Australasian Common Chimpanzee Population

[Zoofan15]

Wellington Zoo - Death of Bebe’s Infant (Killed by Mother)

I came across an article that detailed the death of Bubs, a female infant born to Bebe at Wellington Zoo 03/09/1977.

Bubs was the third of Bebe’s seven offspring and her only daughter. Apparently Bebe became stressed over having to care for her infant without assistance and became aggressive towards her. The infant was removed for three weeks and then returned, upon which her mother killed her on 06/07/1978.

Bebe had initially relied on the assistance of her seven year old brother (Pan); but he was separated after he became too boisterous.

Wellington Zoo was raising another infant at the time of Bubs’ birth - a female named Jodie (born June 1977).

Source: The Press (13/02/1978):

Spoiler: Article

Bubs, a baby chimpanzee which became a victim of “subrban neurosis,” has been killed by her mother. The five-month old Wellington Zoo chimp’s life ended suddenly soon after she was reunited with her mother, which had been beating her out of frustration over having to care for her without assistance from other chimps.

The wife of the head keeper had for three weeks cared for the bruised and cut baby. Then she was put back with the mother. The zoo manager (Mr Konrad Kuiper) said yesterday that Bubs seemed to be accepted by her mother after the reunion, and there appeared to be no problems for the first few hours. But, when the public left the zoo, her mother turned on her daughter and the zoo staff found Bubs dead in the cage next morning.

Bubs’ mother originally chose a “dry aunt” to give her a rest each day. The “dry aunt” was a boisterous young male chimp and, when he kept putting his fingers down Bubs’ throat, her mother had to look after her ail day without a break. It was then, out of frustration, she started hitting her baby, and Bubs became cut about the face and bruised.

I will upload Wellington Zoo’s chimpanzee records this week.
Aaaaaa

 

[Jambo]

Wellington Zoo - Death of Bebe’s Infant (Killed by Mother)

I came across an article that detailed the death of Bubs, a female infant born to Bebe at Wellington Zoo 03/09/1977.

Bubs was the third of Bebe’s seven offspring and her only daughter. Apparently Bebe became stressed over having to care for her infant without assistance and became aggressive towards her. The infant was removed for three weeks and then returned, upon which her mother killed her on 06/07/1978.

Bebe had initially relied on the assistance of her seven year old brother (Pan); but he was separated after he became too boisterous.

Wellington Zoo was raising another infant at the time of Bubs’ birth - a female named Jodie (born June 1977).

Source: The Press (13/02/1978):

Spoiler: Article

Bubs, a baby chimpanzee which became a victim of “subrban neurosis,” has been killed by her mother. The five-month old Wellington Zoo chimp’s life ended suddenly soon after she was reunited with her mother, which had been beating her out of frustration over having to care for her without assistance from other chimps.

The wife of the head keeper had for three weeks cared for the bruised and cut baby. Then she was put back with the mother. The zoo manager (Mr Konrad Kuiper) said yesterday that Bubs seemed to be accepted by her mother after the reunion, and there appeared to be no problems for the first few hours. But, when the public left the zoo, her mother turned on her daughter and the zoo staff found Bubs dead in the cage next morning.

Bubs’ mother originally chose a “dry aunt” to give her a rest each day. The “dry aunt” was a boisterous young male chimp and, when he kept putting his fingers down Bubs’ throat, her mother had to look after her ail day without a break. It was then, out of frustration, she started hitting her baby, and Bubs became cut about the face and bruised.

I will upload Wellington Zoo’s chimpanzee records this week.
Aaaaaa

I wonder why Bebe was supposebly 'having to care for Bubs without assitance' when it was the same situation she was pretty much in with her previous births - she had her mother, Yoka, Peter and even her adolescent brother, Pan, and her own juvenile son, Barney in the troop at the time. It might in fact just simply be she was in fact quite stressed about raising two young chimps at the same time; Barney was only two and a half years older.

Interestingly, the article also mentions a boisterous young male chimp. Would've definitely had to be Bebe's younger brother, Pan, who was then eight years of age.

 

[Zoofan15]

I wonder why Bebe was supposebly 'having to care for Bubs without assitance' when it was the same situation she was pretty much in with her previous births - she had her mother, Yoka, Peter and even her adolescent brother, Pan, and her own juvenile son, Barney in the troop at the time. It might in fact just simply be she was in fact quite stressed about raising two young chimps at the same time; Barney was only two and a half years older.

Interestingly, the article also mentions a boisterous young male chimp. Would've definitely had to be Bebe's younger brother, Pan, who was then eight years of age.

With regards to Bebe receiving assistance from Yoka, I’m unsure how useful she would have been. It appears all three founder females enjoyed the support from their keepers in the tea-party days (which ended 1970). Molly had no objection to keepers taking her firstborn infant (Patrick) away to meet the public for an hour or so (and enjoyed the break); while Yoka rejected many of her later offspring.

I’m going to do some further research on Wellington’s troop dynamics as I came across an article regarding Natureland’s troop in 1985, which noted the breeding female at Wellington (Bebe) didn’t raise her offspring. It had previously been my assumption that Bebe’s offspring- including Boyd (1978), Snowy (1983) and Marty (1987) were mother raised, but I will confirm that with the records I have.

I will reformat my Wellington records posted in the New Zealand forum this week and add in the offspring of Yoka’s daughters.

 

[Zoofan15]

Wellington Zoo - Historical Records

This post will cover the early decades of Wellington Zoo’s chimpanzee colony.

0.3 were imported in 1956 (Yoka, Breena and Molly)
4.0 were imported in 1957 (Tom, Teddy, Mickey and Bobby)
0.1 was imported in 1970 (Sarah)

Their records are as follows, including the offspring born to Yoka’s daughters (Bebe, Jodie and Jessie).

—————————————

Records:

Spoiler: Tom, Teddy, Mickey, Bobby

1.0 Tom
Born in the wild (Africa) 01/01/1950
Arrived at Wellington Zoo 30/11/1957
Died at Wellington Zoo 07/02/1990

1.0 Teddy
Born in the wild (Africa) 01/01/1952
Arrived at Wellington Zoo 30/11/1957
Sent to Melbourne Zoo 27/10/1966

1.0 Mickey
Born in the wild (Africa) 01/01/1952
Arrived at Wellington Zoo 30/11/1957
Died at Wellington Zoo 01/01/1958

1.0 Bobby
Born in the wild (Africa) 01/01/1954
Arrived at Wellington Zoo 30/11/1957
Sent to Unknown 01/01/1973

Spoiler: Yoka, Bebe, Jodie, Jessie

0.1 Yoka
Born in the wild (Africa) 01/01/1953
Arrived at Wellington Zoo 27/10/1956
Died at Wellington Zoo 26/08/1979

Yoka gave birth to ten offspring at Wellington Zoo:

0.1 June
Born at Wellington Zoo 15/09/1960
Sent to Melbourne Zoo 27/10/1966
Sire: Teddy

0.1 Bebe
Born at Wellington Zoo 16/12/1962
Died at Wellington Zoo 08/09/2003
Sire: Tom

1.0 Steven
Born at Wellington Zoo 14/11/1965
Sent to Bullen’s Animal World 31/07/1973
Sire: Tom

0.1 Sara
Born at Wellington Zoo 06/04/1968
Sent to Bullen’s Animal World 31/07/1973
Sire: Tom

1.0 Pan
Born at Wellington Zoo 03/12/1970
Sent to Natureland Zoo 28/12/1978
Sire: Tom

1.0 Jagger
Born at Wellington Zoo 14/11/1974
Sent to Ridgway’s Circus 01/01/1976
Sire: Tom

0.1 Jodie
Born at Wellington Zoo 01/06/1977
Died at Wellington Zoo 18/06/2002
Sire: Tom

0.1 Jessie
Born at Wellington Zoo 10/07/1978
Still at Wellington Zoo
Sire: Tom

1.0 Unnamed
Born at Wellington Zoo 26/08/1979
Died at Wellington Zoo 26/08/1979
Sire: Tom

1.0 Jimmy
Born at Wellington Zoo 26/08/1979
Died at Wellington Zoo 13/10/1979
Sire: Tom

Bebe gave birth to seven offspring at Wellington Zoo:

1.0 Peter
Born at Wellington Zoo 12/09/1971
Sent to Bullen’s Animal World 31/12/1977
Sire: Tom

1.0 Barney
Born at Wellington Zoo 14/02/1975
Sent to Natureland Zoo 28/12/1978
Sire: Tom

0.1 Bubs
Born at Wellington Zoo 03/09/1977
Died at Wellington Zoo 06/02/1978
Sire: Tom

1.0 Boyd
Born at Wellington Zoo 29/10/1978
Sent to Monarto Zoo 26/08/2009
Sire: Tom

0.0.1 Unnamed
Born at Wellington Zoo 13/06/1982
Died at Wellington Zoo 13/06/1982
Sire: Tom

1.0 Snowy
Born at Wellington Zoo 07/03/1983
Sent to Taronga Zoo 27/11/1986
Sire: Tom

1.0 Marty
Born at Wellington Zoo 28/01/1987
Died at Wellington Zoo 30/12/2021
Sire: Tom

Jodie gave birth to five offspring at Wellington Zoo:

1.0 Unnamed
Born at Wellington Zoo 04/07/1987
Died at Wellington Zoo 26/06/1987
Sire: Sam

0.0.1 Unnamed (Premature)
Born at Wellington Zoo 02/12/1987
Died at Wellington Zoo 02/12/1987
Sire: Sam

1.0 Gombe
Born at Wellington Zoo 04/02/1993
Sent to Monarto Safari Park 26/08/2009
Sire: Boyd

0.0.1 Unnamed
Born at Wellington Zoo 04/09/1998
Died at Wellington Zoo 21/09/1998
Sire: Boyd

0.1 Unnamed
Born at Wellington Zoo 17/09/1999
Died at Wellington Zoo 27/09/1999
Sire: Boyd

Jessie has given birth to one offspring at Wellington Zoo:

0.0.1 Unnamed
Born at Wellington Zoo 26/06/1987
Died at Wellington Zoo 26/06/1987
Sire: Sam

Spoiler: Molly

0.1 Molly
Born in the wild (Africa) 01/06/1953
Arrived at Wellington Zoo 27/10/1956
Sent to Melbourne Zoo 27/10/1966

Molly gave birth to two offspring at Wellington Zoo:

1.0 Pat
Born at Wellington Zoo 17/03/1960
Sent to Melbourne Zoo 27/10/1966
Sire: Tom

1.0 Bobo
Born at Wellington Zoo 23/10/1962
Sent to Bullen’s Animal World 31/07/1973
Sire: Tom

Spoiler: Breena

0.1 Breena
Born in the wild (Africa) 01/01/1954
Arrived at Wellington Zoo 27/10/1956
Died at Wellington Zoo 28/06/1974

Breena gave birth to two offspring at Wellington Zoo:

0.1 Dorne
Born at Wellington Zoo 15/04/1962
Died at Wellington Zoo 01/07/1974
Sire: Tom

0.1 Stella
Born at Wellington Zoo 02/10/1965
Sent to Adelaide Zoo 18/11/1968
Sire: Tom

Spoiler: Sarah

0.1 Sarah
Born in the wild (Africa) 01/01/1959
Arrived at Wellington Zoo 08/01/1970
Died at Wellington Zoo 12/10/1985

Sarah gave birth to three offspring at Wellington Zoo:

0.0.1 Unnamed
Born at Wellington Zoo 26/02/1972
Died at Wellington Zoo 26/02/1972
Sire: Bobby

1.0 Sam
Born at Wellington Zoo 22/08/1977
Died at Wellington Zoo 01/04/2016
Sire: Tom

1.0 Unnamed
Born at Wellington Zoo 10/09/1983
Died at Wellington Zoo 10/09/1983
Sire: Tom

—————————————

Additional Notes/Info:

Spoiler: Rearing

Rearing:

Of the above births, only four were noted to be hand raised. They were Sam, Jodie, Jessie and Jimmy.

Sam being hand raised came as a surprise to me as I’d assumed he was parent raised; but Jodie was born the same year and Jessie the following year, so the three of them were in fact peer raised.

The nursery briefly included a further two infants - Bubs, who joined Sam and Jodie for three weeks in 1978, before being returned to her mother (who unfortunately killed her); and Jimmy, who was born in 1979 and died at the age of six weeks. His death was particularly sad as it followed the death of his mother and twin in childbirth.

An article in 1985 mentioned the breeding female at Wellington Zoo rejected her offspring. I initially believed this to be Bebe (given her mismothering of Bubs), but the records confirm all of her offspring were mother raised. The reference therefore appears to be to Sarah (who died late 1985), as she rejected her only surviving offspring (Sam) in 1977.

Spoiler: Paternity

Paternity:

Paternity of most of the offspring detailed above was assigned to Tom. There were a few exceptions:

Sarah’s first offspring was recorded as being sired by Bobby. This likely indicated the housing arrangements. Sarah was new to the zoo and appears to have been housed with Bobby intially.

Yoka’s first offspring (June) was sired by Teddy. Since these two chimpanzees were sent to Melbourne Zoo in 1966 (where they remained into the early 1990’s), I’d assume paternity testing was conducted there.

Sam sired three offspring in 1987 (two to Jodie; one to Jessie). As noted above, these three individuals were hand raised and would have been living together at this time.

Spoiler: Groupings

Groupings:

Following Tom’s death in 1990, the groupings were Bebe, Boyd and Marty; and Sam Jodie and Jessie. The two groups were subsequently merged into a single troop according to a report from 1991. This was ahead of the import of three young females from Wellington Zoo in 1992.

It appears Breena was isolated from the main group along with her two daughters in the mid to late 1960’s - likely as a means of population control. This is supported by Breena producing no offspring in the last nine years of her life; her daughter dying aged 12 having never produced offspring; and Breena and her remaining daughter (the other was exported) dying three days apart in the winter of 1974.

The reason for Sarah’s import is unclear. Genetic diversity wasn’t a priority in 1970 and with multiple breeding females, Wellington had already taken steps to limit/reduce numbers (including exporting several chimpanzees to Australia). Since Sarah never raised offspring, I’d assume her lengthy birth intervals indicated isolation from the (adult) males.

—————————————

 

[Jambo]

Gandali is a Descendant of Molly (1953-1981)

Something I discovered after looking back on my chimpanzee notes is that Holly was a descendant of Molly (Wellington Zoo) via her maternal line. Her maternal grandfather was Bobo, who was born in 1962 at Wellington Zoo to Tom and Molly.

Molly gave birth to two offspring at Wellington Zoo - Patrick in 1960; and Bobo in 1962. She gave birth to a further four offspring at Melbourne Zoo - of which only one survived to adulthood - Ernie, born 1969. Patrick accompanied Molly to Melbourne Zoo in 1966 and was exported to Ragunan Zoo in 1976.

The significance of this information is that Gandali is now the only living descendant of this wild born founder; and that Ernie, who was euthansied at Melbourne Zoo in 1993 wasn’t Molly’s only living descendant at the time of his death.

Combined with Gandali’s sire being Alon (a founder), he’s a genetically valuable chimpanzee - though I don’t anticipate he’ll be breeding for a long time. The the plan is for him to remain in the troop, where his young father will surely have a long tenure as alpha.

That’s very intriguing to know as I think most of us have always been unsure of Holly’s exact origins.

Gandali is a very very valuable male, perhaps the most valuable male in the region at the moment. His father is a young founder, his mother is the descendant of one of Wellington’s founding females as you mentioned (Molly), and his maternal grandfather was also a wildborn founder as well.

Hopefully he gets the opportunity to breed soon, whether that be at Rockhampton or at another facility like Hamilton.

Some questions I have though that would be wonderful if you could answer - who is Holly’s mother? And what happened to Holly’s brother, Louis? I’m assuming he died soon after the arrival of the Willowbank chimps in 2009?

Also on the topic of former circus chimps, were Cassius and Octavius full brothers?

 

[Steve Robinson]

Re Louis - you really don't want to know. A horrible chapter in the book of zoo chimp management.

Re Occy and Cassy - they never were really circus chimps - except for one brief booking. I believe that they were full brothers but stand to be corrected on this.

 

[Jambo]

Whilst researching, I found this interesting article on Cassius and Ockie:

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

Apparently their mother (Matilda) was euthanised from TB in 1986, and her two young sons were also due to be euthanised too - hence their transfer to Rockhampton.

 

[marmolady]

Re Louis - you really don't want to know. A horrible chapter in the book of zoo chimp management.

That sounds very alarming! Presumably Charlie died around the same time?

 

[Jambo]

That sounds very alarming! Presumably Charlie died around the same time?

I believe so, as both him and Louis were deceased by 2012 (when Sam and Holly were sent to Rockhampton).

Charlie and Sam only arrived in late 2009, joining Louis and Holly.

 

[Zoofan15]

Also on the topic of former circus chimps, were Cassius and Octavius full brothers?

Re Occy and Cassy - they never were really circus chimps - except for one brief booking. I believe that they were full brothers but stand to be corrected on this.

Cassius and Octavius were half brothers:

1.0 Cassius was born 18/10/1971 to Chico and Mary
0.1 Cleopatra was born 28/02/1973 to Chico and Maxine
1.0 Octavius was born 21/04/1975 to Chico and Maxine

Cleopatra died in 1982 and Cassius and Octavius were transferred to Rockhampton Zoo in 1987.

Mary (mother of Cassius) was born at Taronga Zoo in 1960 to Susie (mother of Shiba). She was sold to the Moscow Circus in 1968 and arrived at Natureland in 1971. She died there in 1977.

Maxine was wild born at arrived at Natureland in 1971 via Taronga Zoo and a circus. She died there in 1975.

I will reply to questions regarding Holly, Louis, Charlie etc. tonight.

 

[Zoofan15]

Whilst researching, I found this interesting article on Cassius and Ockie:

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

Apparently their mother (Matilda) was euthanised from TB in 1986, and her two young sons were also due to be euthanised too - hence their transfer to Rockhampton.

I’m mystified who Matilda was since I only have records of 3.3 chimpanzees living at Natureland: Chico, Mary, Maxine, Cassius, Octavius and Cleopatra.

Since Mary, Maxine and Cleopatra died between 1975 and 1982 as detailed in my post above, I’d assume Matilda transferred in from somewhere else.

It’s notable that Maxine died a few weeks after her last offspring was born. Therefore Matilda (whoever she was) was likely referred to as the mother of these chimpanzees as she acted as a surrogate.

One of many possibilities is Matilda was Mary’s sister, Swappie. She was born 1962 at Taronga Zoo and was sold along with Mary to the Moscow Circus in 1968. There’s no record of her post-1968, so I assumed she died there or was sold to another owner.

 

[Zoofan15]

Gandali is a very very valuable male, perhaps the most valuable male in the region at the moment. His father is a young founder, his mother is the descendant of one of Wellington’s founding females as you mentioned (Molly), and his maternal grandfather was also a wildborn founder as well.

Hopefully he gets the opportunity to breed soon, whether that be at Rockhampton or at another facility like Hamilton.

Gandali is very valuable genetically - even within an international context, as I don’t believe Molly is represented outside Australasia. Her eldest son was sent to Jakarta Zoo, but I’m not aware of him having an descendants.

In my population forecast, I placed Gandali at Hamilton Zoo. The reason for this being, their males are are aged 30 and 35 and likely won’t be around a decade from now. This presents a unique opportunity to transfer in males.

Arguably this transfer would be wasted on a single male, but given Hamilton want to maintain a small troop and Gandali likely won’t breed at Rockhampton (due to his young father holding the alpha role), it makes sense to give this opportunity to such a genetically valuable animal.

Some questions I have though that would be wonderful if you could answer - who is Holly’s mother? And what happened to Holly’s brother, Louis? I’m assuming he died soon after the arrival of the Willowbank chimps in 2009?

Holly was born 25/05/1988. Her mother was Deanne.

Deanne was born at Bullens Animal World and died there 14/11/1989, when Holly was 18 months old.

Deanne’s parents were Bobo and Sara:

1.0 Bobo was born 23/10/1962 to Tom and Molly.

0.1 Sara was born 06/04/1968 to Tom and Yoka.

Holly was transferred to Mogo Zoo 14/12/2005 and then to Rockhampton Zoo 18/01/2012.

Luis was born 26/03/1982. He was transferred to Mogo Zoo 14/12/2005 and died there 07/04/2011.

 

[Zoofan15]

That sounds very alarming! Presumably Charlie died around the same time?

I believe so, as both him and Louis were deceased by 2012 (when Sam and Holly were sent to Rockhampton).

Charlie and Sam only arrived in late 2009, joining Louis and Holly.

Charlie died at Mogo 07/06/2010. So yes, he died 10 months prior to Luis’ death.

Charlie was wild born in 1969. He was captured in Zaire and came to New Zealand in 1971. Charlie was transferred to Willowbank in 1985 and was sent to Mogo Zoo 09/06/2009.

Due to his country of origin, Charlie would have been of either the Eastern or Central subspecies.

 

[Jambo]

Thank you @Zoofan15.

 

[marmolady]

Do we know the cause of death of Luis and Charlie?

 

[Zoofan15]

Additional Information

Jordie (Taronga):

Jordie was born at Taronga Zoo 30/03/1957 to Spitter and was transferred to Sydney Uni 29/07/1969.

The reason for this has always been unclear (possibly an animal behaviour experiment), but I’ve discovered that rather than die there as first thought, he was sent to Bullens Animal World in 1970. He died there 31/12/1986.

It doesn’t appear Jordie sired any offspring.

Coco (Willowbank):

The origin of Coco has been much disputed. Some sources say she was wild born; others claim she was Taronga born.

I’ve done some research and one theory is that she was Pongo, who was born 29/05/1969 at Taronga Zoo to Lulu. This female was sold at the age of three years to Ridgeways Circus (New Zealand) on 07/06/1972. This remains unconfirmed.

Considering Charlie was wild born, Samantha remains a genetically valuable female irregardless of whether Coco was wild born; though it’s ultimately inconsequential considering Samantha is 40 years old and has only produced stillborn offspring.

Alon and Leakey (Rockhampton):

Leakey’s parents are wild born (Chuck and Lilli).

Alon is related to Leakey. His parents (Abshalom and Avigail) are full siblings and were sired by Chuck.

—————————————

Do we know the cause of death of Luis and Charlie?

There’s nothing in my notes or that I can find online. Charlie was 41 years old, so not a bad age for a male of his species. Heart disease is a common cause of mortality as you’re aware, so it wouldn’t surprise me if his cause of death was cardiac related.

 

[Jambo]

Ridgeways Chimps:

I’ve done some research on Ridgeway’s chimps as Taronga sent two females there in 1972 (Lola and Pongo).

Interestingly, I’ve found the following:

As of 2001, Ridgeways held three male chimps:

1.0 Mr Muggins (1993)
1.0 Buddy (1995)
1.0 Sonny (1988)

All three were brothers, mothered by Lola (1964), born at Taronga to Bobby and Suzie.

Although initially kept seperate, Buddy and Sonny were introduced in late 1999 and the pair immediately hit off.

Sadly Lola went on to pass just a few months later in Western Samoa - the victim of kidney failure. She was Ridgeways breeding female over almost three decades.

There was also mention of an older brother, Bubba (born in 1984) who was euthanised in 1996 after he become too aggressive.

In the year 2000, both Buddy and Sonny were sent to an orphanage in Zambia albeit almost a year apart.

All the chimps were presumably sired by Pongo, who also arrived from Taronga with Lola back in 1973.

Not sure if Mr Muggins is still alive today in private hands. He would be 30 this year. There were mentions of him being sent to Rockhampton in 2010, but his owners later pulled out of this move.

I’ve linked an interesting documentary on the three young males below:

 

[Jambo]

I’ve done some research and one theory is that she was Pongo, who was born 29/05/1969 at Taronga Zoo to Lulu. This female was sold at the age of three years to Ridgeways Circus (New Zealand) on 07/06/1972. This remains unconfirmed

Wasn’t Pongo a male?

I think the mentions on here were that Coco was of ‘Taronga descent’; so my thinking is she may have not been one of Taronga’s exports herself.

Aligning with my research from above, it would make sense if she was one of Pongo and Lola’s initial offspring born in the mid 70’s. Pongo would’ve been a youngish male to successfully sire an infant, but we’ve seen males sire offspring as young as seven so it’s not out of question to assume he sired Coco shortly after he arrived to the circus in 1974.

Coco then would’ve went on to have Samantha in late 83, aged about eightish. Both her and her father would’ve been extremely young parents, but it’s very possible imo.

 

[Zoofan15]

Wasn’t Pongo a male?

I think the mentions on here were that Coco was of ‘Taronga descent’; so my thinking is she may have not been one of Taronga’s exports herself.

Aligning with my research from above, it would make sense if she was one of Pongo and Lola’s initial offspring born in the mid 70’s. Pongo would’ve been a youngish male to successfully sire an infant, but we’ve seen males sire offspring as young as seven so it’s not out of question to assume he sired Coco shortly after he arrived to the circus in 1974.

Coco then would’ve went on to have Samantha in late 83, aged about eightish. Both her and her father would’ve been extremely young parents, but it’s very possible imo.

No, Pongo was a female. I mistakenly noted her as a male in a post on here from 2022 (which may be why you have her down as a male), but I double checked today when I came across the Coco theory and she was a female.

The dates check out with regards to Coco being Pongo; but with regards to the breeding male at Ridgeways, I’d say the main candidate was Jagger:

Jagger was born 14/11/1974 at Wellington Zoo to Tom and Yoka. He was sold to Ridgeways in 1976. This ties in with the timeframe of him being the sire of Bubba in 1984 (aged 9-10 years).

 

[Primatologist]

Ridgeways Chimps:

I’ve done some research on Ridgeway’s chimps as Taronga sent two females there in 1972 (Lola and Pongo).

Interestingly, I’ve found the following:

As of 2001, Ridgeways held three male chimps:

1.0 Mr Muggins (1993)
1.0 Buddy (1995)
1.0 Sonny (1988)

All three were brothers, mothered by Lola (1964), born at Taronga to Bobby and Suzie.

Although initially kept seperate, Buddy and Sonny were introduced in late 1999 and the pair immediately hit off.

Sadly Lola went on to pass just a few months later in Western Samoa - the victim of kidney failure. She was Ridgeways breeding female over almost three decades.

There was also mention of an older brother, Bubba (born in 1984) who was euthanised in 1996 after he become too aggressive.

In the year 2000, both Buddy and Sonny were sent to an orphanage in Zambia albeit almost a year apart.

All the chimps were presumably sired by Pongo, who also arrived from Taronga with Lola back in 1973.

Not sure if Mr Muggins is still alive today in private hands. He would be 30 this year. There were mentions of him being sent to Rockhampton in 2010, but his owners later pulled out of this move.

I’ve linked an interesting documentary on the three young males below:

Mr Muggins was euthanised.