Chimpanzees of Budongo Trail

The original Edinburgh group

Cindy

Born 1964 (estimated), Africa

The “cool granny” of the group and oldest female, Cindy is the mother of Lyndsey and grandmother of Kilimi, Kindia, and Liberius. She is great at solving puzzles and likes to interact with people, which is why she easily led the way in training for activities in The Chimpcam Project. Two of her favourite foods are leeks and spring onions. She can be easily spotted by her petite frame and the spikey hair on the top of her head.

David

Born 2 March 1975, Edinburgh Zoo

David is a strong adult male with a round, grey head, damaged left ear, and short limbs compared to the rest of the group. He was one of the dominant males a few years back and still commands respect from the others. When choosing to participate in research pod activities, we could always count on him to have a delicate touch when making selections at the test window by using one finger to press the screen instead of using his fist.

Emma

Born 15 August 1981, Whipsnade Zoo (arrived Edinburgh 1991)

Mother of Qafzeh, Emma is a strong personality in the group. Her influence within the group helped her son reach the dominant male position. She is a confident leading female and can often be seen hanging out with Lucy when the other members of the group are not grooming her.

Kilimi

Born 20 February 1993, Edinburgh Zoo

Kilimi is the daughter of Lyndsey and sister to Kindia. She takes things in stride and because of her patience she is often able to figure out enrichment puzzles before the others. As a young female she is attracting attention from the boys, but tends to stay out of the fray when the group’s dominance struggle comes to the surface.

Kindia

Born 5 February 1997, Edinburgh Zoo

Kindia is the son of Lyndsey and brother to Kilimi. He is an up and coming male in the group and is giving Qafzeh a bit of competition for the dominant male position. He can be easily spotted by white marks above his upper lip and strong, spikey-haired, shoulders. He frequently liked to participate in training and research activities until the dominant-male position sparked his interest. During that time he focused his efforts on overthrowing Qafzeh, but now that things have calmed down a bit, he’s been eager to participate.

Liberius

Born 20 January 1999, Edinburgh Zoo

Son of Lucy and youngest of the group, Liberius is still playful, learning from the others, and finding his place in the group. He is a long and muscular chimp who is easily spotted by his pink skin. While he can be hesitant around new things he sometimes surprises us with his curiosity to explore. When the Chimpcam was presented to the chimps, he was the first one to investigate it and did not want to give it up to the other chimps!

Louis

Born 1976 (estimated), Africa

Louis is a strong, large male with a silvery grey back and a strong facial expression. He spends most time with the other adult males, but sometimes finds Qafzeh, the dominant male, difficult to deal with. As a previous dominant male and a respected member of the group, the others often turn to him for reassurance.

Lucy

Born 11 November 1976, Edinburgh Zoo

Lucy is the mother of Liberius. She has a roundish appearance with large ears. While she has quite a stubborn personality, it’s her determination to figure things out at her own pace that earns the respect of the keepers and researchers around her. During research pod activities she often came in to watch and only decided to participate towards the end of the study (when she pretty much knew exactly how to play the games).

Lyndsey

Born 24 December 1983, Edinburgh Zoo
The daughter of Cindy and mother of Kilimi and Kindia, Lyndsey is a quiet chimp, who is happy spending time by herself or with others. She can be a secretive chimp and is very stealth-like in her movements around Budongo. Though she’s often described as laid-back, she is quick to defend her son as he competes for the dominant male position in the group.

Qafzeh

Born 31 March 1992, Edinburgh Zoo

Qafzeh, pronounced “kaf-see”, is large and muscular and recently rose to dominance in the group (this position is also called the alpha male position). His mother, Emma, played a large role in his rise to the top. With a little bit of competition for the dominant male role from Kindia, Qafzeh is realising that he can’t rule the group as a bully, but rather needs to be a leader with support from the others.

Ricky

Born 1961 (estimated), Africa

Ricky is the oldest member of the group and can be easily spotted by his grey hair with bald patches (just like us, chimps can lose hair as they get older). He had a rough start to life as he was kept as a ship’s mascot for five years and didn’t learn all of the appropriate social skills of a chimp. While he has never been a contender for the dominant male position, he is an established member of this group and can often be seen playing with the youngsters or hanging out in his favourite spots at the top of the climbing frame.