Australasian Common Chimpanzee Population

[ApeLadyNZ]

Quite possible it was a discussion that came to nothing. With the exception of June, the chimpanzees sent were young chimpanzees with greater applications to breeding programmes over there.

From reports, it seems some were dispersed early on to other Indian zoos. Cheena for example died in Lucknow in 2002 aged 17 years. A stomach infection was misdiagnosed as pregnancy.

If those were the plans, I'm glad they ended up coming to nothing. Perhaps they hoped for Bobby to sire offspring over there before deciding to try the AI option which sadly did not succeed.

 

[Zoofan15]

This is usually the case when introducing an unrelated male of any species to a mother with her offspring. It's natural instinct to do exactly as you say so it's surprising that Auckland at the time supposedly failed to recognise this. Unless they believed Mike's familiarity with Lucy would prevent this from occurring - especially if they were noted to be close at Taronga.

Had the the plan to educate (for want of a better word) Suzie and Sally on how to mate with a male had been successful, it would have been interesting to see how Auckland Zoo managed their colony with potentially three females breeding. Whether they would have capped breeding at one offspring each in the late 80’s or continued breeding into the 90’s.

The exhibit was barely large enough for the six chimpanzees they had by the 2000’s, but compounded by tensions between the males (gender ratio of 3.3).

 

[Zoofan15]

If those were the plans, I'm glad they ended up coming to nothing. Perhaps they hoped for Bobby to sire offspring over there before deciding to try the AI option which sadly did not succeed.

Bobby was apparently a behaviour non-breeder, so my assumption is he was considered to be of no value to Hyderabad; with the females also getting on in years and Janie refusing to mate with Bobby in any case (suggesting she was a behavioural non-breeder). In any case, they failed to integrate with Mike etc. suggesting it’d be no more successful mixing them with other chimpanzees.

The University of Sydney were involved in testing his fertility, so my assumption is AI would have involved the Taronga females. Their breeding male died unexpectedly in 1999, leaving them with males that were related to all the females. It would have been ideal if Bobby could have sired some infants in the early 2000’s.

 

[ApeLadyNZ]

Bobby was apparently a behaviour non-breeder, so my assumption is he was considered to be of no value to Hyderabad; with the females also getting on in years and Janie refusing to mate with Bobby in any case (suggesting she was a behavioural non-breeder). In any case, they failed to integrate with Mike etc. suggesting it’d be no more successful mixing them with other chimpanzees.

The University of Sydney were involved in testing his fertility, so my assumption is AI would have involved the Taronga females. Their breeding male died unexpectedly in 1999, leaving them with males that were related to all the females. It would have been ideal if Bobby could have sired some infants in the early 2000’s.

Thanks for the clarification - perhaps indeed Bobby being a behavioural non-breeder may have caused the Indian zoo to change their minds about the tea party chimps, if it was intended to send them there. And yes, it was unfortunate that Bobby was never able to sire offspring, given his genetic value.

I was told by a staff member that efforts were made to try and integrate Bobby, Janie and Josie into the main group, but Mike took a dislike to Bobby as an interloper male and Janie, who fancied herself the leader of her group, refused to submit to Mike, causing all kinds of conflict and forcing the zoo to separate the groups again.

 

[Zoofan15]

Thanks for the clarification - perhaps indeed Bobby being a behavioural non-breeder may have caused the Indian zoo to change their minds about the tea party chimps, if it was intended to send them there. And yes, it was unfortunate that Bobby was never able to sire offspring, given his genetic value.

I was told by a staff member that efforts were made to try and integrate Bobby, Janie and Josie into the main group, but Mike took a dislike to Bobby as an interloper male and Janie, who fancied herself the leader of her group, refused to submit to Mike, causing all kinds of conflict and forcing the zoo to separate the groups again.

Auckland Zoo certainly had a run of bad luck in their attempts to start a chimpanzee colony when you consider Auckland Zoo began with 4.4 chimpanzees in the 1950’s versus Wellington Zoo’s 4.3:

Nick and Little Jane died as juveniles.

Minnie died as an adolescent following a miscarriage.

Charlie and Siss produced four infants, two of which died; followed by their own deaths as young adults in 1971.

What’s really tragic is that after rejecting all previous offspring, Siss was rearing her last infant prior to her death within weeks of giving birth.

Articles following the arrival of the initial group of 1.3 at Auckland noted that Jane was the leader but that Bobby would assert himself as he entered adolescence. Unfortunately he never did!

 

[ApeLadyNZ]

Auckland Zoo certainly had a run of bad luck in their attempts to start a chimpanzee colony when you consider Auckland Zoo began with 4.4 chimpanzees in the 1950’s versus Wellington Zoo’s 4.3.

Nick and Little Jane died as juveniles

Minnie died as an adolescent following a miscarriage

Charlie and Siss produced four infants, two of which died; followed by their own deaths as young adults in 1971

Articles following the arrival of the initial group of 1.3 at Auckland noted that Jane was the leader but that Bobby would assert himself as he entered adolescence. Unfortunately he never did!

It was indeed unfortunate that the first colony at Auckland did not succeed, though Wellington's has gone on to be very successful. Thankfully the second colony at Auckland - now located at Hamilton - is doing much better, and I am hoping for news from Hamilton that Sanda will be pregnant again in the near future.

Yes, Jane definitely remained the leader - primate keepers have often said she would always select the choicest food items for herself, and Bobby and Josie would always give way to her. She apparently never allowed Bobby to mate with her, and I wonder if Josie became a behavioural non-breeder by example?

 

[Zoofan15]

It was indeed unfortunate that the first colony at Auckland did not succeed, though Wellington's has gone on to be very successful. Thankfully the second colony at Auckland - now located at Hamilton - is doing much better, and I am hoping for news from Hamilton that Sanda will be pregnant again in the near future.

Yes, Jane definitely remained the leader - primate keepers have often said she would always select the choicest food items for herself, and Bobby and Josie would always give way to her. She apparently never allowed Bobby to mate with her, and I wonder if Josie became a behavioural non-breeder by example?

My assumption is due to being removed from his natal troop so young, Bobby simply didn’t know how to mate with females. Males typically begin mating with females around the age of 3-5 years (though they’re not sexually mature until at least 6-8 years). Bobby was estimated to have been born 1955 and arrived in October 1956, so he wasn’t even two years old.

Charlie (who did sire infants) by comparison was close to three years of age upon his import in November 1959.

Minnie had a miscarriage and subsequently died of a coronary attack in August 1964. Later that month, Siss gave birth to her first infant, Suzie (the first chimpanzee born at Auckland Zoo). My theory is the chimpanzees were kept in the cohorts they arrived in; but upon noticing Charlie (two years Bobby’s junior) mating with females in 1964, they introduced him to Minnie resulting in the pregnancy that ended in miscarriage.

A Tiger by the Tail contains an error that states an infant was born late 1964 to one of the original tea party performers (implying it was Josie). I’ve found an article of near identical wording where the infant has the same DOB as Suzie (born August 1964 to Siss), leading me to disregard that as an error.

A fourth infant was born to Auckland’s tea party chimps (parentage unknown) in 1965. It’s my belief that it was the offspring of Charlie and Siss as it fits in with the births of their other offspring:

0.1 Suzie (August 1964)
1.0 Unnamed (November 1965)
0.1 Sally (October 1970)
1.0 Unnamed (July 1971)

 

[ApeLadyNZ]

My assumption is due to being removed from his natal troop so young, Bobby simply didn’t know how to mate with females. Males typically begin mating with females around the age of 3-5 years (though they’re not sexually mature until at least 6-8 years). Bobby was estimated to have been born 1955 and arrived in October 1956, so he wasn’t even two years old.

Charlie (who did sire infants) by comparison was close to three years of age upon his import in November 1959.

Minnie had a miscarriage and subsequently died of a coronary attack in August 1964. Later that month, Siss gave birth to her first infant, Suzie (the first chimpanzee born at Auckland Zoo). My theory is the chimpanzees were kept in the cohorts they arrived in; but upon noticing Charlie (two years Bobby’s junior) mating with females in 1964, they introduced him to Minnie resulting in the pregnancy that ended in miscarriage.

A Tiger by the Tail contains an error that states an infant was born late 1964 to one of the original tea party performers (implying it was Josie). I’ve found an article of near identical wording where the infant has the same DOB as Suzie (born August 1964 to Siss), leading me to disregard that as an error.

A fourth infant was born to Auckland’s tea party chimps (parentage unknown) in 1965. It’s my belief that it was the offspring of Charlie and Siss as it fits in with the births of their other offspring:

0.1 Suzie (August 1964)
1.0 Unnamed (November 1965)
0.1 Sally (October 1970)
1.0 Unnamed (July 1971)

If Bobby was removed from his mother at that young an age, it makes sense he wouldn't know anything about mating with females. The chimpanzee tea parties were a cruel practice in more ways than one.

I'd always thought that Josie was the mother of the infant mentioned in A Tiger by the Tail and some people I spoke to at the zoo had thought so. But the information you passed on makes more sense for the baby to have been Susie who was hand-reared (was she raised by the same people who cared for Sally?)

Was Minnie older than her companions, if she was introduced to Charlie and not Janie or Josie? Or did they perhaps think she was less likely to be a behavioural non-breeder like the others?

 

[Zoofan15]

I'd always thought that Josie was the mother of the infant mentioned in A Tiger by the Tail and some people I spoke to at the zoo had thought so. But the information you passed on makes more sense for the baby to have been Susie who was hand-reared (was she raised by the same people who cared for Sally?)

This is the relevant paragraph from A Tiger by the Tail:

In August 1964 one of the chimpanzees, Minnie, died of a coronary attack following a miscarriage. The following month a baby chimpanzee was abandoned by its mother, one of the four original performers brought from Britain. Although at first she had appeared fond of her offspring, she soon began dragging it around the floor of the cage. The baby chimpanzee was removed from the mother, but later died.

This article from The Press (dated August 31, 1964) reports the following:

Abandoned by its mother shortly after birth on Thursday, a baby chimpanzee at the Auckland Zoo is being bottle fed night and day. The chimpanzee, a female weighing 31b 31oz, is the first of its species to be born at the zoo. The mother, one of the performing chimpanzees brought from Britain, appeared to be fond of its offspring, but suddently started dragging it around the cage.

The wording is near identical and the DOB matches to Suzie (born 27/08/1964), so it was definitely an error that Josie gave birth to that infant.

I only know Suzie was hand-reared I’m afraid, not sure if it was by the same family who raised Sally.

Was Minnie older than her companions, if she was introduced to Charlie and not Janie or Josie? Or did they perhaps think she was less likely to be a behavioural non-breeder like the others?

The DOB’s were as follows:

Imported 1956:

0.1 Janie (1952-2013)
0.1 Minnie (1953-1964)
0.1 Josie (1954-2000)
1.0 Bobby (1955-2004)

Imported 1959:

1.0 Nick (1957-1961)
1.0 Charlie (1957-1971)
0.1 Siss (1957-1971)
0.1 Little Jane (1957-1962)

They were initially housed in these groups, but I have two theories how Charlie could have ended up mating with Minnie in 1964:

1. After the deaths of Nick (1961) and Little Jane (1962), Minnie (1953) was transferred over from the first group (circa 1963) to give each group 1.2 chimps.

2. Charlie was observed mating Siss circa 1964 and the keepers thought, “Hey Bobby is two years older and hasn’t once mated his females, let’s put one in with Charlie and see if that yields results”.

I’m inclined to believe the first theory (redistributing the chimpanzees into two groups of three) is the most likely.

 

[ApeLadyNZ]

This is the relevant paragraph from A Tiger by the Tail:

In August 1964 one of the chimpanzees, Minnie, died of a coronary attack following a miscarriage. The following month a baby chimpanzee was abandoned by its mother, one of the four original performers brought from Britain. Although at first she had appeared fond of her offspring, she soon began dragging it around the floor of the cage. The baby chimpanzee was removed from the mother, but later died.

This article from The Press (dated August 31, 1964) reports the following:

Abandoned by its mother shortly after birth on Thursday, a baby chimpanzee at the Auckland Zoo is being bottle fed night and day. The chimpanzee, a female weighing 31b 31oz, is the first of its species to be born at the zoo. The mother, one of the performing chimpanzees brought from Britain, appeared to be fond of its offspring, but suddently started dragging it around the cage.

The wording is near identical and the DOB matches to Suzie (born 27/08/1964), so it was definitely an error that Josie gave birth to that infant.

I only know Suzie was hand-reared I’m afraid, not sure if it was by the same family who raised Sally.


The DOB’s were as follows:

Imported 1956:

0.1 Janie (1952-2013)
0.1 Minnie (1953-1964)
0.1 Josie (1954-2000)
1.0 Bobby (1955-2004)

Imported 1959:

1.0 Nick (1957-1961)
1.0 Charlie (1957-1971)
0.1 Siss (1957-1971)
0.1 Little Jane (1957-1962)

They were initially housed in these groups, but I have two theories how Charlie could have ended up mating with Minnie in 1964:

1. After the deaths of Nick (1961) and Little Jane (1962), Minnie (1953) was transferred over from the first group (circa 1963) to give each group 1.2 chimps.

2. Charlie was observed mating Siss circa 1964 and the keepers thought, “Hey Bobby is two years older and hasn’t once mated his females, let’s put one in with Charlie and see if that yields results”.

I’m inclined to believe the first theory (redistributing the chimpanzees into two groups of three) is the most likely.

Thanks for the clarification! Your theory is most likely the correct one, and we will probably never know for sure why Minnie was selected to be transferred (possibly based on temperament - Janie was unlikely to be chosen due to her ongoing refusal to submit to a male, and as for Josie, who knows?).

Sally was raised, according to the Hamilton City Council "by Auckland Zoo head primate keeper at the time, Richard Seccombe and his wife Georgie, who raised her alongside their own children." Suzie likely received a similar upbringing from her caregivers. I can dimly remember seeing Sally when I was very, very young being wheeled in a pushchair and wearing baby clothes and wondering why a "baby monkey" as I called her then was dressed up like a doll!

 

[Zoofan15]

Rockhampton Zoo (Update on Cassius)

From socials:

Over the last 40 years, many people in Rockhampton have grown up with Cassius, our 53 year old chimpanzee, as a part of their life. He is a gorgeous old soul who manages to capture the heart of everyone he meets.

However, at 53 years old, Cassius is nearing the end of his life. He is currently the oldest male chimpanzee in Australasia. In the wild, he would not have reached this age, with the average lifespan of a wild chimpanzee ranging between 30 and 40 years.

Cass has been moving slowly and stiffly for some time now due to arthritis and general age related physical decline. Sadly we are also starting to see a mental decline. Just like humans, chimpanzees can experience dementia and other age related complications, and we are confident we are seeing dementia take hold of Cassie.

At the moment, we are able to manage his arthritic pain and mental decline with medication. Currently he is coping well, still engaging with the troop, but there will be a time when for his comfort and welfare, we will need to say goodbye as we love him too much to let him suffer.

We wanted to share this with the public as we know he holds a special place in the people of Rockhampton’s hearts, and wanted to give people the opportunity to spend time with him before we say goodbye. In saying that, we don’t know if that will be in a week, a month, six months or longer, it will depend on his decline. Hopefully for him (and all of us), it will be many months away.

 

[Jambo]

Rockhampton Zoo (Update on Cassius)

From socials:

Over the last 40 years, many people in Rockhampton have grown up with Cassius, our 53 year old chimpanzee, as a part of their life. He is a gorgeous old soul who manages to capture the heart of everyone he meets.

However, at 53 years old, Cassius is nearing the end of his life. He is currently the oldest male chimpanzee in Australasia. In the wild, he would not have reached this age, with the average lifespan of a wild chimpanzee ranging between 30 and 40 years.

Cass has been moving slowly and stiffly for some time now due to arthritis and general age related physical decline. Sadly we are also starting to see a mental decline. Just like humans, chimpanzees can experience dementia and other age related complications, and we are confident we are seeing dementia take hold of Cassie.

At the moment, we are able to manage his arthritic pain and mental decline with medication. Currently he is coping well, still engaging with the troop, but there will be a time when for his comfort and welfare, we will need to say goodbye as we love him too much to let him suffer.

We wanted to share this with the public as we know he holds a special place in the people of Rockhampton’s hearts, and wanted to give people the opportunity to spend time with him before we say goodbye. In saying that, we don’t know if that will be in a week, a month, six months or longer, it will depend on his decline. Hopefully for him (and all of us), it will be many months away.

That's quite sad news but he has managed to reach quite a significant age thus far.

It's really good to see this sort of transparency presented by Rockhampton, to allow visitors time to pop in to see Cassius perhaps one last time. Not many zoos do this, and I bravo Rockhampton for taking the initiative.

It's also interesting to see menta decline being mentioned which is something also not often mentioned when it comes to animals reaching old ages - whether that's the case with only highly intelligent species (like chimps), it's intriguing nonetheless.

 

[Zoofan15]

That's quite sad news but he has managed to reach quite a significant age thus far.

It's really good to see this sort of transparency presented by Rockhampton, to allow visitors time to pop in to see Cassius perhaps one last time. Not many zoos do this, and I bravo Rockhampton for taking the initiative.

Cassius is a really good example of a hand-raised chimpanzee that’s lived a good life within a naturalistic troop. When you consider the spectrum has ranged from chimpanzees like Auckland Zoo’s tea party chimps who were never able to be integrated with their mother raised peers; to females like Suzie and Sally at Hamilton Zoo, who were accepted by the other chimps, but always remained on the fringes of their troop; Cassius has had a great life.

Cassius has formed a good relationship with the males in the troop, including the alpha male Alon; and has benefited from the arrival of the infants over the years.

When you consider how close Cassius came to be euthanised all those years ago, I’m so glad he (and Ockie) came to Rockhampton instead and got to live out his life as he’s done.

It's also interesting to see menta decline being mentioned which is something also not often mentioned when it comes to animals reaching old ages - whether that's the case with only highly intelligent species (like chimps), it's intriguing nonetheless.

On the subject of mental decline, Taronga Zoo documented this really well in their chimpanzee Bessie (1950-2011). She too suffered from dementia in her old age and the zoo made some fantastic posts celebrating the ageing of their oldest chimpanzees (Fifi, Bessie and Lulu; and then Bessie, Lulu and Spitter).

Tarongas Chimpanzee Grand Dames Notch Up 168 Years.

The grandest of the ‘Old Dames’ is Bessie, the oldest of the Chimpanzee group at the Zoo and also believed to be one of the oldest living chimpanzees alive today in human care. Sharing 98 percent of the same genetics as humans, Bessie is showing her age. Keepers suspect that she suffers from dementia as she often seems to be “not quite with us”. When keepers signal the group to come into their night dens, the group all run together and sometimes Bessie needs to be reminded the rest of the group have come in.

 

[Zoofan15]

Sule’s leadership style:

In celebrating Sule’s birthday today, Taronga have shared a post on his leadership style:

Sule, the alpha male of our 21-strong chimpanzee community, is a kind and intelligent leader who maintains a natural social structure.

As a father, he is patient with the infants’ mischief and protective of their mothers. Sule has developed his own leadership style, combining wisdom from his late father Lubutu, with a balanced approach that ensures fairness for all community members, from the lowest to the highest ranking.

A notable moment of kindness, Sule brought breakfast to Ceres shortly after she gave birth to Cekiri, the youngest baby in the community and stayed close by to ensure their safety.

Sule is the sire of the four youngest members of Taronga’s chimpanzee community:

0.1 Safiri (16/05/2019) Sule x Shiba
1.0 Niambi (07/10/2020) Sule x Naomi
0.1 Lemba (23/05/2023) Sule x Lisa
0.1 Cekiri (29/07/2023) Sule x Ceres

 

[Zoofan15]

Sydney Zoo Update:

Leakey and Mzuri went on exhibit for the first time today:

From socials:

Mzuri spent this morning out on habitat for the first time, and she absolutely loved every moment!

She was bursting with her signature pocket rocket energy and received plenty of affectionate hugs from Babsi, our Alpha Female Chimpanzee.

Mzuri won’t be out every day just yet, as we’re taking things slowly to help her feel comfortable and confident in her new home.

 

[Zoofan15]

Cassius (1971-2025)

Cassius has died at Rockhampton Zoo aged 53 years:

Rockhampton Zoo farewells beloved Cassius

Cassie passed away peacefully on Thursday afternoon after a rapid decline in health earlier in the week.

Cassius, who was born in Coolangatta in 1971, has called the Rockhampton Zoo home for the past 39 years. He was brought to the local area with his brother Ockie in 1986. The brothers remained together until Ockie sadly passed away in 2013.

——————

Sad news, but by no means unexpected given his age and recent updates on his declining health. Cassius was a behavioural non-breeder and never sired offspring; but is survived by Shiba and her descendants at Taronga Zoo (Cassius’ maternal grandmother was Shiba’s mother).

 

[Zorro]

Cassius (1971-2025)

Cassius has died at Rockhampton Zoo aged 53 years:

Rockhampton Zoo farewells beloved Cassius

Cassie passed away peacefully on Thursday afternoon after a rapid decline in health earlier in the week.

Cassius, who was born in Coolangatta in 1971, has called the Rockhampton Zoo home for the past 39 years. He was brought to the local area with his brother Ockie in 1986. The brothers remained together until Ockie sadly passed away in 2013.

——————

Sad news, but by no means unexpected given his age and recent updates on his declining health. Cassius was a behavioural non-breeder and never sired offspring; but is survived by Shiba and her descendants at Taronga Zoo (Cassius’ maternal grandmother was Shiba’s mother).

Sad news indeed I saw the group at Coolangatta "circa 1974-75".

 

[Zoofan15]

Sad news indeed I saw the group at Coolangatta "circa 1974-75".

That would have been great to have seen the Coolangatta group at its height.

They had three births:

1.0 Cassius (18/10/1971) Chiko x Mary
0.1 Cleopatra (28/02/1973) Chiko x Maxine
1.0 Octavius (21/04/1975) Chiko x Maxine

Maxine died 1975; Chiko died 1976; and Mary died 1977. Cleopatra then died in 1982, four years prior to Cassius and Octavius transferring to Rockhampton.

There’s always been some mystery around an additional female chimpanzee (Matilda), who appears to have been a surrogate mother to the young chimps. I’m wondering if she was Swappie (1962). She was Mary’s younger sister, who was sent to the Great Moscow Circus with her in 1968 and otherwise disappeared from records (while Mary was then sent to Coolangatta in 1971.

Cassius, saved from death row in a daring midnight run, reunites with rescuers 35 years later - ABC News

 

[Zorro]

That would have been great to have seen the Coolangatta group at its height.

They had three births:

1.0 Cassius (18/10/1971) Chico x Mary
0.1 Cleopatra (28/02/1973) Chico x Maxine
1.0 Octavius (21/04/1975) Chico x Maxine

Maxine died 1975; and Mary died 1977. Cleopatra then died in 1982, four years prior to Cassius and Octavius transferring to Rockhampton.

There’s always been some mystery around an additional female chimpanzee (Matilda), who appears to have been a surrogate mother to the young chimps. I’m wondering if she was Swappie (1962). She was Mary’s younger sister, who was sent to the Great Moscow Circus with her in 1968 and otherwise disappeared from records (while Mary was then sent to Coolangatta in 1971.

Cassius, saved from death row in a daring midnight run, reunites with rescuers 35 years later - ABC News

Not to go off topic but I was surprised the amount and range of animal species they had for a small zoo which I believe straddled both sides of the NSW/Qld boarder!

 

[ApeLadyNZ]

Cassius (1971-2025)

Cassius has died at Rockhampton Zoo aged 53 years:

Rockhampton Zoo farewells beloved Cassius

Cassie passed away peacefully on Thursday afternoon after a rapid decline in health earlier in the week.

Cassius, who was born in Coolangatta in 1971, has called the Rockhampton Zoo home for the past 39 years. He was brought to the local area with his brother Ockie in 1986. The brothers remained together until Ockie sadly passed away in 2013.

——————

Sad news, but by no means unexpected given his age and recent updates on his declining health. Cassius was a behavioural non-breeder and never sired offspring; but is survived by Shiba and her descendants at Taronga Zoo (Cassius’ maternal grandmother was Shiba’s mother).

Very sad news indeed, but he had a long and happy life, and it is good that his family line survives through Shiba and her offspring.