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When a few adult males were introduced, they were severely affected by it and only after Mama and Gorilla were temporarily separated, a new social ranking occurred. In his widely acclaimed book Chimpanzee politics Frans de Waal even calls her ‘ the oldest and undoubtedly most dangerous female of the troop.’ In a chimpanzee troop the males are indeed the boss, but an alpha male won't last long without the support of the females. In her glory days Mama was at the absolute top of the chimpanzee females within the Arnhem chimpanzee troop. I will definitely miss her.” Very influential Each time it took her longer before stumbling she reached the moat. This past year it became more and more difficult. When we arrived at the chimpanzee quarters, Mama always came running towards me from the farthest corners to excitedly greet me from the other side of the moat in chimpanzee language with a loud panting ‘oohooh!’. “Many people I have given tours to, after lectures and with training courses, have known her. In chimpanzee terms 59 years old is a very advanced age. Especially due to the ground-breaking behavioural research of Frans de Waal, currently an internationally known primatologist, Mama became famous for her dominant and influential role in the chimpanzee troop. Experts and zoo directors predicted a major disaster, but the skepticism quickly changed into admiration. Under the direction of behavioural scientist and Professor Emeritus Jan van Hooff, studies on the chimpanzee colony were done for many years. Shared areaįor the first time in Zoo history several adult chimpanzees were kept together in one area.
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In 1971 Mama, together with the chimpanzee females Gorilla and Franje, came to Arnhem, where they formed the new chimpanzee colony that would become world famous. It is estimated that Mama was born in the wild in 1957, after which she lived at the German Zoo of Leipzig for years.
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In all of Europe there are only two chimpanzees that are older.
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She was the oldest chimpanzee in the Netherlands. Jb Minter, the zoo’s chief veterinarian and CVM alum, and his team – zoological medicine resident Sarah Cannizzo and several clinical technicians get Ruthie placed on a gurney for transport into the prep room.Ī dozen staff and veterinarians, including Kate Bailey, CVM clinical assistant professor of anesthesiology, all in scrubs and wearing masks and gloves, get Ruthie ready for surgery.On Tuesday, 5 April 2016, chimpanzee Mama died at the age of 59 years old at the Royal Burgers' Zoo. It isn’t long before vans arrive behind the center. “Chimps have a really important social structure, so if she’s not able to interact with her cohorts in multiple ways that could hinder her quality of life.”Īfter removing the cataract, which requires a small incision in the cornea, the damaged lens will be replaced with a lens that was specially made for Ruthie and donated by An-Vision in Salt Lake City. “She has one good eye, but she’s basically not able to see out of the other eye,” says Delk, who joined the zoo’s staff in August following her residency training at the San Diego Zoo. Here, the surgery will take place and the zoo’s veterinary team will soon transport an anesthetized Ruthie, the 45-year-old matriarch of the zoo’s chimp troop, to the back loading dock.Īs Gilger and his team - clinical technician Damian Launer, ophthalmology resident Whitney Young and ophthalmology research fellow Sara Smith - change into their scrubs, Katie Delk, the zoo’s senior veterinarian, and some of the zoo’s veterinary team awaits Ruthie’s arrival in a large prep room. The zoo’s hospital is in a quiet, tree-lined area adjacent to the main zoo. Photo by Nathan Latil/NC State Veterinary Medicine So this is a big deal, almost life or death for her.” “If this chimpanzee loses her vision, which she is on the way of doing, her whole social status in that troop is going to change. It’s so interesting,” says Gilger as the van slowly navigates the winding roads near to the veterinary medical center adjacent to the zoo. A cataract removal procedure is as common for animals as it is for humans.īut there’s dashes of excitement in Gilger’s voice and a visible eagerness in his team to get out of this van and into the zoo’s Hanes Veterinary Medical Center.įor Gilger, even after 20 years of working at the CVM and repeated trips to the zoo for specialized surgeries, it’s hard to get tired of this kind of work. In about 20 minutes, we’ll arrive at the North Carolina Zoo and, in less than two hours, Ruthie the chimpanzee will be on the road to seeing clearly once again.īrian Gilger, professor of ophthalmology at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine and his team has made this trip to Asheboro several times before.