Chimpanzee visit and Upcoming Events

Boyd


I was lucky enough to be invited along to Monarto Zoo with my school's Year 11 Environmental Studies camp on 12th-13th August as the 'chimp expert'. At the chimpanzee enclosure, I talked to the other students about chimps and the many threats facing them. I also talked about the four beautiful chimp boys that are living at the zoo. I enjoyed giving the talk and I was asked lots of questions afterwards about chimpanzees.
 
 Unfortunatley, Gombe was very poorly on the two days I was there, and on the 13th he was displayed at by both Tsotsi and Boyd and had his nest charged through and was attacked by Tsotsi who screamed loudly at him. After the brief attack, Tsots and Boyd joined Gombe for grooming. I was very worried about Gombe, but as I haven't heard anything since then I'm hoping that no news is good news!
 

Gombe feeling unwell
 
You may know that I am a volunteer for the Australian Orangutan Project (AOP). We have some events coming up soon in South Australia in aid of orangutans, and also in aid of chimpanzees at the Jane Goodall Institute's Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Centre.
There are two movie nights planned with guest speakers.
 
On the 15th of September there will be a screening of 'The Last Trimate' about the great primatologist Birute Galdikas and orangutans. Adelaide Zoo orang keeper Jodie Ellen will be a guest speaker, talking about her experiences in Borneo.
 
On the 22nd of September, there will be a screening of 'Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees' with ZoosSA CEO and JGI Chairman Dr Chris West talking as a guest speaker.
 
Both will take place at the Santos Conservation Centre outside Adelaide Zoo, from 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Prices are $15 for one night and $25 for both. Purchases can be made through contacting Regina (0408377996),
If you would like a flyer for the movie evenings please contact me


Sandali says 'Please help us!'


Kluet

Some Gorilla Pictures

Hi, I haven't posted much gorilla related yet (or bonobos either, I'm not very knowledgeable about bonobos at the moment, I would love to be able to visit and watch some one day) so I'm posting a few gorilla photos because they are such beautiful animals.

Gorillas are under threat of extinction because of deforestation, the bushmeat trade and disease. To find out how you can help please visit the website of Ape Action Africa- http://www.apeactionafrica.org/ or the Gorilla Organization- http://www.gorillas.org/

Luckily for gorillas, they are used less in entertainment than orangutans and chimpanzees because they are so large and highly prized in zoo collections. They are also not used in biomedical laboratories the way chimps are.

Fuzu, a young male who lives at Taronga Zoo, Sydney

Female gorilla Safiri when she was staying at Adelaide Zoo in 2007. She has since moved to Duisburg Zoo, Germany where she's had her first baby

This is Bobby who sadly passed away in late 2008. He was only in his 20s when he died but had much happen to him in his short life, being stolen from the wild, used in the circus before living in several zoos. Bobby lived his last days with three females Zaire, Effie and Mjukuu.

pusung

I'm Fundraising for Orangutans in Memory of Beautiful Pusung!

I'm Fundraising for Orangutans in Memory of Beautiful Pusung!

Gombe- the Teenager

Gombe was born on the 4th of February 1993 at Wellington Zoo and his father is Boyd.

He is the darkest in colour of Monarto Zoo's four male chimps and has a bit of a belly on him. Other distinguishing features include a pink harelip, spiky hair on his head and a prominent beard. The second youngest in the group at the moment, Gombe is quite a handsome guy.

Gombe is a really interesting chimpanzee to watch, he can be a bit of a troublemaker, trying to stir the others up. I haven't seen him displaying for a while now, but when he does it is very impressive- not only does he charge around with his hair on end, he also swings and jumps around a lot (much more so than Tsotsi does when he's displaying) and can be quite noisy.

When the chimps were given mirrors recently, Gombe was intrigued but ended up using his mirror to check out is rude bits from different angles.

Gombe spends a lot of time with Boyd and Tsotsi.