Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Ah I see, do you think that John Kelly would have been eccentric enough (don't mean to speak ill of a dead man just curious) to authorise the chimp / jackal thing ?
Mixed species exhibit with Chimpanzees?
- Thread starter Haliaeetus
- Start date
Ah I see, do you think that John Kelly would have been eccentric enough (don't mean to speak ill of a dead man just curious) to authorise the chimp / jackal thing ?
I don’t think he had anything to do with it as he became director in 1987 (the jackal incident was around 1982).
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Oh right, I just find these kind of things interesting, it is always curious to know who comes up with these ideas or who pushes them into implementation and that kind of thing but I suppose this one might remain a bit of a mystery.
A friend of mine told me that in the early days of the zoo de Doué, when it was nothing more than a menagerie-like zoo, a chimp was housed in a very small cage with a domestic pig.
According to the story, they were "friends".
I cannot confirm the story is true, but apparently, one of the favorite move of the chimp to make people laugh was to introduce its finger in the pig's behind hole... Other times
According to the story, they were "friends".
I cannot confirm the story is true, but apparently, one of the favorite move of the chimp to make people laugh was to introduce its finger in the pig's behind hole... Other times
I recall a conversation with a chimp keeper at Taronga many years ago, where he showed me the access point and off-display pens that the jackals/patas monkeys had to the chimp enclosure. I don't think the jackals used it and had electric fencing around self-dug burrows. Pretty sure the primate and carnivore keepers were not keen on the idea from the start.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
So do you know who's idea this was ?
Because someone at Taronga must have been keen enough on this idea and pushed it.
Out of interest, how long did the Patas monkeys last? A day?
Taronga made a few management decisions regarding their troop that seem baffling today - exporting a mother and newborn to a new troop (the infant was instantly killed); and trying to integrate a juvenile male with no family support into the troop (it took years; and he had lasting social issues), but I suppose ultimately it’s part of the learning process and an indication of how far zoos have come over the last few decades.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Yes, definitely and as I understand it Taronga is a very fine zoo today.
That said, with regards to what you mention about these introductions and specifically the mixed jackal-chimp thing I do sort of question why they even had to learn that lesson as it was a rather obvious what the outcome would be.
I believe with the female chimpanzee (Lucy) that was exported to Auckland Zoo in 1985 with a newborn infant, the reasoning was the male of the troop she was going into had grown up with her at Taronga. They assumed this would guard against infanticide, but he killed Lucy’s infant seconds after they were introduced. He’d left Taronga’s troop three years prior and while he recognised Lucy, knew the infant wasn’t his.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
It sounds like a tragic decision with what ended up happening but perhaps they assumed all would go well.
I found a picture of chimp / jackal interaction within the enclosure online :
Danny to the rescue..One of Taronga Zoo's three Black-backed Jackals... Foto jornalística - Getty Images
Wow, what a find! Danny was eight years old in this photo and became the alpha male a few years later. He was a calm and caring alpha and was soon displaced by a more aggressive male, who became a tyrant.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
I love how it is captioned as "Danny rescuing the jackal" lol, it is pretty obvious that he is being somewhat malevolent to the jackal.
The photo really captures how large the jackals were (considering Danny is an adolescent male). I reviewed the deaths of infants and juveniles during this time period and found nothing unusual; in fact the opposite, the mortality rate was much higher in the years that preceded and succeeded the early 1980’s.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
It doesn't look like they intimidated him, quite the opposite actually.
Yeah I agree he looks curious. They were surely quite the source of intrigue, especially for the adolescents of the troop.
I was never told who made these decisions, but suspicion must go towards the Curator/Animal manager at that stage who must have agreed to the idea. I would guess that the idea came from the upper echelons of management (has that feel...).
I would guess they sheltered shivering in the off display pen, only venturing when the nightmarish marauders had gone in for the night! It was the same troop which went to Dubbo (regularly escaped off the island) and then on to New Caledonia. Always thought it was odd that Australian zoos didn't stick with patas given all of the savanna exhibits.
Agreed. Looks like the jackal fled into the moat whilst having a young chimp hanging on to it' tail.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Yes, I agree it does have that feel, regardless seems like an astounding decision of stupidity.
Certainly looks that way, I bet those jackals were in a state verging on a near constant nervous breakdown.
From what I’ve read on here, it was quite an evolution in reactions from the chimpanzees. First was a fear/wariness of the jackals, which nipped at the chimps ankles; then they became a null stimulus to the troop, with the juveniles and adolescents regarding them as a plaything; then finally, one was killed by the chimps - either through natural chimpanzee aggression; or possibly fear/retaliation (less likely).