Boyd- The Alpha Male

Now I'm going to properly introduce the two NZ boys starting with Boyd.

Born on 29th October 1978, Boyd is the oldest of the chimpanzees at Monarto Zoo and is the father of Gombe. He is now the dominant male, which means he can have first pickings in whatever food is on offer- which must be a good thing!

Boyd is easily recognisable as most of his left ear is missing from a fight back at Wellington Zoo. He has a white beard that stretches under his cheeks, hair missing on his neck and the hair on the back of his head sticks up a bit. He's a little scarred on his face from a fight a while back but it's looking better.

Boyd spends loads of time with Tsotsi, who really seems to look up to him. They groom each other a lot and sometimes just relax together. They are often joined by Gombe and sometimes Sandali. Despite being the dominant male, I don't see Boyd displaying very often compared to Tsotsi and Gombe. He seems to be a lot more mature in that he doesn't stir up trouble really. I think he's going to be a great alpha male, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he makes of the new lady chimps that will be joining the group in the near future.

 As he has many relatives in the region, Boyd has been vasectomised to won't be fathering any babies. He has bred before, and Gombe is proof.

Boyd (standing) and Sandali

Chimpanzee update

I’ve not updated this blog for a little while, so I’m going to mention some interesting observations from my visits to see the chimpanzees at Monarto Zoo.

Gombe and Sandali playing

-On the 17th of December I saw the four lovely lads outside in their large new enclosure for the first time. The weather wasn’t wonderful so they weren’t outside very long. In fact, no one seemed keen until lunch was scattered outside, and even then they came back in with their food quite quickly. Sandali went back out a bit later and sat outside to eat some fruit.

-On the 23rd of January the boys stayed outside in the sunshine the whole time I was there, the highlight was seeing Sandali playing with Gombe. I’d never seen this before and it was lovely to see they were both so happy in each other’s company. Sandali in particular had a great big smiley play face. Another high point was seeing the chimps climbing trees which I’d not seen them do before.

-The chimpanzees have been using the fake termite mound quite a lot. It is filled with treats for them to get out using tools. The chimps I see using it most are Gombe and Tsotsi.

-On the 3rd of March the chimps were indoors and there was a bit of a disagreement over something (not sure what). Boyd displayed a bit and Tsotsi was frightened, showing his teeth in a fear grin. Sandali rushed over to Tsotsi and gave him a hug and a pat to calm him down. Shortly after, the two of them lay down together and occasionally groomed each other. It was nice to see them getting on so well.

Gombe

Tsotsi and Boyd

Gombe and Boyd

I visited Monarto Zoo on the last day of September and was able to see the new boys properly for the first time. Boyd and Gombe are still separated from the others by mesh, but apparently they've been showing good signs of getting along. They were all a lot calmer than when I visited them last. Gombe and Boyd were in the main area which meant I was able to get some decent photos of them.
Gombe is veeery handsome and seemed very interested in the volunteers working on his new outdoor enclosure. He was very quick to get his hands on their enrichment items, pieces of fire hose filled with rice and was the first to use a stick to get it out. Gombe's dad Boyd looks a lovely fellow, he spent most of the hour I was there with a blanket, either snuggled up or walking around with it over his face.The two groups mostly ignored each other, whereas the last time everyone was displaying when they were given enrichment.
The two new boys are just out of quarantine.I was told that Boyd will be properly introduced to Sandali, and then Tsotsi will join them, then Gombe.

Here's some photos of Boyd:





and Gombe (he's also the chimp in the photo on top of the post):

Boyd and Gombe, New Kids on the Block

Two adult males, Boyd and Gombe came to Monarto Zoo from Wellington Zoo on the 27th August. I visited them for the first time on the 5th of December, although from a distance and with mesh obscuring them so no decent photos of them thus far! Gombe and Boyd are separated from Tsotsi and Sandali bu this mesh, but I've heard that things are looking promising between them. Once they've all been properly acquainted and comfortable with each other, they'll be able to go outside as a group of four.
Both of the new boys dispalyed upon arrival of a keeper bearing food, which started Sandali swaying bipedally, hooting and stomping with his hair bristled. For a short while, Tsotsi just glared at the newcomers with his hair slightly on end but he performed a short display a bit later as well. Once everything settled down, Tsots and Sandali got on with their usual grooming. Sandali's looking rather battle scarred at the moment. One of the new chimps, I think it was Gombe, spent a while working on a feeding puzzle while Boyd (I think) had a rest in a corner.

I'm pretty sure the chimp in this photo is 31-year-old Boyd, but I'm not entirely sure. Once I've got to know the two of them and taken some decent photos I'll post blog entries for each of them separatley as I have done with Tsotsi and Sandali.

Kluet, the Adolescent

Nothing I write here is from Adelaide Zoo or Monarto Zoo themselves. This is just observations I've made from visits and information from articles.
Male Sumatran orang-utan, Kluet, was born at Jersey Zoo to Gina and Gambar (deceased) on July 1995. When he was about six, he moved to Taronga Zoo in Sydney, even though he would be their only pure Sumatran and wouldn’t be able to breed there. When he was 12, Kluet moved to Adelaide Zoo to become a mate for Karta, although the two didn’t come out together until the beginning of 2008 because introductions were lengthy between them. Kluet is favourite animal at Adelaide Zoo because he is so good to watch.
Kluet is taller than Karta, but is very slender with long, smooth hair and a neat beard. He is often mistaken for a female by visitors because of his small size, lack of cheek flanges and pretty face.
When he was living with Karta last year, Kluet was besotted with her, even though she was very greedy when it came to food. Sometimes when she moved off from him, Kluet would run after her or try to pull her fingers off whatever she was climbing up on so she’d stay down with him.
I've noticed that Kluet is a lot more active than Karta, and he can sometimes be seen swinging around seemingly just for the fun of it, something I've never seen Karta do. A couple of times I've seen Kluet make a couple of impressive leaps from one rope to another. Because he tends to move around a fair bit, it can be very difficult and frustrating trying to get a half decent photo of Kluet. In fact, the photos in this post are the only ones I've gotten of him this year apart from a couple of out of focus shots from a behind the scenes tour.
When I saw Kluet on the tour, he was recovering from a broken arm which probably happened in a wrestle with Karta. He was still rather sore and held his arm gingerly, but he still appeared from under his hessian sack and came over to see his visitors which I've never seen him do before. Kluet does love his hessian sacks, epecially putting them on his head- apparently he did this back at Taronga Zoo as well.

Photos of Kluet-

Karta, Escape Artist Extraordinaire- A Very Clever Ape!

Nothing I write here is from Adelaide Zoo or Monarto Zoo themselves. This is just observations I've made from visits and information from articles.
I thought I'd introduce Karta first of all because she was the first great ape I ever laid eyes on, and because she is such a fantastic and interesting character.
Karta is a female Sumatran orangutan who lives at Adelaide Zoo, South Australia.
She was born at San Diego Zoo on 22 July 1982, I'm not sure as to who her parents are but I think she may be the mother of Karen. http://www.sandiegozoo.org/kids/animal_orangutan_karen.html I know none of her babies at Adelaide Zoo survived due to mismothering, but I can't see how San Diego Zoo could have two Kartas and she's the only one I know of. She's lived at Perth Zoo in an attempt to teach her mothering skills from other orangs but instead, Karta taught Perth's orangutans some of her bad habits!
In 2006, Karta and her mate at the time, Pusung moved to the new Immersion:the Rainforest Experience exhibit, to be joined by a lively pair of siamangs. I'd first seen the two orangutans in their old enclosure so it was wonderful to see them with so much more space. Karta seemed to get on really well with the siamangs, playing with them and grooming- although they did like to wind her up a bit. She seemed particularly close to the male siamang, Irian.
However, Irian eventually took the teasing too far when Karta really wasn't in the mood. Karta pulled him down from a high rope, and Irian fell to the ground, breaking his arm in two places. After witnessing this, I alerted the keepers of course, but didn't see Irian and his mate Suli for over a year after the incident as he recovered behind the scenes.
In 2007, Karta received a new mate, a handsome young fellow named Kluet. The two came out into the exhibit together for the first time in January 2008 and Kluet always seemed very keen to help with the breeding program! Karta is on contraceptives at the moment while having 'baby lessons' so hopefully she can be a good mother next time.
Karta is strong-willed and extremely intelligent, for a long while she'd been working on the electric fences and even taught Kluet some fence-breaking skills. Nothing comes between Karta and her food (she has the belly to prove it!) and Kluet can look adorable as much as he wants, there's no way Karta's giving him any!
In April 2009, Pusung passed away, and Karta grieved heavily for her old friend and mate, even though they had not lived together for some time. It is thought that the reason for her escape on Mother's Day might have been because she was looking for Pusung. The zoo was evacuated, but Karta went calmly back into her enclosure after a short while of her own accord.
At the moment, Karta is living on her own as Kluet had his arm broken late last year in a fall out with her, although they have been getting on very well through the mesh. Karta has been showing off her skills on the new feeding puzzle and is very persistent and clever in her approach.
News Links about Karta:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25456799-2,00.html
http://city-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/mum-s-the-word-for-karta/
http://city-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/adelaide-zoo-mates-mourn-orang-utan-s-loss/
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23073505-2682,00.html

Photos of Karta-

Sandali, the Tall, Dark and Handsome Newcomer

Nothing I write here is from Adelaide Zoo or Monarto Zoo themselves. This is just observations I've made from visits and information from articles.

Although I have only known Sandali since the beginning of July, he has already become probably my favourite animal at Monarto Zoo. He is a fair bit taller than Tsotsi but has a lot less meat on him. He has a very kind-looking face, and sometimes his bottom lip hangs in a relaxed way. Sandali is looking a bit scarred at the moment from his introductions to Tsotsi, but the two get on well, grooming and playing, although Sandali is the subordinate of the two.

Sandali was born at Taronga Zoo to Sacha in 1995. He spent the most of his life in a large family group at Taronga Zoo in Sydney. Sandali moved to Adelaide Zoo in 2008 and in 2009, moved with Tsotsi to his new home at Monarto Zoo.

Sandali is a really lovable fellow, he really seems to enjoy playing and encourages Tsotsi to play with him by 'frog-hopping' up and down.
On my first visit to see Sandali he'd spotted something on the ground that frightened him and peered down at it, whimpering and occasionally screaming. Tsotsi reassured Sandali and kept an eye on whatever it was down there- we think it was a mouse.

I'm certainly going to write a lot more about Sandali in the future, so here are a few more photos of him for now.





Sandali is the one on the right, Tsotsi is on the left