Taronga Zoo Chimpanzee Troop

Shiba is physically very well balanced, so I don't see why they wouldn't breed her again when she's ready... they had Koko pregnant at an older age not that long ago, remember... *grin*

The only issue may be that the ensuing offspring could be fathered by one of her sons... errr!

T.
 
tdierikx said:
Shiba is physically very well balanced, so I don't see why they wouldn't breed her again when she's ready... they had Koko pregnant at an older age not that long ago, remember... *grin*

The only issue may be that the ensuing offspring could be fathered by one of her sons... errr!

T.
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Hopefully Shikamoo will get the job done again. He seems very popular :D

Statistically, survival of infants to mothers over 35 is rare, but given Shiba's excellent physical condition (she looks at least 10 years younger), combined with her high ranking and maternal skills, I'd say if any chimpanzee could do it, it'd be her.

I think Shiba has been given quite a bad rapt in the past, not least by the Wildlife at the Zoo series where she was accused of killing Kamili's infant, something which has almost certainly been disproved in recent years.
 
I'd say she'd be just fine having one more... preferably again with Shikamoo... he makes pretty babies... lol!

Then again, Sule may be of age to do the deed by the time she's ready again... *grin*... he'll do just fine as daddy too methinks...

T.
 
tdierikx said:
I'd say she'd be just fine having one more... preferably again with Shikamoo... he makes pretty babies... lol!

Then again, Sule may be of age to do the deed by the time she's ready again... *grin*... he'll do just fine as daddy too methinks...

T.
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Must run in the family, look at his brother Sandali or his aunt, Sally and her sons :D Both Sacha and Sally have aged a lot faster than their peers though!

I think Sule will be a high contender. He loves Kuma too!
 
Interesting!

Kuma and Kamili get the largest swellings... I'm thinking that's most likely why they are so popular... lol! I mean... they are MASSIVE!

T.
 
tdierikx said:
Interesting!

Kuma and Kamili get the largest swellings... I'm thinking that's most likely why they are so popular... lol! I mean... they are MASSIVE!

T.
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Typical males. It's all we care about haha.

I did however see a really nice photo of Shikamoo lying next to Kuma and Fumo as a newborn. It was the way he was looking at his son, like he knows he's the dad.
 
I tipped Shikamoo as Fumo's sire from day 1... something about how he and Kuma were interacting in the first couple of weeks had me wondering...

T.
 
tdierikx said:
I tipped Shikamoo as Fumo's sire from day 1... something about how he and Kuma were interacting in the first couple of weeks had me wondering...

T.
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Me too, although I was wrong about Sudi and Liwali. I guessed Samaki and Furahi respectively.

Anyone notice how Taronga have never once mentioned the names of Ceres, Naomi and Hannah in their updates? Makes me wonder if they've changed/are changing their names.
 
I grilled keepers mercilessly once I found out the DNA tests were in... I was right for Fumo, said I prayed that Shikamoo or Furahi had fathered Sudi (the other 2 adult boys are her sons), and could have sworn that Liwali's father was Furahi, as Lisa had been canoodling with him openly over the previous months.

On a completely different tack... how similar are Sudi and Enzi (at Monarto)? ... they are cousins after all, with Sandali (Shikamoo's brother) being the father of both Enzi and Zuri... looks like Sasha's boys are rather popular with the ladies... lol! I reckon Sule will get plenty of girl action when he'solder too...

T.
 
tdierikx said:
I grilled keepers mercilessly once I found out the DNA tests were in... I was right for Fumo, said I prayed that Shikamoo or Furahi had fathered Sudi (the other 2 adult boys are her sons), and could have sworn that Liwali's father was Furahi, as Lisa had been canoodling with him openly over the previous months.

On a completely different tack... how similar are Sudi and Enzi (at Monarto)? ... they are cousins after all, with Sandali (Shikamoo's brother) being the father of both Enzi and Zuri... looks like Sasha's boys are rather popular with the ladies... lol! I reckon Sule will get plenty of girl action when he'solder too...

T.
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Lisa is very fond of Furahi. I'd imagine he'd been getting quite a lot of support in the current 'old group' with Lisa and Kuma behind him. I think Koko prefers Shikamoo doesn't she? And Spitter obviously would, but Sacha and Shona could be steam rollered either way!

Everyone likes Sule. I think because Sacha gives them so much freedom to explore from an early age, her boys have socialised more than Lani, Sembe etc.
 
Don't forget that Kuma actively 'shared' Fumo around as a young thing, and had Sule as primary babysitter... she's a smart chimp, and knows that Sule's line and the males' in particular political status is the key to going far in the troop... she's not dumb!

I'm tipping that at some point we will see Sule as alpha, and maybe even later down the line, young Fumo will assume the role.

T.
 
tdierikx said:
Don't forget that Kuma actively 'shared' Fumo around as a young thing, and had Sule as primary babysitter... she's a smart chimp, and knows that Sule's line and the males' in particular political status is the key to going far in the troop... she's not dumb!

I'm tipping that at some point we will see Sule as alpha, and maybe even later down the line, young Fumo will assume the role.

T.
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I just assumed Sule was the most interested in Fumo, but that makes sense since Sembe wasn't allowed much access in the early years. I saw a video of Sembe getting bitten (playfully) by a young Fumo and being very patient. Kuma was hovering over them like she didn't trust Sembe. I've seen photos of Sembe grooming Fumo in the last few months/year or so.

I think Fumo will be the future alpha male. The adult males are too close in age to Lubutu for them to have the advantage of youth, but especially for Shabani, Chimbuka and Sandali, Lubutu initially had the advantage of age. Sule, and particualy Fumo will be in their prime when the others are heading for their late 20s/30s.

It'll be interesting to see where they go next with introductions, they still have:

Spitter
Koko
Lisa (and Liwali)
Sacha
Shona
Kuma (and Fumo)
Furahi
Shikamoo
Sule

I'm guessing Lisa and Liwali will be introduced next, to ensure Lubutu has support in his alpha role against Shabani and Samaki, and prior to the introduction of Furahi or Shikamoo.

Then Spitter, Sacha, Shikamoo and Sule. If Sacha is to maitain any sort of calm, I'd definately recommend the presence/assurance of her mother and two sons. Shikamoo and Sule would also have the oppotunity to bond with the new females before aggressive/potentially aggressive individuals like Koko/Kuma are added.

Then Kuma, Furahi and Fumo. Furahi I'm guessing will be introduced with Kuma and Fumo to offer additional protection to Fumo, though I doubt he'll need it with Kuma as a mother. I'd actually be more concerned about her being aggressive to the new females.

Then Koko and Shona. By this time, the new females would have had time to form alliances with the males and hopefully not be so vulnerable to attack by Koko. Shona is a low ranking female and unlikely to cause any issues. I'm surprised she wasn't introduced earlier tbh.
 
I'm wondering why Shona wasn't one of the first introduced... even back when the 3 new girls were off-exhibit... she has literally no rank at all in the current troop, and would have been able to maybe form some bond with the new girls...

Shona is the least likely to cause ANY waves or react unfavourably IMHO... and maybe she can team up with the unsettled lonely female?

T.
 
Shona is the least likely to cause ANY waves or react unfavourably IMHO... and maybe she can team up with the unsettled lonely female?
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Fully agree! Do you know who the unsettled female is? Hannah or Naomi?
 
I'm not sure... I haven't actually been to Taronga for a while... tigersam has been going recently and might be able to shed more light on that...

T.
 
Chimo said:
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?
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After some research their names are freddie and freda. The tea party chimps
 
tigersam said:
After some research their names are freddie and freda. The tea party chimps
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Freddy and Freda were orangutans which arrived around September 1933 from Indonesia. They were used for tea parties also.
 
I'll try and find the specific details later (including whether there were chimpanzee prior to these ones), but the founding members were three young females imported in 1956:

-Breena
-Yoka
-Molly

They were later joined by another young female named Sarah.

These females bred with a male named Tom, to produce several offspring, the first was Patrick, who was born 17/03/1960 to Breena.

The current troop descend from two of these females.

Tigersam, tdierikx said in the post above you might be able to tell us from your visits to Taronga, who the unsettled female is? Hannah or Naomi?
 
From my observations on saturday. Hannah and Naomi were both following one of the males around. I think it was samaki. Ceres was one her own laying on the grass. Naomi went over to her but didn't stay with her. Hannah started to chasing shabami around for a while. Ceres went up the top platform to get her food from the keepers. So it is hard to say who is unsettled. But I say Ceres. I could be wrong. I new group were in the big enclosure and the current group in the western enclosure on saturday. Fumo is getting like his big brother. He was hitting the glass with his hands and pulling faces. I will upload some new photos soon.
 
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