Taronga Zoo Chimpanzee Troop

Journal Article

I have finally found a copy of this journal article, which is available to be viewed online:

Infant mortality in mother-reared captive chimpanzees at Taronga Zoo, Sydney

It discusses the death of several infants including Lulu’s twins, who was born 09/04/1983:

“Lulu’s male twins were attacked by the adult female Mary in a reunion context. Lulu and her older two daughters had been isolated after the birth of the twins because she was having problems caring for the infants. After 13 days’ separation, four new chimpanzees were allowed into the isolation room and one of these (Mary) attacked the infants, injuring one so badly that he had to be euthanized. The other infant survived the attack but died a few weeks later. It is unclear whether his death was related to his injuries or a result of inadequate maternal care.”

The twins were Lulu’s fifth and sixth offspring. Her family group at the time comprised of 31 year old Lulu and her daughters, Lucy (7.5 years old) and Lisa (3.5 years old).

The journal also describes an incidence of cannibalism, again involving Mary:

“Only one case of cannibalism is recorded from Taronga. This incident again involved the female Mary, who took and partially consumed the body of a male infant born to one of the young females. Postmortem examination of the remains revealed that the infant had probably been stillborn.”
 
Baby C

That's awesome news @Osprey71. The first baby from the new females. From your pictures, Ceres looks in excellent condition and has clearly bonded well with her first infant. Are any of the other females expecting soon? I thought Naomi would have been the first to give birth. Baby C has Samaki's face I think.

You mentioned the time it was born, did you see the birth? Being in the morning, I'm guessing it happened on exhibit. That would have been awesome to see.
 
Taronga Zoo's Media Release on the Chimpanzee Birth:

Chimp Baby Born at Taronga Brings New Genes to the Family

Chimp Baby Born at Taronga Brings New Genes to the Family

Taronga Zoo Sydney has welcomed the successful birth of a baby Chimpanzee, whose mother was introduced two years ago from Givskud Zoo, Denmark. The baby Chimp, born Tuesday 14 November at 10:45am after only a brief labour, is showing healthy signs and a strong bond with mother Ceres. This is the first birth in 24 years that brings new genetics to Taronga Zoo Sydney.

Although Ceres is not a first-time mother, this is her first baby born at Taronga Zoo Sydney, and she began cleaning and feeding her baby soon after the birth. News of the birth has also been welcomed by the other Chimpanzees in Taronga’s community.

The birth of this baby Chimpanzee is significant for Taronga Zoo Sydney, as well as the Australasian region. This is the first successful birth after the introduction of new females from zoos in Denmark and Poland to ensure genetic diversity across the region.

Senior Primate Keeper Richard Buzas said that keepers are yet to formally identify the sex of the baby as Ceres has been instinctively protective of her newborn.

“Ceres is doing all the right things, feeding and caring for her baby, although given how close she keeps the baby to her, and that Ceres’ sister Naomi has been protective of her older sister and the new baby, we haven’t yet had been able to have a close look to see if it’s a boy or a girl,” said Richard.

“We’ve had a few glimpses, so we feel confident at this early stage that it’s a girl,” Richard said.

“Once the sex is confirmed, we will give the baby a name which reflects its African heritage that also begins with the letter ‘C’ to show the Chimp’s relationship with Ceres,” he said.
 
I'm not sure how I missed this, but Ceres (born 1990) has indeed had an infant before. For some reason, I had assumed she had not bred prior to coming to Taronga in 2015. According to the European Chimpanzee Studbook (2014), Ceres gave birth to a son named Kalle 04/12/1998 when she was 8 years old. Kalle died 17 November 2008, shortly before his 10th birthday.

I have double checked the studbook and Hannah (born 1993) and Naomi (born 2001) have definitely never bred prior to coming to Taronga.

From @Osprey71's world class photos of Ceres and her infant, the strong bond between mother and infant is obvious. My previous assumption Ceres had never bred made me concerned whether or not she would reject her first infant at Taronga but her ability to rear her first offspring successfully at the age of just eight years proves she is clearly an excellent mother and should have no issues raising her second infant.
 
Conformation on the time of Ceres baby it was 10.45am.

Lubutu and Samaki were running around and displaying on the 26/11/2017, all the girls went up to the platforms till they were finish. Nothing much happened after that.

Shona was being followed around by Samaki.

Lubutu and Ceres and baby were down the front for a while and he was showing some really caring looks and gestures towards Ceres and baby.

Hannah was being groomed by Naomi for a long while and then Ceres left Lubutu and joined in the grooming session.

Last visit to Taronga Zoo, 03/12/2017. The new group was in the small exhibit and in side. The only two that were out was Lubutu and Samaki, sunning themselves.

The Original group was not very active. They spent most of the time on the platforms. The only two that was active was Fumo and Sudi. I couldn’t see Liwali.
 
Neither groups have changed. Original Group is a follows:

MALES
Furahi
Shabani
Shikamoo
Sule
Fuma
Sudi
Liwali

FEMALES
Lisa
Koko
Shiba
Kuma
Kamili
Sembe
Spitter
Sasha

NEW GROUP

MALES
Lubutu
Samaki

FEMALES
Ceres and Baby
Naomi
Hannah
Lani
Shona

No name and sex of new baby.
 
Osprey71 said:
No name as yet, or sex of baby.
Click to expand...

It didn't even take this long to find out the gender of Shiba's latest. She must be insanely protective. It was believed to be a female from initial observations so hopefully it is and a name will soon be announced.

Is Sembe back in the main group @Osprey71?
 
As I can see from trip to TZ yesterday sembe was playing with Fumo. Didn't stay long. No news on name of baby yet.
 
Osprey71 said:
As I can see from trip to TZ yesterday sembe was playing with Fumo. Didn't stay long. No news on name of baby yet.
Click to expand...

I'm sure Shiba is pleased to have Sembe back. I'm wondering if Taronga Zoo were worried Sembe could be exposed to the concept of mismothering from the females in the small community, some of which have given birth/will give birth if they decided to reject their offspring etc. The risk of this occuring in the newly formed group could potentially be higher than that would occur in the main group, which has been stable for years.

Sembe so far has had an excellent education in motherhood, having been exposed to Kuma, Lisa and of course her own mother, Shiba, give birth and rear offspring in the community and has no doubt learnt a lot. Seeing a female mismother or reject her infant, could undo this so far perfect preperation for when Sembe becomes a mother herself.

Despite her initial objection to Sudi claiming her mother's attention in the early days, Sembe has become a caring and protective older sister and has shown similar maternal behaivour towards Fumo so it's my belief Sembe will make an excellent mother.

Sembe is 10 years old this year and it's also worth noting the only male she could breed with in the smaller group was Samaki (her brother). Maybe her move back to the larger group (with Furahi, Shikamoo and Sule) is a sign Sembe could be breeding in the not too distant future???
 
As the region is only giving recommendations for females over the age of 14, I'd say it's unlikely. Sembe has literally no suitable breeding prospects in Taronga's group; all the males of age are closely related to her. If she is to be allowed to breed, I can't see it happening unless its outside Taronga. She could be a great prospect for somewhere like Rockhampton, with completely unrelated male Alon. Even Sandali at Monarto (a Snowy son), Luka and Lucifer at Hamilton (Lulu grandsons) or Alexis and Marty at Wellington would be much better options. That would, unfortunately, mean the end of the Susie-Shiba female line at Taronga, but those genetics would otherwise be shocking.
 
soona said:
As the region is only giving recommendations for females over the age of 14, I'd say it's unlikely. Sembe has literally no suitable breeding prospects in Taronga's group; all the males of age are closely related to her. If she is to be allowed to breed, I can't see it happening unless its outside Taronga. She could be a great prospect for somewhere like Rockhampton, with completely unrelated male Alon. Even Sandali at Monarto (a Snowy son), Luka and Lucifer at Hamilton (Lulu grandsons) or Alexis and Marty at Wellington would be much better options. That would, unfortunately, mean the end of the Susie-Shiba female line at Taronga, but those genetics would otherwise be shocking.
Click to expand...

When did this rule come in with regards to not breeding from females until the age of 14? I believe the last female to breed before this age would have been Kamili (1995), who bred for the first time in 2005 and before that, Kuma (1991), who bred for the first time in 2003. Personally I see no advantage to the individual female in delaying breeding (only disadvantages) so I assume this is more of a spacing/species management decision than anything.

I completely agree that from a genetics perspective Sembe would do well to be relocated. Marty at Wellington is vasectomised so can’t breed, but there’s nothing stopping Alexis from siring infants. Personally, I’d send Lani and Sembe together to Wellington, and then move Samantha and her adolescent daughter, Malika, on to either Monarto or Hamilton Zoo. Following the death of Chima during the process of being introduced to the dominant male at Hamilton, I wouldn’t recommend introducing a single female. At least two new females would be better in my opinion.

It would be sad to see the end of Susie’s line at Taronga, Biddy’s line looks set to die out eventually as Sacha is unlikely to produce a daughter now, and Lulu’s line would go the same way if/when Lani leaves as Lisa is unlikely to have more offspring. Taronga are rightly very proud of their chimpanzee family tree which spans decades, but of course genetics are considered a priority these days.

Shiba is not inbred at all. She is the youngest daughter of Susie (wildborn) and her father is Jo Jo (son of two wild born chimpanzee who are unrelated to Susie). Since Jo Jo is also the father of Lisa, and therefore grandfather of Lubutu, Sembe is mildly inbred. Shiba’s first offspring, born 1989, was sired by her full brother so there are of course worse cases of inbreeding.
 
I'm not sure about the age rule, or if it is how things are done at the moment. The species coordinator changed recently, so it could well not still be the case. But it was certainly the case that they wanted to wait to take Zwala and Galatea off contraceptives until they reach full adulthood. I think there are some benefits, as a mature adult might be in a better position socially to raise an infant than an adolescent. There would also potentially be more opportunities for the young female to observe infant-rearing.

If Taronga is going to follow species dispersion behaviour and keep males born into the community, the continuation of female lines will be very difficult. Almost all the males are closely related, so breeding with one another's offspring would not be ideal in the least. It will be a shame to see the end of family lines, but the ties live on, even if they are no longer at Taronga. Spitter's line has got to be one of the most successful in the region, with grandchildren across three zoos.
 
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