Sheryl, Annie, Christine and Theresa,
As to reply to your questions about Tongo and Jane in the main enclosure, all is fine. Especially for baby Tongo who has been accepted immediately. This picture below summarises how Tongo is doing today.
Tongo and Shasa
Yes, as expected, it is the eldest female, SHASA, who has now little Tongo under her wings.
At the beginning, the other chimpanzees were quarreling as to know who was going to have Tongo on her or his back.
Wanza with Tongo
Today, the young chimp stays mostly with Shasa and also enjoys playing with the others.
What about Jane and Seki?
Seki and Jane both keep an eye on the little one.
Jane (left), Seki (middle) in front of Shasa and Tongo. Kala is on the right
But Jane is still very anxious and has problems to be accepted by the others. I believe she needs time to adjust to this new place full of males…The first days in the enclosure were very difficult to her and she hardly ate. Today, Jane never goes too far from Seki who isn’t that over protective any more.
Jane gripping Seki
Seki has lost lots of hairs on his back. I thought it was a disease or maybe the others groomed him too much. But it is actually Jane who is pulling his hair as she grips him all the time…
So, in a few words we can say Tongo is enjoying his new life and that Jane needs more time to settle down. Introductions are very easy and do depend on the personality of each individual.
Guess whose little toes are behind Shasa’s back???
Roxane
Roxane…I do not know how I missed this post!!! Thank you so much! I guess we all suspected that Tongo would be doted upon by everyone…good thing too as I am sure Faustin just spoiled him rotten 🙂 I feel very optimistic that Jane will find her place among the group…I can’t even begin to imagine how very overwhelming this all is to her. As we have seen time and again though at JACK, time does begin to heal all wounds…
i’m glad to see that tongo is settled and looking quite happy.
The introduction of Kimo and Santa will be more stressful: they are very very small!!Our surrogate mothers are no longer staying in the enclosure with the group and it is important the females start to develop maternal instincts. Which is sometimes hard to them given they have been taken away from their mums too early… but I believe it’ll be positive and we won’t wait until Kimo and Santa are 2 years old !!!
Thank you so much Roxane for the update on Jane and Tongo. I am not suprised that Shasa took over mothering little Tongo. I wish Jane was doing as well but she was isolated for a long time before coming to JACK so I can understand how being in a big group and enclosure would make her anxious. Given time I think she will be fine. I hope the group is as protective of Kimo and Santa as they have been Tongo since they are even smaller than he is. Thank you for the wonderful pictures!
Thanks, Roxane! I didn’t realize there were so many more boys than girls in the group. I’ll bet Christine knows – she keeps close track of who’s who. 😉
I hope Jane feels more comfortable soon and finds her place in the group. They’ve all been through so much pain that we just want to see them enjoy their new lives.
s.
No, Sheryl, I don’t think there are rules whether males do adjust faster than females or vice versa. Everything depends on the group and on the personality from the introduced chimpanzee. Our group is made of 11 males…imagine how lost the 6 females can feel !!?? Jane stayed in a 4X4 for two years and now she is in a big enclosure in the open air…I think she needs some more time…
As for the face of Tongo, it will darken. He’ll get sunburnt and when getting older the subspecies we have here usually gets dark spots or a face completely dark… Tongo lived in a bag… don’t forget, so his face will have soon another color…
Aw, thank you Roxane, for taking the time to put our concerns at ease. Is it typically more difficult for females to fit into a new group than it is for males? I suspected Tongo would become every lady’s favorite because he’s so small. Here’s hoping Jane will be more comfortable soon and begin to enjoy her life in the group. Thanks again for all the great photos and information.
BTW, will Tongo’s face always be so pale or will it darken as he gets older?
s.