Simon

Pan troglodytes troglodytes
Estimated Birth – May 2000

With assistance from Sanaga-Yong staff, authorities confiscated baby Simon in the town of Bertoua in July 2001. While uninjured physically, he was very afraid and confused, and he immediately welcomed the comforting caresses and embraces of caregivers. He joined a growing group of rescued babies, in which he would be the only boy! For three years, they grew up in the nursery together – playing, learning and exploring under the supervision of caregivers. Simon’s group of eight juveniles joined Jacky’s group of adults and older juveniles in 2004. Jacky and the adult females nurtured and protected them all, and Simon seemed to feel safe and secure among the big chimpanzees. As an adult, Simon is among the largest chimpanzees in the group. Over a two-year period, he was the staunchest ally of Future during his reign as leader of the group, always standing with him in any challenges to his authority. It’s unclear what occurred to soften Simon’s support of Future, but it led to Future’s fall from the position. Simon can be a fierce fighter, but he has never had broad support for his ambitions to be alpha male. None of the other males want to enter the same sleeping chamber with him at night, which is undoubtedly wise. He almost always shares a sleeping chamber with Caroline, who is very comfortable with him, and sometimes Alice joins them. Simon never steals food from other chimpanzees, but he demands extras from caregivers and makes choking sounds as if he’ll die any second if they don’t comply immediately, which they usually do. Simon looks long and hard into the eyes of humans he knows and is very gentle in taking his food, but he rarely engages in grooming or play sessions with them.