Taronga Zoo Chimpanzee Troop

C

Chimo

Well-Known Member
Does anyone have any information on the founding members of the Taronga Zoo chimpanzee troop? Where there tea party chimps like at the Auckland and Wellington Zoos?

Also does anyone know the names of chimpanzee exported to New Zealand from Taronga Zoo?
 
I no of mike and Lucy who went to Auckland and I no of cars sally and Samantha who went to welling ton
 
I don't know much about the early history of Taronga's community, but I'm certainly interested in finding out more.
 
In actual fact four (1.3) were sent to Taiping Zoo in 1998:
-1.0 'Mali'- born 1991
-0.1 'Melissa' (Mali's mother)- born 1978
-0.1 'Ficha' (Kuma at Taronga's mother)- born 1981
-0,1 'Chunga'- born 1991

However, I do not know 1. if they are related to any of Taronga's current animals (bar Ficha) and 2. if any are still at Taiping Zoo.
 
1.0 'Monty' (Shabani at Taronga's father) b.1981 appears to have been sent to Ishikawa Zoo, Japan in 1999.
 
Thanks for the info, it is very interesting to learn some of the history of Taronga's chimpanzee community.
 
Jabiru96 said:
1.0 'Monty' (Shabani at Taronga's father) b.1981 appears to have been sent to Ishikawa Zoo, Japan in 1999.
Click to expand...

1.0 Monty, 0.1 Sandra and 0.1 Kike were all sent to Ishikawa in 1999 and all still reside at the Zoo. All three were sent from Perth Zoo, but all previously lived at Taronga.
Monty (b. 1985) is the grandson of Taronga's famous long-lived chimp Fifi.
Kike (b. 1991) is Sacha's (still at Taronga) daughter.
In Dec 2008 a male chimp was born at Ishikawa to Monty and Sandra but it did not survive.
 
jones said:
1.0 Monty, 0.1 Sandra and 0.1 Kike were all sent to Ishikawa in 1999 and all still reside at the Zoo. All three were sent from Perth Zoo, but all previously lived at Taronga.
Monty (b. 1985) is the grandson of Taronga's famous long-lived chimp Fifi.
Kike (b. 1991) is Sacha's (still at Taronga) daughter.
In Dec 2008 a male chimp was born at Ishikawa to Monty and Sandra but it did not survive.
Click to expand...

So that means in fact Shabani is related to Kuma, so if the baby is his, it would be distantly inbred:

Fifi--->Jojo--->Monty--->Shabani

Fifi--->Ficha--->Kuma

Also do you know Sandra's relation to Taronga's group?
 
Last edited:
Jabiru96 said:
So that means in fact Shabani is related to Kuma, so if the baby is his, it would be distantly inbred:

Fifi--->Monty's mother/father (name?)--->Shabani

Fifi--->Ficha--->Kuma

Also do you know Sandra's relation to Taronga's group?
Click to expand...

Sandra was originally born in Europe in 1971 (i think Rotterdam, i have a Europen Regional Studbook somewhere with her origin) but she was originally a melb zoo animal before Syd, then Perth, then Japan. I dont thgink she has any relation to the current Taronga troop.
 
jones said:
Sandra was originally born in Europe in 1971 (i think Rotterdam, i have a Europen Regional Studbook somewhere with her origin) but she was originally a melb zoo animal before Syd, then Perth, then Japan. I dont thgink she has any relation to the current Taronga troop.
Click to expand...

Thank you. One last question: Do you know if it is Monty's mother or father that is the son/daughter of Fifi, and what is their name?
 
Thanks to Jones, Monty's father is Jojo, who is currently at Jackson Zoo in Missouri, and appears to have offspring there as well. There is a female at Jackson Zoo called Belle who also came from Taronga.
 
0.3 were sent to Wellington in 1992 (and still remain there):
-'Cara' b. 1981 (her family line no longer remains at Taronga with the deaths of her grandmother Bessie and brother Chimbuka in recent years)
-'Samantha' b. 1983 (sister of Shona at Taronga and therefore niece of Shiba)
-'Sally' b. 1985 (daughter of Spitter at Taronga)

These are the core breeding females at Wellington.
 
Taronga sent chimpanzees to Hyderabad Zoo, India in 1992. I am not sure of the exact number, ratio or history of chimps but one of the Taronga animals died in 2011 named Mamatha. She was originally named 'Sumu' so possibly part of the 'S' family (maybe Sasha's daughter?)? Here is the article mentioning her death: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/article366354.ece?service=print
Does anyone know more about these animals?
 
Jabiru96 said:
Taronga sent chimpanzees to Hyderabad Zoo, India in 1992. I am not sure of the exact number, ratio or history of chimps but one of the Taronga animals died in 2011 named Mamatha. She was originally named 'Sumu' so possibly part of the 'S' family (maybe Sasha's daughter?)? Here is the article mentioning her death: Zoo park loses a chimp
Does anyone know more about these animals?
Click to expand...

Not sure which Indian zoo but Perth's pair of chimps went to India in the early 90s/very late 80s. It is possible that the male mentioned might be one of them. They also sent some of the hybrid orangs to an Indian zoo.
 
Chiki (1970-2001)

Chiki was born in 1970 to Bessie, who was 20 years old at the time. Chiki had 1.3 offspring: Cara (1981), Cheena (1985), Chunga (1991) and Chimbuka (1995).

-Cara was sent to Wellington Zoo in 1992. She gave birth to a daughter Chima (1994), and sons Alexis (1998) and Hasani (2003-2003)

-Cheena disappeared off the face of the Earth (Does anyone know what happened to her?)

-Chunga was sent to the Taiping Zoo in 1998. There is no record of her since this time.

-Chimbuka remained at Taronga Zoo and died in 2011.

Chiki was a large female chimpanzee and had a high ranking in the chimpanzee hierarchy, having produced four offspring by the age of 25. She was a protective mother and enjoyed the support of her offspring and mother, Bessie, who died in 2011.

By 2001, Chiki was 31 years old, and had just one offspring, six year old son Chimbuka, left in the troop. Taronga Zoo had not had a surviving chimpanzee birth since 1996 and decided to take two females, Shiba and Chiki off contraceptives. Shiba’s operation went well, but Chiki died under anaesthetic. The plan had been to breed Chiki with Gombe.

It is interesting to think how things could have turned out had Chiki been alive today. She likely would have had at least one, possibly two more offspring and the support she would have provided Chimbuka could have influenced his take over as the dominant male while he was alive. With the death of Chimbuka, Chiki’s family tree has died out at Taronga Zoo, but is still represented in the region through her daughter, and two grandchildren at Wellington Zoo.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top