Australasian Common Chimpanzee Population
- Thread starter Zoofan15
- Start date
Lindachimp
Member
I am noticing a little bit of a monopoly with this zoo chat.
Oh we have a few students working on this paper as well as information not available to public. I would hope one would know the keeping of exotic animals in Australia leads it's self to be transparent in the dealings and keeping of animals for public safety, biosecurity and animal welfare reasons.
I was simply after a bit of information on one case but this does lead itself to further questions.
Oh we have a few students working on this paper as well as information not available to public. I would hope one would know the keeping of exotic animals in Australia leads it's self to be transparent in the dealings and keeping of animals for public safety, biosecurity and animal welfare reasons.
I was simply after a bit of information on one case but this does lead itself to further questions.
Taronga Zoo - Update on the Female Hierarchy
My friend visited Taronga Zoo this month and has been able to provide me with an update on the female hierarchy, which is currently as follows:
0.1 Sacha (1980)
0.1 Kuma (1991)
0.1 Lisa (1979)
0.1 Naomi (2001)
0.1 Ceres (1990)
0.1 Shiba (1981)
0.1 Kamili (1995)
0.1 Shona (1987)
0.1 Sembe (2008)
Sacha has remained at the top, a position that comes from the status of her adult sons being the alpha and beta of the community.
Kuma is respected due to her size and temperament. Her adult son is the gamma male and her adolescent son is making significant inroads in the male hierarchy.
Lisa networks efficient and is enjoying the status of being the mother of one the community’s two infants.
Naomi demonstrated ambition from early on; and rose significantly in status after the birth of her now juvenile son. I’m predicting the birth of her next infant could see her rise to the third spot.
Ceres is the epitome of a middle ranking female. She lacks her sisters youth and ambition; but having an infant in the community affords her some status. She and Naomi are also an effective support structure for one another.
Shiba has dropped significantly in ranking when you consider she was once the highest ranking female. She puts little effort into networking and her family (the largest in the community) provide her with little support.
Kamili has no family in the community, which contributes to her low ranking position. Ditto for Shona, who has loose ties to her aunt Shiba and her family; but no offspring of her own.
Sembe is the proverbial ship without a rudder. She’s 17 years old and has never bred, so her life path is currently on the same trajectory as Shona etc. Shiba was a helicopter parent when raising her and her lack of freedom (compared to her peers like Sule) has limited her social interactions. The long term plan is for her to transfer out (I’m assuming with Safiri) and I don’t foresee any changes to her status in the interim.
My friend visited Taronga Zoo this month and has been able to provide me with an update on the female hierarchy, which is currently as follows:
0.1 Sacha (1980)
0.1 Kuma (1991)
0.1 Lisa (1979)
0.1 Naomi (2001)
0.1 Ceres (1990)
0.1 Shiba (1981)
0.1 Kamili (1995)
0.1 Shona (1987)
0.1 Sembe (2008)
Sacha has remained at the top, a position that comes from the status of her adult sons being the alpha and beta of the community.
Kuma is respected due to her size and temperament. Her adult son is the gamma male and her adolescent son is making significant inroads in the male hierarchy.
Lisa networks efficient and is enjoying the status of being the mother of one the community’s two infants.
Naomi demonstrated ambition from early on; and rose significantly in status after the birth of her now juvenile son. I’m predicting the birth of her next infant could see her rise to the third spot.
Ceres is the epitome of a middle ranking female. She lacks her sisters youth and ambition; but having an infant in the community affords her some status. She and Naomi are also an effective support structure for one another.
Shiba has dropped significantly in ranking when you consider she was once the highest ranking female. She puts little effort into networking and her family (the largest in the community) provide her with little support.
Kamili has no family in the community, which contributes to her low ranking position. Ditto for Shona, who has loose ties to her aunt Shiba and her family; but no offspring of her own.
Sembe is the proverbial ship without a rudder. She’s 17 years old and has never bred, so her life path is currently on the same trajectory as Shona etc. Shiba was a helicopter parent when raising her and her lack of freedom (compared to her peers like Sule) has limited her social interactions. The long term plan is for her to transfer out (I’m assuming with Safiri) and I don’t foresee any changes to her status in the interim.
Most of the members in this thread are zoo enthusiasts - they don't have "insider information" as it were. There's no "monopoly" or hiding zoo secrets. What they know is what is already public information. If you need specific information which is not public then you'd probably want to contact the actual people involved.
Chimpanzee Transfer
1.1 chimpanzee have been transferred from Sydney Zoo to Rockhampton Zoo:
Meet Many and Mary – Rockhampton Zoo’s newest chimpanzees
1.0 Mani (04/06/2000) Neutered
0.1 Mary (18/12/2002)
“Mary brings a new bloodline from Germany into the Australasian region, and should breeding be successful between her and Alon, it will introduce much needed genetic diversity into the region’s breeding program,” Ms Bellward said.
Since Rockhampton Zoo were supposed to be importing a female from South Korea this year, I’m assuming this import has either been cancelled; or the female is now going to Sydney Zoo with the male they’re supposed to be importing.
1.1 chimpanzee have been transferred from Sydney Zoo to Rockhampton Zoo:
Meet Many and Mary – Rockhampton Zoo’s newest chimpanzees
1.0 Mani (04/06/2000) Neutered
0.1 Mary (18/12/2002)
“Mary brings a new bloodline from Germany into the Australasian region, and should breeding be successful between her and Alon, it will introduce much needed genetic diversity into the region’s breeding program,” Ms Bellward said.
Since Rockhampton Zoo were supposed to be importing a female from South Korea this year, I’m assuming this import has either been cancelled; or the female is now going to Sydney Zoo with the male they’re supposed to be importing.
That's an interesting move and now gives Rockhampton the following chimps (4.3);
1.0 Jerry (1995) Unknown x Mzde, Neutered
1.0 Mani (2000) Unknown x Cindy, Neutered
0.1 Mary (2002) Unknown x Mzde
0.1 Sile (2006) Unknown x Julchen
1.0 Alon (2008) Abshalom x Avigail
0.1 Capri (2018) Alon x Leakey
1.0 Gandali (2020) Alon x Holly
I'm not sure what Rockhampton's current capacity is, but they recently had an expansion. Still, with currently seven chimps, it's difficult to imagine they intend to still acquire the female from South Korea, and then allow all three females (including the two Sydney girls) to breed.
Sending her to Sydney instead however would make little sense too - considering her brother would be the only viable male in the future (unless Sydney plan to acquire additional males). Fritz is now approaching his mid 40's so isn't getting any younger.
It was also good to hear that Fritz has bonded well with Leakey and Mzuri. An infant from Leakey within the next year or so would be wonderful - Sydney's first chimp infant.
Rockhampton have made a concerted effort to boost male numbers as per the recommendation in the husbandry guidelines of holding a minimum of three adult males per troop. The same guidelines recommend holding four adult females, so what I’m thinking is they’ll transfer in Sembe and Safiri in a few years time to make the female numbers up to four (I’m not counting Capri as the long term plan is for her to transfer out).
My assumption is that Mary and Sile will breed at natural birth intervals for at least 2-3 infants; with Sembe and Safiri producing an infant each primarily for social reasons. Sembe and Safiri aren’t genetically valuable females; but are unrelated to Alon and would be useful in making up the female numbers in the Rockhampton troop. There’s also not a lot of options for them regionally bar Sydney Zoo.
Sydney Zoo is smaller yet. I anticipate a single breeding female (Leakey) would suit them down to the ground. Once Fritz dies, they could well receive a Taronga male.
Mary and Sile are both older; in Mary's case she's now 23, so breeding from her sooner rather than later would be preferable. Three infants for both would be sufficient - it'll be interesting to see whether Rockhampton follow artificial breeding intervals, or allow the girls to breed naturally and then contracept them once the desirable number of offspring is achieved.
With these transfers, Sydney's now down to just seven chimps, including six chimps that are all in their 30's. So certainly an ageing troop. I would say receiving additional males/females down the line would be the goal. Potentially in another decade or so, depending on how long Fitz lives.
As has been discussed, Chiku and Kendi at Hamilton would be prime candidates to transfer across in five or so years time.
Re. males for Sydney, Taronga's would be the obvious option. Fumo, Sudi and Liwali would be the obvious options; although Liwali would have value remaining at Taronga, being the only of the younger males not sired by one of Sacha's sons, and also to support his mother. Shiba and Kuma would both be much older by that point in time, and in any case would have other offspring to support them, so Taronga could ultimately afford to offload Fumo and Sudi if they desired.
I could see Rockhampton allowing Mary and Sile to produce three infants in quick succession (e.g. Mary at 24, 28 and 31 years; and Sile at 20, 23 and 27 years) and capping it at three infants. Studies at Taronga identified the highest success rate vis a vis maternal age was 20-25 years; followed by 25-30 years. Breeding from females at the 11th hour (40 years+) is far from ideal and should be avoided when there’s sufficient opportunity to breed from a female in her prime. Monarto had Zombi give birth at 19, 22 and 26 years for example; and don’t currently have any intention to breed from her again.
The only thing that might interfere with Mary/Sile breeding at natural birth intervals is if they each produce two sons. Retention of sons is the natural social order and five young males (including the juvenile Gandali) would create a pressure cooker environment a decade from now. A 2.2 or 1.3 split of their combined first four infants would be desirable, with females proving an asset to the region come dispersal age.
Since the region will be strongly adhering to the retention of sons model, Taronga will inevitably have males left without a family unit e.g. If Lemba disperses and Lisa dies, Liwali will be left alone. If Sacha and Shikamoo die, Sule will be left alone etc. This could leave a male well placed for transfer to another troop. This was effectively the fate of Gombe at Wellington.
Chimpanzee Paternity Follow Up
A study on Taronga’s chimpanzees in 1995 confirmed paternity for multiple infants born during the early years of Snowy’s reign, but noted paternity was unknown for several Taronga born chimpanzees, eight of which are still living within the region:
0.1 Lucy (24/11/1975)
0.1 Lisa (23/08/1979)
0.1 Sacha (11/06/1980)
0.1 Shiba (22/05/1981)
0.1 Cara (10/09/1981)
0.1 Samantha (25/12/1983)
0.1 Sally (13/01/1985)
0.1 Shona (09/10/1987)
I was interested to know whether in the 30 years since this study, there’d been any confirmation and so I contacted the zoos that hold the eight females listed above. The respective zoos subsequently confirmed they have a sire listed for each chimpanzee, which are as follows:
——————
0.1 Lucy (born 24/11/1975 to Lulu) was sired by:
Possible sires: Bobby and Jojo
——————
0.1 Lisa (born 23/08/1979 to Lulu) was sired by:
Possible sires: Jojo, Flint and Mike
——————
0.1 Sacha (born 11/06/1980 to Spitter) was sired by:
Possible sires: Jojo, Flint, Mike and Danny
——————
0.1 Shiba (born 22/05/1981 to Susie) was sired by:
Possible sires: Jojo, Flint, Mike and Danny
——————
0.1 Cara (born 10/09/1981 to Chiki) was sired by:
Possible sires: Jojo, Flint, Mike and Danny
——————
0.1 Samantha (born 25/12/1983 to Sutu) was sired by:
Possible sires: Jojo, Danny and Sonny
——————
0.1 Sally (born 13/01/1985 to Spitter) was sired by:
Possible sires: Jojo, Danny and Sonny
——————
0.1 Shona (born 09/10/1987 to Sutu) was sired by:
Possible sires: Danny, Sonny and Mervin
——————
Discussion:
I will discuss these results below. If anyone else wishes to reply/discuss this post, please do so via the spoiler function for those who haven’t yet read this post.
A study on Taronga’s chimpanzees in 1995 confirmed paternity for multiple infants born during the early years of Snowy’s reign, but noted paternity was unknown for several Taronga born chimpanzees, eight of which are still living within the region:
0.1 Lucy (24/11/1975)
0.1 Lisa (23/08/1979)
0.1 Sacha (11/06/1980)
0.1 Shiba (22/05/1981)
0.1 Cara (10/09/1981)
0.1 Samantha (25/12/1983)
0.1 Sally (13/01/1985)
0.1 Shona (09/10/1987)
I was interested to know whether in the 30 years since this study, there’d been any confirmation and so I contacted the zoos that hold the eight females listed above. The respective zoos subsequently confirmed they have a sire listed for each chimpanzee, which are as follows:
——————
0.1 Lucy (born 24/11/1975 to Lulu) was sired by:
Bobby
Possible sires: Bobby and Jojo
——————
0.1 Lisa (born 23/08/1979 to Lulu) was sired by:
Jojo
Possible sires: Jojo, Flint and Mike
——————
0.1 Sacha (born 11/06/1980 to Spitter) was sired by:
Jojo
Possible sires: Jojo, Flint, Mike and Danny
——————
0.1 Shiba (born 22/05/1981 to Susie) was sired by:
Jojo
Possible sires: Jojo, Flint, Mike and Danny
——————
0.1 Cara (born 10/09/1981 to Chiki) was sired by:
Jojo
Possible sires: Jojo, Flint, Mike and Danny
——————
0.1 Samantha (born 25/12/1983 to Sutu) was sired by:
Jojo
Possible sires: Jojo, Danny and Sonny
——————
0.1 Sally (born 13/01/1985 to Spitter) was sired by:
Jojo
Possible sires: Jojo, Danny and Sonny
——————
0.1 Shona (born 09/10/1987 to Sutu) was sired by:
Danny
Possible sires: Danny, Sonny and Mervin
——————
Discussion:
I will discuss these results below. If anyone else wishes to reply/discuss this post, please do so via the spoiler function for those who haven’t yet read this post.
All up, the results were predictable in that the reigning alpha male at the time of the conception of each infant was the sire. While exceptions have occurred, this has been a strong trend across the region, especially in troops with a stable alpha that’s supported by most/all of the females. Factor in the ages of alternative candidates and the results are even less surprising.
The 1995 study considered any male aged five years and over at the time of conception as a candidate. This is the age that males are typically first observed mating with females, though most male chimpanzees are incapable of producing sperm until 7-8 years. With this in mind, I would have been amazed if any of the males aged 5-7 years had sired infants.
The 1995 study considered any male aged five years and over at the time of conception as a candidate. This is the age that males are typically first observed mating with females, though most male chimpanzees are incapable of producing sperm until 7-8 years. With this in mind, I would have been amazed if any of the males aged 5-7 years had sired infants.
ApeLadyNZ
Well-Known Member
Thanks for this update 0 it's very interesting and sheds a lot of light on the relationships between these chimpanzees. With Bobby being confirmed as Lucy's sire, that would also confirm that Lucy and Mike were paternal half-siblings, wouldn't it? Which makes it all the more surprising that she was imported to Auckland as a companion for Mike and maternal role model for Suzie and Sally. I suppose that, with Lucy's paternity being unknown, they may have erred on the side of her possibly being sired by Jojo.
Yes, that’s correct that Mike and Lucy share a sire. Jojo was 11 years old when his father died at the age of 25 years, so we can assume Bobby was doing a reasonable job of keeping him in check. His best chance at siring an infant at that age would have been to a female who wasn’t overtly cycling. This is how the then low-ranking Sule sired Shiba and Naomi’s last infants.
Ultimately we can assume Lucy’s export was demographic driven. Taronga’s community was growing exponentially and she was a young reproductive aged female. It was reported the intention of her acquisition was so Auckland’s females could learn mating behaviour by observation. The fact she had an infant likely further enhanced her selection. Arguably the same result could have been achieved through sending a reproductive aged female to conceive soon after arrival; but presumably they weren’t discounting Suzie and Sally learning rapidly through observation and conceiving first themselves. If only!
Belle (1975), albeit another half-sister of Mike, had no offspring in 1985 and would have made a better candidate. Lisa, Sacha. Shiba and Cara (then aged 4-6 years) were better genetic matches; but would have required waiting until they were at least 7-8 years before exporting them. Contraception wasn’t readily used in the community at this point, so females bred almost as soon as they reached sexual maturity.
While Taronga was clearly giving thought to avoiding inbreeding at this time (importing Snowy in 1986), it’s likely Auckland was unphased by acquiring two chimpanzees believed to be half-siblings. Orangutan half-siblings were permitted to breed in 1988 and they were inbreeding giraffes, hippopotami and otters into the 90’s. As a side-note, it wouldn’t be surprising if Suzie and Sally’s parents were half-siblings. Since wild born chimpanzee infants were routinely captured via the massacre of entire troops, it’s likely multiple related infants were subsequently shipped out together.
Ultimately we can assume Lucy’s export was demographic driven. Taronga’s community was growing exponentially and she was a young reproductive aged female. It was reported the intention of her acquisition was so Auckland’s females could learn mating behaviour by observation. The fact she had an infant likely further enhanced her selection. Arguably the same result could have been achieved through sending a reproductive aged female to conceive soon after arrival; but presumably they weren’t discounting Suzie and Sally learning rapidly through observation and conceiving first themselves. If only!
Belle (1975), albeit another half-sister of Mike, had no offspring in 1985 and would have made a better candidate. Lisa, Sacha. Shiba and Cara (then aged 4-6 years) were better genetic matches; but would have required waiting until they were at least 7-8 years before exporting them. Contraception wasn’t readily used in the community at this point, so females bred almost as soon as they reached sexual maturity.
While Taronga was clearly giving thought to avoiding inbreeding at this time (importing Snowy in 1986), it’s likely Auckland was unphased by acquiring two chimpanzees believed to be half-siblings. Orangutan half-siblings were permitted to breed in 1988 and they were inbreeding giraffes, hippopotami and otters into the 90’s. As a side-note, it wouldn’t be surprising if Suzie and Sally’s parents were half-siblings. Since wild born chimpanzee infants were routinely captured via the massacre of entire troops, it’s likely multiple related infants were subsequently shipped out together.
ApeLadyNZ
Well-Known Member
It's fortunate that the union of Mike and Lucy yielded healthy offspring, despite the inbreeding (and that Luka's offspring to an unrelated female have likewise gone on to be healthy. I wasn't aware inbreeding in some zoos was tolerated for that long, as it seems to be that zoos are doing their very best to avoid it these days. Leading to, in some cases, individual animals found to be inbred being removed from the breeding programme (I think this happened to orangutans Utama at Perth Zoo and Kade at Gladys Porter Zoo?)
Although at an Auckland Zoo event I attended some time back, a speaker mentioned that sunda gharial Malu may have been incorrectly sexed and could turn out to be a male due to certain behaviours, and that they would probably allow Malu and Sumpit to breed if that turned out to be the case, even though they are siblings. But I'm pretty sure that now Malu has indeed been confirmed to be a female.
Although at an Auckland Zoo event I attended some time back, a speaker mentioned that sunda gharial Malu may have been incorrectly sexed and could turn out to be a male due to certain behaviours, and that they would probably allow Malu and Sumpit to breed if that turned out to be the case, even though they are siblings. But I'm pretty sure that now Malu has indeed been confirmed to be a female.
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As long as we don’t directly discuss the paternity results in the post above, we can switch to normal reply format now.
Inbreeding in Australasian zoos is rife to this day. In some cases (e.g. Indian antelope or Barbary sheep), this can be attributed to an inability to import. In other cases, like Sumatran tigers, the Australasian population descends from 20 wild born founders, with it being extremely difficult to import unrelated animals from Indonesia.
However, the primary reason for inbreeding chimpanzee in Australasia has been the difficulties around introducing unrelated animals. Adult male to adult male is the most challenging introduction; but as Taronga’s introduction of three females to their community (two successful; one unsuccessful) in 2015 proved, female to female introductions can also prove challenging.
Despite this, there’s been a strong emphasis on female dispersal within Australasia’s chimpanzee population and long term, this will drastically reduce inbreeding as females transfer between troops.
ApeLadyNZ
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the clarification! I had no idea that inbreeding was continuing to that extent, although it's encouraging to see they're attempting to avoid it with great apes. (Although Kade, female orangutan at Gladys Porter Zoo who I mentioned above, is only 12 currently, so perhaps her youth was why the zoo decided to breed only from her mother, Dodie. Perhaps she will get the chance to breed in future, despite being inbred. I am pretty sure that Perth's Utama was taken out of the breeding programme due to being inbred, though. Or incompatibility with the Perth males, perhaps?).
With regard to NZ's chimpanzees, I imagine Hamilton's Chiku and Kendi will transfer out to Australia in an effort to pair them with unrelated males, although I will miss them. Unless a decision is made that it would be safe to transfer them to Wellington Zoo, and that the level of consanguinity they share with the Wellington males would not be an impediment for them.
I agree that’s the most likely outcome. My predictions are Sembe/Safiri to Rockhampton; Chiku/Kendi to Sydney; and Hope/Zola to Wellington.
Taronga have three breeding females:
0.1 Kuma (1991) - mother of Furahi (2003) and Fumo (2013)
0.1 Ceres (1990) - mother of Cekiri (2023)
0.1 Naomi (2001) - mother of Niambi (2021)
I anticipate that Kuma and Naomi will be taken off contraception next year (once the wildlife hospital is complete), enabling them to produce infants circa 2027. Ceres could theoretically have another infant circa 2028.
Taronga could then decide whether to cap Kuma and Ceres’ reproduction at circa 36 and 38 years respectively or allow them to have one more infant. Due to her genetic value, I anticipate Ceres would have one more in her early 40’s; perhaps aligned with Naomi breeding again, who would be in her early 30’s.
The above should suffice Taronga with regards to new females for the next decade.
The issue is that really, with the exception of Sydney and Rockhampton, the rest of our regional zoos have troops primarily descended from Taronga's, which makes things difficult relatedness wise. In saying that, Taronga themselves have been open to small inbreeding in the past, so I do wonder whether it would be considered again in a case of need.
Keep in mind, Chima (daughter of Cara) was sent to Hamilton with the intention of pairing her with Luka (son of Mike and Lucy). Chima was distantly related to Luka via her maternal grandfather (Jojo) who was the son of Luka's paternal and maternal grandfather, Bobby.
So there's a possibility that Chiku and Kendi do end up transferring down to Wellington, although as you've highlighted there's better options regionally for both. Hope and Zola could also very well end up going to Taronga. Especially as I don't foresee Capri at Rockhampton transferring across to Taronga by herself.
With Taronga down to three breeding females - two of which are in their mid 30's, the zoo will almost certainly look at acquiring new females in the next five to ten years; sending out Sembe/Safiri at the same time.
The one thing we can guarantee about Taronga Zoo is that any incoming females will be a group of at least two (probably three) closely bonded females, who can offer each other some protection. Like you say, this rules out Capri going to Taronga.
One possibility is that Zuri (who has little to no application to Monarto’s troop breeding wise) could accompany Hope and Zola to Taronga Zoo to make up numbers. Due to her relatedness to the troop, I doubt she’d have more than 1-2 offspring (purely for social reasons); but would lend invaluable support to Hope/Zola as they establish themselves as Taronga’s new breeding females.
Wellington would benefit from females anytime from now to be honest as they essentially have a single breeding female. If they don’t receive Hope/Zola, then either Chiku/Kendi or Capri and another female could be options. I don’t anticipate Wellington’s troop would be anywhere near as hostile to incoming females as Taronga, so they could potentially opt to transfer in Capri with either a half-sibling born at Rockhampton; or even an unrelated female, following a bonding period between her and Capri.
Both Sydney and Rockhampton currently seem quite set on their individual troops.
Rockhampton now have two future breeding females - Mary and Sile of which they'll likely base the future of their troop around (assuming the import from Korea has been cancelled). Both females will hopefully produce infants in the coming years.
Sydney also has two future breeding females in mother/daughter duo, Leakey and Mzuri. They have the space to eventually acquire a few more males/females - if they go with Taronga born males, we can rule out the possibility of acquiring Taronga born females and vice versa. But I do imagine they'll look at least importing one or the other eventually. The male from Korea could still be on the cards.
There could be some wariness around introducing new females to Sydney Zoo’s troop considering Leakey (1993) has proven an aggressive female in the past. If Chiku and Kendi were to be transferred to Sydney Zoo, it’d be advantageous to do this before they have to contend with Mzuri (2021) as well. By the time she’s fully grown (12 years), Mzuri will be a fierce supporter of her mother and together they will be a formidable force for any incoming females to contend with. Considering Kendi is only a year older than Mzuri, the window to transfer them in will be quite narrow.
That said, we can’t discount Mzuri transferring out herself. If Leakey produces two sons in succession by the time Mzuri reaches dispersal age, Rockhampton may opt to retire Leakey from breeding and build their future troop around her sons and any incoming females.
It partly hinges on the import of the male from South Korea. If he arrives, Mzuri will be a genetic asset to the troop. If he doesn’t (and Leakey produces sons), Mzuri will be surplus.