Hamilton Zoo new chimpanzees

[Chlidonias]

two new female chimps come to Hamilton Zoo from Adelaide Zoo
Scoop: New female chimpanzees arrive at Hamilton Zoo

Christmas has come early for Hamilton Zoo, with the arrival of two new female chimpanzees.

Mother Fimi (43) and daughter Sanda (23) have been brought to Hamilton Zoo in the hope they will form breeding pairs with the facility’s male chimpanzees. Breeding has proved unsuccessful amongst the existing chimpanzees – father Mike, mother Lucy, and sons Luka and Lucifer, and hand-reared females Sally and Suzie – due to lack of interest from the hand-reared females. Hamilton Zoo Director Stephen Standley said Zoo staff are excited to welcome Fimi and Sanda, and look forward to the pair playing a key role at the facility.

“As well as Fimi and Sanda being invaluable tools for educating visitors about this endangered species, they could prove vital for the long-term sustainability of chimps in this region,” he said.

Fimi and Sanda arrived at the facility from Adelaide Zoo on 20 November, and had been housed in quarantine up until yesterday. Since coming out of quarantine they have been introduced to the Zoo’s existing chimpanzees through mesh as part of a carefully managed integration process. This process also saw Hamilton Zoo Keeper Catherine Nichols travel to Adelaide to spend time with the pair prior to their move. Mr Standley said due to the aggressive nature of chimpanzees, there are always risks associated with their integration.

“As well as the existing chimps being threatened by Fimi and Sanda, it is possible their arrival will cause a change in hierarchy amongst the males. Currently the youngest son is the dominant male but this could all change once the new females are introduced,” he said.

If their integration goes to plan, Fimi and Sanda could be visible to the public as early as Boxing Day.

 

[Chlidonias]

Rocky road to true love - New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz

Two new female chimpanzees brought to Hamilton Zoo to kickstart a breeding programme have found the path to true love never runs smooth.


The two Adelaide chimpanzees, who arrived last week, have already been in their first fight, but the behaviour was expected, according to zoo director Stephen Standley.

Mother chimp Fimi, 43, has established dominance over two Hamilton chimps Suzie and Sally, after she and daughter Sanda, 23, were introduced to the other females.

"It looks as though she has clearly taken over the dominance in that group of four," Mr Standley said.

Suzie suffered some superficial bites and has been treated but the good news was that the foursome made friends straight away following the set-to, Mr Standley said.

"We expected some fighting but they made up immediately afterwards by encouraging grooming and interaction."

The zoo plans to let the group into an outside enclosure in a week and a couple of weeks after that Mr Standley said staff intended to let Fimi and Sanda get down to some monkey business by mixing them with males, one at a time.

The aim is for the new additions to form breeding pairs with those males.

While Fimi is at the end of her breeding lifespan, she could provide critical support to likely breeder Sanda in the hierarchical chimpanzee world.

 

[Nisha]

Zoo mourns passing of chimpanzee | Hamilton Zoo
Fimi has died

 

[Chlidonias]

Chimps deal with death like humans | Stuff.co.nz

3 August 2012

Chimpanzees at the Hamilton zoo have come to terms with the loss of their matriarch by behaving just like humans, according to zookeeper Catherine Nichols.

Fimi, the zoo's eldest alpha chimp, died from heart problems in April and a new leadership structure had emerged, said Ms Nichols, the primary caretaker of the chimpanzee enclosure.

Soon after Fimi died, 46-year-old female chimp Sally, stepped in to become a mother figure to Fimi's orphaned 26-year-old daughter, Sanda, she said.

Ms Nichols added that after a period of mourning, the primates became settled enough for the zoo to introduce them into a communal setting for the first time in more than a year.

“We had to separate the males and females when Fimi was alive because Luka (a younger male chimp) wanted to assert his dominance and Fimi was quite dominant herself. But since she's gone now we have put them together again,” Ms Nichols said.

Animal behaviourist Dr Melanie Vivian said chimpanzees always mourned when there was a death in their community.

“Different chimps have different personalities, but they need time to grieve.

“They are just like us, death affects them deeply,” Dr Vivian said.

Now the group was over the grieving process, two male chimps were vying for Sanda's interest - Luka and his older brother Lucifer.

“The three of them are good mates, but Sanda seems to prefer Lucifer,” Ms Nichols said.

This was because Sanda was not very “excited” about Luka's overwhelming attachment to his mother, Lucy, and seemed to be favouring Lucifer as he was not such a mummy's boy, she said.

Ms Nichols added that it was possible that Lucifer, who had always suffered from a lack of confidence, would come out of his shell with Sanda's support and even challenge his brother's authority. Dr Vivian agreed.

“In chimp communities, the less confident chimp would require support to take a leadership role.

“But this flux and change in power should not be seen as a negative thing. It is healthy; it ensures the most fit chimp leads.”

This behaviour, she said, was not too different from humans.

Hamilton Zoo has five chimps.