Zoo will temporarily place chimpanzee program on hiatus
A beloved female chimpanzee named “Twiggy” will soon be departing her home at San Francisco Zoo & Gardens to join the chimpanzee troop at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. She was deemed a good fit as this will allow her to build more relationships with other females, including one she is already familiar with. With this move, the Zoo announces that it will temporarily place the chimpanzee program on hiatus, with the future transfer of the remaining chimps to another zoo.
“In professional zoos, individual animals may transfer to another facility based on an Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan for Chimpanzees (SSP) recommendation,” said Robbie Graham, Senior Curator of Mammals. “Twiggy has become a favorite among staff and guests here, but when a request of this nature comes in, we want to do what is best for the animal.”
Twiggy, now 39-years-old, was transferred to SF Zoo in 2019 along with another female and male to form a larger troop with the opening of the new habitat, Great Ape Passage. Twiggy, renamed “Connie” as her public-facing name after a special donor, was part of an effort to expand the chimpanzee group, which had long been comprised of senior chimpanzees, “Minnie,” “Maggie” and “Cobby,” who each lived at the Zoo for more than 40 years. In addition to the two females and male, a fourth male transferred to the Zoo, based on an SSP recommendation.
Integrating adult chimpanzees together is complex, and it was necessary to find suitable individuals within the accredited zoological community that needed a new home. To do this, the SSP management group needed to find chimpanzees projected to be the most compatible with the Zoo’s troop, reviewing behavior profiles of potential new group members to find the best fit.
In the case of the two new females, including Twiggy, assimilating with senior chimps Minnie and Maggie served as an incredible display of acceptance of new troop members. The male introductions also exceeded expectations, as the new male “Gombus,” was the first other male chimpanzee ever to join this particular troop, and both Cobby and Gombus were patient and at ease, helping the integration process succeed.
The passing at 61 of Cobby in 2021 of old age, as the oldest male chimpanzee living under human care, followed in 2024 of female Minnie at age 54, and this year, of Maggie at age 55, the remaining three individuals – Twiggy, Gombus and Michael – coped with the losses of the senior members of their troop.
“Every loss was devastating, to not only long-time chimp caretakers, Zoo staff and those who grew up with them in San Francisco, but also to the remaining chimps,” said Graham. “We honor those we lost, but we also wanted to better understand what was best for the smaller group.”
With the recommendation to move Twiggy to Maryland Zoo, primate staff saw her departure as an opportunity to make an important decision – to temporarily halt the chimpanzee program, and focus on another Great ape species, the critically endangered Bornean orangutan. Currently, the Zoo has a male and female, and after the Zoo finds a home for the bonded males, Gombus and Michael, the chimpanzee habitat can be converted to house orangutans.
“We have an opportunity to create a mixed species habitat for both orangutans and endangered white-cheeked gibbons,” said Graham. “The plan would be to bring in another female orangutan, and participate in the Species Survival Plan for Orangutans’ breeding program. We are excited about this, as time is ticking for orangutans, as one of the world’s most critically endangered species.”
And within a few years, the hope is the return of chimpanzees to San Francisco.
“When the time is right, we want to build a multi-generational chimpanzee habitat, and continue the long tradition of raising awareness about one of the most iconic species in the world.”
A date for Twiggy’s departure has not yet been scheduled.