I had planned to post this last weekend to flow immediately after my rant post about the same subject. I had to pause, as I wasn't feeling well, and couldn't chance hyping myself up. Even though this pretty much writes itself, now that I've put it together, I can feel my ears start pulsating a bit. Glad it's done. Unfortunate that it even had to be written.
Last Thursday, the Zoo finally announced they were transferring out our three remaining Chimpanzees. It had been two months since I posted about the move, which was at the time I found out from an outside entity.
The announcement was reported by many news outlets, most containing the same information, which I assume came from a Zoo press release.
KRON's article contained these words...
As six became three, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan for Chimpanzees made the recommendation to transfer Twiggy, a 39-year-old female, to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
“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,” said Robbie Graham, senior curator of mammals at the SF Zoo. ... With the recommendation, zoo leadership made the decision to put a temporary pause on the chimpanzee program. The SF Zoo is currently working to find a home for the bonded males Gombus and Michael."
“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,” the zoo said.
From these words, two things are made clear from the Zoo's side. They concede that transferring the Chimps out is based on a recommendation by the SSP. As well, in my opinion, their words suggest there was already a plan in place to faze out Chimpanzees to focus on Orangutans.
After the passing of Our Maggie Chimpanzee, I wrote a post, "Are Our Chimpanzees At Risk For Leaving?" I had the feeling or rather fear, that now with all our long-timer Chimps gone, (then) Director Tanya Peterson would try to send out our remaining three Chimpanzees. I talked to Staff and the consensus indicated my feeling was shared.
For many years, I had a confidential agreement with the previous SSP Chimpanzee Coordinator, so I extended the same to the current one. I asked several times if she wished our correspondence to remain confidential, and got no answer. With that, I feel I did my part, and I'm comfortable sharing the information below.
On April 17, I emailed current SSP Coordinator, Tina Cloutier Barbour. I explained my fear, and management history as to why I was feeling this was a possibility. I also added some words about our remaining three.
"Our three Chimps have suffered four losses in four years, one being Twiggy's Sister. They don't need a move to add further disruption to their lives. When they came here, Qadeer, the first new Chimp in fifty years, came from a rough situation at his previous home. Joe Knobbe, then Curator, worked hard to create a welcoming environment, with our male Cobby, and safe relationships with all three of our seniors, and then integrating Jamie, Twiggy and Nick beautifully when they arrived."
I asked two questions...
*Is it true that the SSP no longer has a minimum holding requirement? That essentially the Zoo can maintain the remaining three, even if that isn't ideal?
*Has there been any inquiries from San Francisco to acquire additional Chimpanzees, or find new homes for our current three?
I received a reply on April 21.
Hi Kim,
To answer your questions: For all of the reasons that you outline below, the SSP does not have a hard & fast rule for minimum group size, though we do prefer that institutions hold at least 5 individuals. We do worry about a facility ending up with just 1 or 2 animals eventually, and for that reason, we make it a rule to prioritize recommending that they receive additional animals before we hit that tipping point. As such, we have tried to engage in conversations with San Fran about recommendations for additional animals but have not had any success (take from that what you will...)
I hope that this answers your questions and gives you a bet understanding of the situation.
Many thanks,
-Tina
From then until a month after the departure of Peterson, staff I engage with said they haven't been told anything.
On September 16, I emailed Tina again. Noting the change in management, as well expressing that I hoped the Zoo had entered into conversation with her and expressed interest in at least bringing in another female since Twiggy is alone.
I asked...
*Have there been talks since our last correspondence?
The return reply is dated September 22.
Good morning, Kim-
At the request of San Francisco, we are working to move the remaining three chimpanzees out to other facilitates. We have located placement for Twiggy, and are working to find placement for the boys, who will not be separated.
I hope that this helps clarify some things for you. Though we're sad to lose San Fran as a holder, we must work with our member institutions to adhere to their collection plans.
Many thanks for your care & devotion to the chimpanzees,
-Tina
So, you can see there is a huge discrepancy in what I was told by the SSP Coordinator, and what the SFZoo is telling the public.
I am not up for a debate with Zoo Staff on this, but I feel this needs to be documented. Exposing the seeming lack of accurate transparency, isn't going to change the fact that we are losing our beloved Chimpanzees. That said, I'm sad about this, and will be pissed forever at the chain of events that led to this. I'm very disappointed in the spin the Zoo has seemingly put on this important situation.
Related Posts:
*Are Our Chimpanzees At Risk For Leaving?
https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2025/04/are-our-chimpanzees-at-risk-for-leaving.html
*For The First Time In It's History, Our Zoo Will Soon Be Without Chimpanzees
https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2025/09/for-first-time-in-its-history-our-zoo.html
