Taronga Zoo are doing a gradual introduction of all their chimpanzees to the three new females. They started with the alpha male (Lubutu) and the beta male (Samaki). They have since added Samaki's brother, Shabani, and Lubutu's sister, Lani, as well as low ranking females, Koko and Kamili, and a high ranking female, Shiba, and her two offspring.
They plan to introduce the remaining chimpanzees over the coming weeks, including another two high ranking females, one in particular, which could cause issues.
Basically, as Taronga Zoo predicted, the males have been ecstatic at the arrival of new breeding females, while the resident females have not welcomed the competition and have been a neutral opposition at best. One female even had to be removed because she was being too aggressive.
Yep, the dividing wall was built for exactly this purpose - introductions. The smaller enclosure it creates is not really big enough for the formation of a separate community, but is more than adequate for short term housing in situations like these.
It has also been used in the past when chimpanzees needed time away from the community. A few years ago, when Kamili was pregnant with her second offspring, a high ranking female, Shiba, and her offspring were removed from the troop and housed in this smaller enclosure until the birth. It was believed Shiba could pose a threat to Kamili's newborn as infanticide can occur in this species. Sacha and her offspring went with them so Shiba's youngest daughter, would have the company of Sacha's son who is the same age.
