Deus Mjungu

On the morning of October 8, 2012, Gombe field assistants saw Tanga with a new baby.  They tried to alert others researchers in the field who were closer to Tanga, but before any of them could get a good look at the newborn, Sparrow tried to take Tanga’s infant with help from Sheldon, Sparrow’s son.  Tanga screamed and Faustino ran to help her, displaying in such a fashion that Sparrow and Sheldon scattered.

During Glitter’s first week with her new baby (born May 30, 2012), she was quite elusive, hiding with her newborn and avoiding encounters with other chimps, particularly her mother, Gremlin.  It normally takes time before a female chimpanzee fully introduces her baby into community life.  Glitter, however, was nervous and unwilling to trust other chimps, seemingly an effect of having lost her first baby to her mother.  Now that she is getting more comfortable with her mother and the other chimps, we have been enjoying the newest addition to the G-Family.  The baby

JGI’s Deus Mjungu reports on the Gombe chimpanzees’ latest adventures.

The chimpanzee diet includes a great deal of fruit. For the past two months, however, the fruit supply in the Kasekela chimpanzees' range has been far from plentiful. As a result, the chimpanzees are traveling in small groups or on their own to minimize competition for food.

Chimpanzees live in a fission-fusion society whereby members of a community can freely join or leave a group at any time. Food normally dictates whether individuals join or avoid a group. When availability of food is low, chimpanzees, especially females with their dependents, tend to avoid groups.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, JGI’s Deus Mjungu reports on the Gombe chimpanzees’ latest romantic escapades.

It is the beginning of the termite fishing season at Gombe National Park.  During this season, chimpanzees spend a considerable amount of time searching and extracting termites from mounds.  Termites are small, nutritious insects.  However, due to the insect’s small size, termite fishing requires patience and hard work.

In his latest blog entry, Dr. Deus Mjungu, Gombe Stream Research Center’s director of chimpanzee research, writes of tracking two chimpanzees at Gombe National Park.