life; some aspects of which were very intriguing.

He seemed to be quite the chimp; and Monarto was certainly lucky to have him as their alpha in establishing their troop there.

Tsotsi by Laura Hanley, Senior Keeper Primates, Monarto Safari Park - Monarto Safari Park

 

[Zoofan15]

Found a tribute to the late Tsotsi that was penned by one of Monarto’s senior primate keepers, Laura Hanley.

It’s a very interesting read covering Tsotsi and his life; some aspects of which were very intriguing.

He seemed to be quite the chimp; and Monarto was certainly lucky to have him as their alpha in establishing their troop there.

Tsotsi by Laura Hanley, Senior Keeper Primates, Monarto Safari Park - Monarto Safari Park

It has to be said that nobody writes a tribute like Zoos SA. Their personal tributes to Karta, Soona and Tsotsi are unmatched by anything I’ve seen within the region. I for one greatly appreciate their insight into their fascinating lives (albeit upon a sad occasion).

As mentioned, Tsotsi grew up with a lack of male presence. His father Peter died in 1994, when he was five years old and he lived in a small troop of females. His adjustment to life in a multigenerational troop of males and females is remarkable in itself, even more so when you consider he became the alpha.

His legacy will live on through Hope - and fingers crossed Zola and Happy (pending DNA tests).

 

[marmolady]

They have really written some beautiful heartfelt tributes. Keeper Laura’s writing about baby chimpanzee Boon (Soona’s infant) moved me to tears. There’s a real feeling of connection with regular visitors and volunteers to many of the individuals animals because of this kind of sharing, especially at difficult times. I personally appreciate the time and care taken— goodness knows such tributes would be painful to write.

 

[Zoofan15]

They have really written some beautiful heartfelt tributes. Keeper Laura’s writing about baby chimpanzee Boon (Soona’s infant) moved me to tears. There’s a real feeling of connection with regular visitors and volunteers to many of the individuals animals because of this kind of sharing, especially at difficult times. I personally appreciate the time and care taken— goodness knows such tributes would be painful to write.

I agree. Their openness is endlessly appreciated and only serves to demonstrate how much their keepers care for the animals. So many zoos claim they aim to inspire a love of wildlife in their visitors, but few actively take steps to build those connections during moments like these.

In the words of Steve Irwin, “If we can teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love.”

 

[Jambo]

His legacy will live on through Hope - and fingers crossed Zola and Happy (pending DNA tests).

Fingers crossed Tsotsi is the sire of both. All three would be very valuable.

I have a friend visiting soon who I've asked to enquire about the paternity of Zola (and Happy, although it is quite early). I'll update to see what she gets told.

 

[marmolady]

They have not yet tested— I asked about it last week. I’m expecting it will be treated with more urgency in the wake of Tsotsi’s passing. I’m pretty sure Zola was sired by Tsotsi as she looks nothing like Zuri and Enzi, and resembles Tsotsi, and am hopeful he sired Happy as well. The confirmation would certainly be good to hear!

 

[Zoofan15]

Fingers crossed Tsotsi is the sire of both. All three would be very valuable.

I have a friend visiting soon who I've asked to enquire about the paternity of Zola (and Happy, although it is quite early). I'll update to see what she gets told.

They have not yet tested— I asked about it last week. I’m expecting it will be treated with more urgency in the wake of Tsotsi’s passing. I’m pretty sure Zola was sired by Tsotsi as she looks nothing like Zuri and Enzi, and resembles Tsotsi, and am hopeful he sired Happy as well. The confirmation would certainly be good to hear!

Tsotsi siring both Zola and Happy would be the ideal as while nobody knows what the future holds in terms of their lives; what we can guarantee is they’ll be no more infants from Tsotsi.

In the event he only sired one of them; the positive is that’s two young chimpanzees who could form an unrelated pairing down the line. By the time Zola is her mid teens, Happy will be assimilated into the hierarchy and a more likely candidate for siring infants than Sandali. Combined with the typical female avoidance of direct incest (Enzi) and a Happy/Zola mating is more than possible.

 

[marmolady]

In the event he only sired one of them; the positive is that’s two young chimpanzees who could form an unrelated pairing down the line. By the time Zola is her mid teens, Happy will be assimilated into the hierarchy and a more likely candidate for siring infants than Sandali. Combined with the typical female avoidance of direct incest (Enzi) and a Happy/Zola mating is more than possible.

That is certainly a positive to consider! I'm hopeful that Zola (should she indeed by Tsotsi's offspring) will be retained in Zuri's stead.

If anyone is interested, I'm uploading a few more recent photographs of Monarto's chimps to the gallery.

 

[Jambo]

Tsotsi siring both Zola and Happy would be the ideal as while nobody knows what the future holds in terms of their lives; what we can guarantee is they’ll be no more infants from Tsotsi.

In the event he only sired one of them; the positive is that’s two young chimpanzees who could form an unrelated pairing down the line. By the time Zola is her mid teens, Happy will be assimilated into the hierarchy and a more likely candidate for siring infants than Sandali. Combined with the typical female avoidance of direct incest (Enzi) and a Happy/Zola mating is more than possible.

That is certainly a positive to consider! I'm hopeful that Zola (should she indeed by Tsotsi's offspring) will be retained in Zuri's stead.

If anyone is interested, I'm uploading a few more recent photographs of Monarto's chimps to the gallery.

If Zola is indeed Tsotsi's offspring; and with his recent death, it would make the most sense to retain Zola and Hope to breed with Sandali and Enzi long term.

At the moment this is a list of the following unrelated mates for each female within the troop (discounting age of the males at the moment of course):

Zombi - Sandali, Happy
Galatea- Sandali, Enzi, Happy
Hannah- Sandali, Enzi
Lani- Happy (if he's sired by Tsotsi)
Zuri - Happy (if he's sired by Tsotsi)
Hope - Sandali, Enzi
Zola - Sandali, Happy

Clearly Zuri is a clear candidate to be sent elsewhere. It would be at least another eight years until Happy's of reproductive age, and Zuri would be in her late teens at that point in time. Whether Monarto wishes to wait is up to them; but with Boyd and Gombe ageing, I'm wondering whether they may consider acquiring some new unrelated males as their breeding males (Sandali and Enzi) are descended from the well represented Taronga troop; and Sacha's line will become very very well represented with alpha sons at both Taronga and Monarto.

 

[Zoofan15]

If Zola is indeed Tsotsi's offspring; and with his recent death, it would make the most sense to retain Zola and Hope to breed with Sandali and Enzi long term.

At the moment this is a list of the following unrelated mates for each female within the troop (discounting age of the males at the moment of course):

Zombi - Sandali, Happy
Galatea- Sandali, Enzi, Happy
Hannah- Sandali, Enzi
Lani- Happy (if he's sired by Tsotsi)
Zuri - Happy (if he's sired by Tsotsi)
Hope - Sandali, Enzi
Zola - Sandali, Happy

Clearly Zuri is a clear candidate to be sent elsewhere. It would be at least another eight years until Happy's of reproductive age, and Zuri would be in her late teens at that point in time. Whether Monarto wishes to wait is up to them; but with Boyd and Gombe ageing, I'm wondering whether they may consider acquiring some new unrelated males as their breeding males (Sandali and Enzi) are descended from the well represented Taronga troop; and Sacha's line will become very very well represented with alpha sons at both Taronga and Monarto.

It would be ideal if there was an option to transfer out the males at Monarto. The gender of the infants expected from Galatea and Lani could influence this as two more males would make it near impossible to facilitate as a group export (nobody will want 4-5 males).

Lani has the most limited options but will primarily be breeding for social reasons. It would certainly be recommended to implement a large birth interval of a decade or so to allow Happy time to mature before her next infant is born.

Zuri is 11 years old and her export is near guaranteed. Females can (and did) breed as young as eight in decades gone by, so she theoretically could have had an infant by Tsotsi in the time they had together, which is frustrating.

 

[Jambo]

I feel Sembe would need to be exported to breed; she's half-sibling (or full) to all the adult males. To be honest, the region has a real problem with a lack of males related to the majority of the population. At Taronga all the males are closely related so any female offspring really would need to be exported to avoid in-breeding... but then that removes important support they'd give their mothers.

New males would certainly be required going forward. Hamilton have the opportunity to do this following the deaths of Luka and Lucifer; and a mix of young males from overseas and valuable ones from within the region (like Gandali) should be the way to go.

Sembe apparently has a close bond with Naomi, which is I assume why she's been retained at Taronga a little longer than expected. I doubt Taronga retain her as a non breeding female long term so she either remains there and inbreed (not the best idea imo, but Taronga dosen't seem to care about that) or send her elsewhere to breed. The only realistic option for her at the moment is Rockhampton; but I'm not sure that will happen.

The region really needs new males, if you think about it only Alon at Rockhampton isn't descended from the Taronga line and therefore, most of the regions females are related to the males in one way or another.

It would be ideal if there was an option to transfer out the males at Monarto. The gender of the infants expected from Galatea and Lani could influence this as two more males would make it near impossible to facilitate as a group export (nobody will want 4-5 males).

Lani has the most limited options but will primarily be breeding for social reasons. It would certainly be recommended to implement a large birth interval of a decade or so to allow Happy time to mature before her next infant is born.

Zuri is 11 years old and her export is near guaranteed. Females can (and did) breed as young as eight in decades gone by, so she theoretically could have had an infant by Tsotsi in the time they had together, which is frustrating.

New males are certainly something that would need considering. Hamilton and Monarto should certainly consider this.

Sydney presents as the most logical option for surplus males. If they're vasectomised they should be able to assimilate with the small non breeding group there and that probably presents as the best option for the region at the moment, but then again they probably wouldn't accept more than four or five males as you said.

The best option for Lani in this situation would be to have a son, who can then be vasectomised if they wish to prevent further representation from the 'L' line. Taking into consideration, she's already in her early 20's; an artificial age gap of around a decade is probably likely although they may elect not to breed from her again at all if her offspring is a female.

Wellington are in need of some new females, with sisters Keza and Malika being their only viable females at the moment. I think they should certainly consider Zuri. The only problem surrounds whether they send her by herself or with another female. If you consider the size of Wellington's exhibit and the demographics of their current troop, I definitely think they could send Zuri by herself asap. Alexis is their only adult male at the moment, so she wouldn't be assimilating into a 'large' troop like Taronga's.

Another option, if Monarto wish to send Zuri with a companion, would be to send her (and Lani) to Wellington. This would rely on if Lani is pregnant now or not. Alexis at Wellington is also probably Lani's best match genetically in the region (besides Alon/Gandali), and she and Zuri could provide with Wellington with new breeding females (alongside Keza).

In return, Monarto could acquire mother/daughter duo Samantha and Malika; with Malika giving Monarto another young breeding female (of the similar age to Zuri). This has been considered long in the past on here, but was dismissed due to Samantha's previous bonds with Boyd/Gombe which could influence politics. But with Boyd's age now and the group being long established, it wouldn't affect much anymore. Sandali, and more so, Enzi and Happy are better matches genetically for Malika than Alexis.

 

[Zoofan15]

New males would certainly be required going forward. Hamilton have the opportunity to do this following the deaths of Luka and Lucifer; and a mix of young males from overseas and valuable ones from within the region (like Gandali) should be the way to go.

Sembe apparently has a close bond with Naomi, which is I assume why she's been retained at Taronga a little longer than expected. I doubt Taronga retain her as a non breeding female long term so she either remains there and inbreed (not the best idea imo, but Taronga dosen't seem to care about that) or send her elsewhere to breed. The only realistic option for her at the moment is Rockhampton; but I'm not sure that will happen.

The region really needs new males, if you think about it only Alon at Rockhampton isn't descended from the Taronga line and therefore, most of the regions females are related to the males in one way or another.

New males are certainly something that would need considering. Hamilton and Monarto should certainly consider this.

Sydney presents as the most logical option for surplus males. If they're vasectomised they should be able to assimilate with the small non breeding group there and that probably presents as the best option for the region at the moment, but then again they probably wouldn't accept more than four or five males as you said.

The best option for Lani in this situation would be to have a son, who can then be vasectomised if they wish to prevent further representation from the 'L' line. Taking into consideration, she's already in her early 20's; an artificial age gap of around a decade is probably likely although they may elect not to breed from her again at all if her offspring is a female.

Wellington are in need of some new females, with sisters Keza and Malika being their only viable females at the moment. I think they should certainly consider Zuri. The only problem surrounds whether they send her by herself or with another female. If you consider the size of Wellington's exhibit and the demographics of their current troop, I definitely think they could send Zuri by herself asap. Alexis is their only adult male at the moment, so she wouldn't be assimilating into a 'large' troop like Taronga's.

Another option, if Monarto wish to send Zuri with a companion, would be to send her (and Lani) to Wellington. This would rely on if Lani is pregnant now or not. Alexis at Wellington is also probably Lani's best match genetically in the region (besides Alon/Gandali), and she and Zuri could provide with Wellington with new breeding females (alongside Keza).

In return, Monarto could acquire mother/daughter duo Samantha and Malika; with Malika giving Monarto another young breeding female (of the similar age to Zuri). This has been considered long in the past on here, but was dismissed due to Samantha's previous bonds with Boyd/Gombe which could influence politics. But with Boyd's age now and the group being long established, it wouldn't affect much anymore. Sandali, and more so, Enzi and Happy are better matches genetically for Malika than Alexis.

Hamilton Zoo will certainly be the game changer and I think the end result will depend on their long term aspirations for the troop. Monarto achieved an integration of four adult males from three different troops, which was an unprecedented achievement within the region; but it should be noted this was done with an absence of females for 18 months and Hamilton have females on site - making it challenging for them to achieve the same.

In my population forecast, I had Hamilton receive Gandali as their new (and sole) breeding male, which appears to be the best option if they wish to maintain a small troop.

If Hamilton are open to growing the troop to double figures, I’d like to see them import two or three males from outside the region; which could then breed with Chiku, Kendi and Malika (transferred in from Wellington). This depends on Hamilton’s willingness to accomodate a troop this size - which is theoretically possible given the size of their exhibit.

As a descendant of Susie, I’m confident Malika will feature in breeding plans. Samantha could either transfer with Malika to Hamilton - so it’s Sanda and her daughters being introduced to Samantha and her daughter (versus Malika being introduced to a mother and daughters tripod).

I think Zuri would struggle going into Wellington’s troop alone. They have Sally, who’s the alpha female and a mother of two; Cara, who’s the mother of the alpha male; and Jessie, who thinks she’s the alpha female and throws tantrums that has even the males running for cover. Combined with Keza, a prime aged female who will be having her second infant in the near future and Zuri will have have a lot of opposition and very little support.

I think Rockhampton is Zuri’s best option at this point in time; potentially joined by Sembe to breed with Alon. They’re increasing their exhibit size and going forward will have just one breeding female (Leakey). Samantha likely won’t breed again (successfully) and they’ve stated Leakey’s daughters will leave the troop long term.

As for new females for Wellington, I’d say Leakey’s daughters would be strong candidates a decade from now. While only representing one (albeit genetically valuable bloodline), social factors are clearly overriding all decisions made and having each other for support would be vital.

 

[Jambo]

Hamilton Zoo will certainly be the game changer and I think the end result will depend on their long term aspirations for the troop. Monarto achieved an integration of four adult males from three different troops, which was an unprecedented achievement within the region; but it should be noted this was done with an absence of females for 18 months and Hamilton have females on site - making it challenging for them to achieve the same.

In my population forecast, I had Hamilton receive Gandali as their new (and sole) breeding male, which appears to be the best option if they wish to maintain a small troop.

If Hamilton are open to growing the troop to double figures, I’d like to see them import two or three males from outside the region; which could then breed with Chiku, Kendi and Malika (transferred in from Wellington). This depends on Hamilton’s willingness to accomodate a troop this size - which is theoretically possible given the size of their exhibit.

As a descendant of Susie, I’m confident Malika will feature in breeding plans. Samantha could either transfer with Malika to Hamilton - so it’s Sanda and her daughters being introduced to Samantha and her daughter (versus Malika being introduced to a mother and daughters tripod).

I think Zuri would struggle going into Wellington’s troop alone. They have Sally, who’s the alpha female and a mother of two; Cara, who’s the mother of the alpha male; and Jessie, who thinks she’s the alpha female and throws tantrums that has even the males running for cover. Combined with Keza, a prime aged female who will be having her second infant in the near future and Zuri will have have a lot of opposition and very little support.

I think Rockhampton is Zuri’s best option at this point in time; potentially joined by Sembe to breed with Alon. They’re increasing their exhibit size and going forward will have just one breeding female (Leakey). Samantha likely won’t breed again (successfully) and they’ve stated Leakey’s daughters will leave the troop long term.

As for new females for Wellington, I’d say Leakey’s daughters would be strong candidates a decade from now. While only representing one (albeit genetically valuable bloodline), social factors are clearly overriding all decisions made and having each other for support would be vital.

Another option for Hamilton could be to send Sanda and her two daughters to Wellington once Lucy and her two boys pass. This could still be a decade away though, so it's really up to what Hamilton want. Wellington would be happy to accept two young females of which are largely unrelated to their troop. Considering you mentioned Wellington is a difficult troop to assimilate into, a mother-daughter/s dyad would probably be best.

This would present Hamilton with the opportunity to start over completely. They could go Monarto style and import females from overseas and males from within the region; but considering we've had a baby boom of females lately and the region now seems committed to following the natural female dispersal pattern, it would probably make sense to import males from overseas instead. They could try to mix Gandali with them too if they're of similar age.

Importing females from overseas as well to join some from within the region would make the most sense. If they acquired four females; they could additionally easily reroute two elsewhere (like Monarto or Wellington) and retain the other two to introduce to a pair from within the region. The most suitable pair from within the region would be Capri and Mzuri imo.

Re. Rockhampton, Zuri would really be their best option at the moment. Relying on Leakey as their sole breeder wouldn't be best as it would waste Alon's valuable genetics. Zuri would be a perfect match and would allow better troop succession. Another option re. Alon would be sending him (and Gandali) over to Hamilton to start up a new troop over there. It would allow Alon to become more represented (benefited by breeding with more females) and would allow Rockhampton to start over with some new breeding females within the region and some fresh, new male imports from overseas.

 

[Zoofan15]

Another option for Hamilton could be to send Sanda and her two daughters to Wellington once Lucy and her two boys pass. This could still be a decade away though, so it's really up to what Hamilton want. Wellington would be happy to accept two young females of which are largely unrelated to their troop. Considering you mentioned Wellington is a difficult troop to assimilate into, a mother-daughter/s dyad would probably be best.

This would present Hamilton with the opportunity to start over completely. They could go Monarto style and import females from overseas and males from within the region; but considering we've had a baby boom of females lately and the region now seems committed to following the natural female dispersal pattern, it would probably make sense to import males from overseas instead. They could try to mix Gandali with them too if they're of similar age.

Importing females from overseas as well to join some from within the region would make the most sense. If they acquired four females; they could additionally easily reroute two elsewhere (like Monarto or Wellington) and retain the other two to introduce to a pair from within the region. The most suitable pair from within the region would be Capri and Mzuri imo.

Re. Rockhampton, Zuri would really be their best option at the moment. Relying on Leakey as their sole breeder wouldn't be best as it would waste Alon's valuable genetics. Zuri would be a perfect match and would allow better troop succession. Another option re. Alon would be sending him (and Gandali) over to Hamilton to start up a new troop over there. It would allow Alon to become more represented (benefited by breeding with more females) and would allow Rockhampton to start over with some new breeding females within the region and some fresh, new male imports from overseas.

Transferring Sanda and her daughters to Wellington is certainly an option. Like you say, it’d still be a decade away which would suit Wellington. They’re clearly content to float with the chimpanzees they have at this point in time, while acknowledging new females are needed long term. Alexis and Keza are the current pairing and from there, her options will only improve as Sam’s sons, Bakari and Kitwe, will enter the male hierarchy and potentially sire her third offspring.

It’ll be interesting to see if Sally breeds again. She’s six years younger than Lisa who’s just given birth, but Sally has had eight offspring previously, so it may not be advisable. Her line is well represented via Sacha’s sons and Sally is the alpha female with two sons, so I’d assume she’ll be retired. Keza will hopefully provide Akida with a playmate within the next year and then there could well be a gap in breeding until new females arrive.

If Hamilton were to start over, there’s so many possibilities. Taronga would likely be keen to offload some males, which could join the troop vasectomised to be integrated with more genetically valuable males - either Alon and Gandali; or imports from Europe. Rockhampton may be reluctant to disrupt their troop and commit to importing again - so I’m guessing Hamilton would import their own males from overseas and Rockhampton receive females from within the region.

We both agree Zuri would be the best option for Rockhampton - based on both her age and genetics. Assimilating into a small troop shouldn’t be difficult to her - especially if allowed to breed. It’s possible the transfer will be delayed a couple of years until she’s 13 - with the view of breeding from her at Rockhampton at 15 years.

 

[Jambo]

My friend got to Monarto today and she advised me pretty much we already were aware - they have yet to get the results for Zola and Happy's paternity. On a positive the keeper did say they were 'awaiting results' so it's possible we may learn them very soon.

The same keeper also advised her there aren't any pregnant females at the moment, but they're currently hoping Lani and Galatea conceive as they have both received a recommendation and are off contraception.

Over to Taronga, I emailed them and they apparently have more than one female pregnant at the moment. Not sure who (but Ceres is obviously one). I've emailed them again to get a confirmation on names but have been advised this could take a while for them to respond.