Australian (and NZ) Great Ape News and Discussion

marmolady said:
Monarto chimps:
-Zuri has gotten huge, and is having swellings. They grow up so fast!
-Hannah is very much showing her pregnancy, due in March
-the big news... Zombi was recently taken off contraceptives; I would not be surprised if Hannah’s isn’t the only infant born this year!
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I assume Zuri has been put on contraception due to her young age @marmolady? Sembe at Taronga Zoo was put on contraception at the same age, even though females likely wouldn’t conceive for at least another year.

It will be interesting to see who sired Hannah’s infant. I understand Galatea prefers Sandali; while Sandali is the sire of Zombi’s two infants so paternity of future offspring from these two females would appear more predictable than the new immigrant to the troop - Hannah.

That’s exciting news about Zombi. With Zuri born Aug 2012: and Enzi born Oct 2015; it’s nice to see a female chimpanzee being able to have natural age gaps of 3-5 years between her offspring.

With Enzi only weaned last year; if the original plan had been to breed Zombi this year, then why even put her back on contraceptives? I’m wondering if Galatea (taken off contraceptives over a year ago, maybe even two years ago?) is struggling to get pregnant like Soona did; which has influenced the decision to bring forward plans to breed with Zombi again, who otherwise might not have been taken off contraception for another year or so.
 
Enzi is not weaned. Zombi began cycling a good while ago, so was put on the pill presumably to have a more typical gap between infants. If she were to conceive now the gap will still be on the shorter side.

I’m not sure whether Zuri has been started on the pill yet. Galatea never had her implant removed; the effects have faded out over time, which would explain why it has taken a long time for her to have regular cycles.
 
marmolady said:
Enzi is not weaned. Zombi began cycling a good while ago, so was put on the pill presumably to have a more typical gap between infants. If she were to conceive now the gap will still be on the shorter side.

I’m not sure whether Zuri has been started on the pill yet. Galatea never had her implant removed; the effects have faded out over time, which would explain why it has taken a long time for her to have regular cycles.
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Yes, you’re right. If Zombe conceived in the next month or two, her next offspring would be born around Enzi’s fourth birthday. It will be interesting to see if he’s as nurturing of his young sibling as Zuri was of him. You’d think females would be more naturally inclined to help out with younger siblings; but several juvenile males in the region have demonstrated a strong affinity for infants including Gombe, Shikamoo and Sule.

There’s probably no immediate rush to put Zuri on contraception. I was looking over my notes on the Taronga females and it seems the majority of the females gave birth to their first offspring 2-4 years after the onset of their first swelling. It seemed a common trend that those that had earlier swellings (5 years) gave birth around 4 years later; while those who had later swellings (7 years) gave birth around two years later, suggesting the age of first parturition was generally around 8-10 years regardless of when the mother first started to get swellings.

Personally, I still think the idea of continuing to allow Sandali to sire infants (hopefully at least one more female) and then vasectomising him so that Tsotsi breeds with Sandali’s daughters.
 
marmolady said:
Hannah's female infant (born 19th February) has been named 'Hope' by Jane Goodall, coinciding with the primatologist's Australian tour. Monarto Zoo's chimpanzee group now stands at 5.6, with the sire of baby Hope as yet unknown.
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Good to see the infant named in true Jane Goodall style - with a ‘H’ name to reflect it’s family line.

Here’s hoping we’ll see an infant from Zombi later this year. Lani is currently the only female on contraception.
 
marmolady said:
Hannah's female infant (born 19th February) has been named 'Hope' by Jane Goodall, coinciding with the primatologist's Australian tour. Monarto Zoo's chimpanzee group now stands at 5.6, with the sire of baby Hope as yet unknown.
No Cookies | The Advertiser
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My guess that Jane Goodall would name the infant was correct! Even though Hope isn’t an African name, it’s great that it is a ‘H’ name, which pays respect to Hannah, the infants mother. Hopefully some more baby chimps for Monarto soon! :)
 
Fantastic that they will have two infants near in age growing up together. I had suspected there would not be long to wait for Zombi’s next infant!
 
Nisha said:
Chimp update on Monarto's Facebook page today - Zombi is pregnant, due sometime in September
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marmolady said:
Fantastic that they will have two infants near in age growing up together. I had suspected there would not be long to wait for Zombi’s next infant!
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It's so satisfying to see a female chimpanzee in our region being allowed to breed with normal birth intervals of 3-5 years; as opposed to the artificial age gaps of 7-12 years we're seeing at other zoos.

Does anyone know the size of Monarto's exhibit compared to Hamilton Zoo's? The exhibit at Hamilton can accommodate up to 20 chimpanzee, so I'm curious what size Monarto's community could potentially reach?

If Hope was sired by Tsotsi, she will be in huge demand for breeding in the region down the line.
 
Thanks for your replies @marmolady and @WhistlingKite24. I’m glad I asked, as I’d for some reason been under the impression that Monarto’s exhibit was bigger. Obviously not!

Zombe’s third infant due in September will take them to 12 chimpanzees; with the possibility of another three infants in the next five years (two infants from Galatea and another infant from Hannah). This would take them to 15 (assuming no deaths).

I’ll be greatly interested to see what the plans are for Zuri. I think plans will be greatly influenced by two factors:

- If Galatea is able to breed. If Galatea breeds successfully, her infant/infants will take the population to near carrying capacity; this will make it difficult for Zuri to remain (and breed in the group) due to numbers.

- The gender of Zombi’s third infant. If Zombe produces another son, she will be well supported for life with two sons. She’s already the alpha female; and in addition to two sons, would certainly not need the additional support of a daughter (and a breeding one at that). However, if Zombi’s infant is female; they may be best to export the younger daughter and retain Zuri (sired by Sandali) to breed with Tsotsi (a genetically valuable male). Even if the 2019 infant is also sired by Sandali (i.e. could breed with Tsotsi), he’s 30 this year and there’s less chance he’d even be alive by the time an infant born this year was of reproductive age.
 
Nisha said:
Chimp update on Monarto's Facebook page today - Zombi is pregnant, due sometime in September
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I just watched the video. Interesting disagreement among the media relations staff from 2.40 mins onwards. You’d think they would have edited the video before posting. To be fair though, that Grandma seemed to plonk those kids right in the shot. They would have been better interviewing the keeper with the chimp exhibit in the background, not the customers.
 
Article here about Zombi’s pregnancy announcement:

Dr. Jane Goodall announces chimp pregnancy at Monarto Zoo - Monarto Zoo

Let’s hope Jane Goodall is invited to name this infant also.

Note the stuffed toy chimpanzee Jane Goodall is holding. She seems to be given one of these (of varying size) every time she visits a zoo. It’s eventually gonna get to the point where her house is so full of them, she won’t be able to get through the door.

Here she is showing one to Sule and Fumo at Taronga in 2014:

We’re for Sydney | Daily Telegraph
 
marmolady said:
Brilliant news! Frala hasn't had a female infant since Anguka in the 1990s- and it's a first daughter for Kibale!
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The new baby is 38 year old Frala’s ninth offspring:

1.0 Kukuma (born 09/09/1989) Deceased
0.1 Shinda (born 14/06/1991)
0.1 Anguka (born 28/10/1994)
1.0 Unnamed (born 07/03/1998) Deceased
0.1 Unnamed (born 25/06/1999) Deceased
1.0 Fataki (born 24/05/2003)
1.0 Fuzu (born 08/12/2007)
1.0 Fabumi (born 13/05/2015)
0.1 Unnamed (born 06/06/2019)

I’m stoked Frala was allowed to breed one last time and that that resulted in the birth of a healthy female infant - the fourth born at Taronga Zoo since Kibali’s troop was formed in 2014. It’s not hard to imagine the three young males forming a bachelor troop in years to come; with Frala’s new daughter becoming a valuable addition to the regional breeding programme.
 
Frala has relatively few grandchildren when compared to Kriba, who's had a very similar life history (Apenhuel-Taronga), just one grandson from Shinda (Ajabu (2016) and one granddaughter (Jahari, 2015) from Anguka. It is fantastic that this new baby will mean that Frala's maternal line might continue within the region.

I can't foresee many breeding opportunities within the region for Fataki, Fuzu or Fabumi.
 
marmolady said:
Frala has relatively few grandchildren when compared to Kriba, who's had a very similar life history (Apenhuel-Taronga), just one grandson from Shinda (Ajabu (2016) and one granddaughter (Jahari, 2015) from Anguka. It is fantastic that this new baby will mean that Frala's maternal line might continue within the region.

I can't foresee many breeding opportunities within the region for Fataki, Fuzu or Fabumi.
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That’s true. Kriba became a great great grandmother in 2013, before Frala even had a surviving grandchild; though to be fair, all their adult daughters have gone into breeding troops and Kriba has twice as many adult daughters as Frala.

With Taronga Zoo set to build a new gorilla exhibit in the next few years, I’m wondering if this will allow space for a larger troop. 10-15 years from now, Taronga could form a multi-generational troop with Frala and Mbeli (each with a daughter) and a new silverback. Kibali could head up a new troop or retire with his sons in a bachelor troop (like Motoba at Werribee).
 
Taronga Zoo are expected to announce the name of Frala’s daughter over the coming weeks.

We can guarantee it will be an ‘F’ name of African (likely Swahili) origin and nothing too similar to either Frala’s sons or the ‘F’ boys of the chimpanzee community - Furahi and Fumo. That wipes out a few names on this relatively comprehensive list, as well as a few others that can be discounted for their irrelevant meanings:

Swahili Baby Girl Names Starting with Letter F, Swahili Girl Name Start F Fadhila Fadhili

The most stand out name in my opinion is ‘Farisi’ - meaning ‘experience.’ What better name for the ninth (and final) infant of Australia’s most experienced gorilla mother?

What do others think?
 
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