MANAGEMENT O

F GELADA

BABOONS AT C

OLCHESTER ZOO

ASHLEY LAMB

DEPUTY HEAD O

F SECT IO

N

THE COLCHESTER BACKSTORY??First arrived at Colchester Zoo in early 2002Arrival of breeding male in Jan ‘03Successful Breeding!Risk of InbreedingDeparture of Junior in March ‘11

THE COLCHESTER GROUP

FEMALESMENA MAL AIKA

THANDI KEECHA

MALESMZURI JABU

JJ

ARRIVAL O

F NEW

BREEDING MALES (M

AY

‘11)

NEW MALESBOSSO BRUNO

Bosso and Bruno separated from existing group with visual accessPositive male behaviourGood signs from existing groupMixed after one week

INITIAL S

PLIT O

F THE

GROUP

AND THE PROBLEMS I T

BROUGHT

Bosso took position of dominant male with Malaika,Thandi and eventually MenaOne that got away?! Bruno the outsiderSerious injuries to MenaJJ neglected at just 3 monthsInfanticide

Outsider?Close bond with MzuriCaring for JJInterest from KeechaBecoming slighty more aggressive

BRUNO OVER FOLLOWING MONTHS

All signs of being dominantInfanticide?Broken relationship with Bruno1st offspring born!

BOSSO OVER FOLLOWING MONTHS

EZRI

CLEVER BRUNO??Never too far away from the groupAlways kept bonds via Mzuri and JJStarted to put pressure on Bosso mentallyConfirmed Keecha as his 1st female in early ‘12Mid ‘12 took his 2nd female in MenaDominant female and evenly balanced in terms of femalesUpper hand in a number of more serious fights

THE TU

RNING POINT!

NOVEMBER 2012

THE FIGHT…….Biggest fight between the group in 18 months with multiple injuriesJabu- Knocked down, stitched and blood clot removedBruno- Large gash to his headThandi- Deep laceration to her chestBosso separated from group but remained in enclosure

Bruno seized his opportunity! Malaika stayed loyal…..ishBosso released! Naughty Malaika! Thandi remained Bruno’sEzri at great risk infanticide!

Loss of Ezri!- Jan ’13Over 1 year oldBeatenSerious bite wounds to arm and sideBroken legInfanticide or accident?Loyal to Bosso

……AND THE AFTERMATH

BOSSO!

A PR IMATE O

N THE EDGE ! !

STRESS!‘Over-herding’ of femalesFur lossSpinning Self-harming

Temporary?Enrichment‘Zoo Derm’ZylkeneBuspirone

BOSSO

My challengeTake food from my handBasic clickerTargetSmall training hatch and station

TRAINING

PRESEN

T AND FU

TURE OF

GELADAS AT

COLCHESTER?

AT THIS VERY MOMENT….Two breeding males, as appose to the oneBosso with one female (Malaika)Bruno with three females (Mena, Thandi and Keecha)Three males including Mzuri (nearly seven!!)Bruno and Keecha’s 1st offspring born 16th Feb named KwameMena had her SIXTH offspring on 11th March with Bruno, male named ObiThandi had female, Layla, on 1st SeptemberMalaika had offsping 28th September

BABIES!!!!

THE FUTURE?Removal of Bosso?Mzuri reaching sexual maturity‘Kill two bird’s with one stone’?Push for a bigger enclosure?Minimum of two indoor housingSource more females to hold a bigger groupImprove the chances of a more even split?Risk of making Bosso’s situation much worse

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT AT COLCHESTER?

Never make assumptions when it comes to your animals!!Massive learning curveWent as we expected…..sort of?!Massive help in terms of the EEPWe wouldn’t do a lot differentWould encourage other collections to do the sameAnd so will we in 4-5 years time!!

THANK YOU!!

Questions?!?!?