Australasian Baboon Population - Research and Discussion

Jambo said:
Re. Adelaide.

What happened to Horus?

Also it appears from photos the mother of the newest infant is indeed Chappi - dosen’t look to be a young female.
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Horus was unfortunately euthansied in 2021. This was posted on Adelaide’s socials: During a routine health check performed to assess Horus’s condition after an altercation within the troop, the vet team determined that his injuries, combined with the other age-related challenges, were not compatible with a suitable quality of life and the sad but necessary decision was made to euthanise him.

The mother of the new infant at Adelaide is Quasi, but Chappi is assisting heavily in the raising of the infant. Chappi should be post reproductive by now (19 years) and if not, should be on contraception as the two males are her sons.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Horus was unfortunately euthansied in 2021. This was posted on Adelaide’s socials: During a routine health check performed to assess Horus’s condition after an altercation within the troop, the vet team determined that his injuries, combined with the other age-related challenges, were not compatible with a suitable quality of life and the sad but necessary decision was made to euthanise him.

The mother of the new infant at Adelaide is Quasi, but Chappi is assisting heavily in the raising of the infant. Chappi should be post reproductive by now (19 years) and if not, should be on contraception as the two males are her sons.
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Horus was essentially killed by the troop's current alpha to my knowledge. The keepers and volunteers openly admit that too.
 
Swanson02 said:
Horus was essentially killed by the troop's current alpha to my knowledge. The keepers and volunteers openly admit that too.
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That’s interesting to know - though it doesn’t surprise me. Aside from the fact the troop was destined for such an outcome when it consisted of 3.1 baboons (females should always outnumber males), Tomkay (current alpha) has been a problem from day one.

Gina (Tomkay’s grandmother) was euthanised due to arthritis, with her quality of life compromised by Tomkay’s harassment of her. He also physically attacked three new females that were imported from Wellington Zoo. One died (to be clear, I don’t know the cause of death) and the other two were transferred out to Melbourne Zoo. Tomkay’s three youngest siblings all died in infancy. At least two (if not all three) died from injuries.

He seems to have calmed down as he’s matured - as evidenced by the two new females assimilating into the troop without issue. I’m confident with a ratio of 2.3 adults (plus the new infant), the troop will now thrive.
 
Zoofan15 said:
That’s interesting to know - though it doesn’t surprise me. Aside from the fact the troop was destined for such an outcome when it consisted of 3.1 baboons (females should always outnumber males), Tomkay (current alpha) has been a problem from day one.

Gina (Tomkay’s grandmother) was euthanised due to arthritis, with her quality of life compromised by Tomkay’s harassment of her. He also physically attacked three new females that were imported from Wellington Zoo. One died (to be clear, I don’t know the cause of death) and the other two were transferred out to Melbourne Zoo. Tomkay’s three youngest siblings all died in infancy. At least two (if not all three) died from injuries.

He seems to have calmed down as he’s matured - as evidenced by the two new females assimilating into the troop without issue. I’m confident with a ratio of 2.3 adults (plus the new infant), the troop will now thrive.
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He seemed rather caring of the newest infant when I visited last with it comfortably laying at his feet. I managed to get a view by peeling back the shading blocking the exhibit from public view, it has been blocked off for around 6 months, which makes me think the keepers may have identified the close proximity with the public in such a small exhibit as the problem. I hope they get them out to Monarto asap if that is the case. A large baboon rock exhibit with an overlook of the plains would be amazing at Monarto.
 
Swanson02 said:
He seemed rather caring of the newest infant when I visited last with it comfortably laying at his feet. I managed to get a view by peeling back the shading blocking the exhibit from public view, it has been blocked off for around 6 months, which makes me think the keepers may have identified the close proximity with the public in such a small exhibit as the problem. I hope they get them out to Monarto asap if that is the case. A large baboon rock exhibit with an overlook of the plains would be amazing at Monarto.
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That’s good to hear Tomkay is proving an attentive father. Are all three females in his harem? If so, his brother may prove a disruptive influence - though the infant has made it past the main danger period (which is around 4-8 weeks).

From what I’ve seen, baboons aren’t hugely reactive to the crowds. I’d attribute past incidences involving Tomkay to a lack of discipline from his sire; combined with the gender imbalance within the troop.

It’d be exciting to see a large troop established at Monarto. The troop at Sydney Zoo has welcomed a succession of female infants - who will likely be their main source of unrelated females.
 
Zoofan15 said:
That’s good to hear Tomkay is proving an attentive father. Are all three females in his harem? If so, his brother may prove a disruptive influence - though the infant has made it past the main danger period (which is around 4-8 weeks).

From what I’ve seen, baboons aren’t hugely reactive to the crowds. I’d attribute past incidences involving Tomkay to a lack of discipline from his sire; combined with the gender imbalance within the troop.

It’d be exciting to see a large troop established at Monarto. The troop at Sydney Zoo has welcomed a succession of female infants - who will likely be their main source of unrelated females.
Click to expand...
2 females in his harem including his mother and one in his brother's harem. Well, at least one female followed his brother around from my observation. His brother is physically much smaller than him as well.
 
Swanson02 said:
2 females in his harem including his mother and one in his brother's harem. Well, at least one female followed his brother around from my observation. His brother is physically much smaller than him as well.
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Thanks for confirming. Djibouti having a female too is the ideal situation as it’ll keep both males occupied.

The harems would therefore be:

1.0 Tomkay (19/12/2014) Horus x Chappi
0.1 Chappi (25/03/2003) Jarmah x Gina
0.1 Quasi (13/08/2017) Jabari x Qetesh
0.1 Unnamed (00/07/2022) Tomkay x Quasi

1.0 Djibouti (27/10/2016) Horus x Chappi
0.1 Mahali (11/02/2018) Jabari x Macey

Djibouti is still an adolescent, approaching his prime so should bulk up in the coming years.
 
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