Although
chimpanzees have been studied for
decades at several sites, this newly
established field site in the Goualougo
Triangle offers new and important
insights for understanding great apes.
It also provides a great opportunity to
become acquainted with many individual
chimpanzees and gorillas who each have a
unique personality. Below are some
introductions to the apes!
Naive gorillas of the
Goualougo: meet "Diesel"
This young
male gorilla has left his group,
and is currently solitary. We
have tracked him as he seems to
shadow groups of gorillas in the
area. His name was suggested and
voted on by GTAP Facebook Cause
supporters!
Naive gorillas of the
Goualougo: meet "Piper and
Monsoon"
As seen in
the video, this female gorilla
has a young infant. She lives in
a group of at least eight
individuals who range just south
of the Goualougo base camp. The
names of these two apes were
suggested and voted on by
GTAP
Facebook Cause supporters!
Naive gorillas of the
Goualougo: meet "Andre (The
Giant)"
This
handsome silverback has a group
with at least two females and a
juvenile. His range is to the
north of the base camp. His name
was suggested and voted on by
GTAP Facebook Cause supporters!
Naive gorillas of the
Goualougo: meet "Hulk"
This adult
male gorilla's home range
includes the forests next to the
Goualougo base camp. It is not
uncommon to encounter him near
camp and to hear him at night
chest beating. His name was
suggested and voted on by
GTAP
Facebook Cause supporters!
Naive gorillas of the
Goualougo: meet "Antoine"
While
walking in the forest on October
12th 2001, we suddenly came upon
a young blackback gorilla. While
contacting gorillas is an
everyday occurrence, this
adolescent male gorilla did not
show the aggressive or scared
responses that are typical of
most unhabituated ape groups. To
our surprise and excitement, he
resumed feeding in a casual
manner and occasionally glanced
in our direction. It was likely
that this was his first contact
with humans, but he seemed more
curious than nervous in our
presence. Since we were able to
make such good observations of
him, the trackers decided to
name him "Antoine" so that we
would know what to call him when
we next encountered him again.
The arrival of "Dorothy" into
the Moto Community
On May
30th 2002, a group of Moto
chimpanzees approached the base
camp late in the day, just as we
were returning from our survey
in the forest. There were
several familiar faces in the
party, and also a young subadult
female chimpanzee that we did
not recognize. She was occasionally the
victim of threats by the
resident females, but was
diligent in trying to form bonds
in the group.
Dorothy is now an established
member of the Moto community,
and has become well-accustomed
to our presence. She has led to
many new observations of
chimpanzee behavior, including
some specific types of tool use.
She is one of the most avid
honey gatherers, and we believe
that she has quite a sweet
tooth!
A future alpha male:
Theresa's youngest son "Leif"
One of the
most rambunctious members of the
Moto community is a juvenile
male named "Leif". He is the
third son of "Theresa", a
dominant female of the Moto
community. Leif is still
dependent upon his mother, but
spends much of his time playing
with his older siblings (Leakey
and Lewis) or other young
chimpanzees his age. Like other
four year olds, he is learning
how to climb, which does not
always come easy. We have seen
Leif fall a considerable
distance from trees. Each time,
he has shrugged-off the accident
and seemed to become even more
fearless in the forest.
Naive gorillas of the
Goualougo: meet "Diesel"
