Kasakela chimpanzee community

Flo Flo ( 1919 – 1972) was the matriarch of the F-family, so named because she and all her matrilineal descendants were given names beginning with the letter "F". In 1962, Flo was one of the first chimpanzees to approach Goodall's camp, along with her infant daughter Fifi. Video of Flo approaching Goodall and allowing Fifi to reach out to touch Goodall's forehead, letting Goodall know she had been accepted, is shown in the IMAX film ''Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees''. Later she brought her sons Figan and Faben, who would later become prominent members of the community to the camp, and when she came into estrus in 1963 she attracted the community's males to Goodall's camp. From the time Dr. Jane Goodall first observed her, Flo appeared to be the highest-ranking female in the whole Kasekela chimp community, who, although portrayed as an affectionate, playful and tolerant individual when interacting with her offspring, did not hesitate to aggressively dominate other females. and because her older brothers Faben and Figan were among the top big males, she grew up with enormous confidence. Flo had at least five known offspring, three sons (Faben, Figan and Flint) and two daughters (Fifi and Flame). Flo was 28 years old when she gave birth to Faben. Most female chimpanzees have their first infant when 12–14 years of age, so it is possible that Flo had at least one infant prior to Faben that either died or, if it was a female, would have transferred to one of the other communities prior to Goodall's arrival to Gombe in 1960. When Flo died in 1972, she was given an obituary in Britain's Sunday Times. and Ferdinand were alpha males in the community, which as of 2025, is headed by her great-grandson, Fudge. He was a powerful male, but lost the use of one arm in a polio epidemic that ravaged the community in 1966. Faben also participated in the conflicts with the rival Kahama community (which was formed by former Kasekela members) that occurred between 1973 and 1975, and was a leader in the killing of several Kahama males, including former Kasekela alpha male Goliath. Faben himself died in 1975, possibly as a result of further conflicts with the Kahama community. Goodall considered him to be Gombe's most intelligent chimpanzee. Although younger than Faben, he was able to dominate his older brother after Faben's arm was paralysed from polio in 1966. In 1982, Goblin unseated him again, and Figan disappeared and presumably died a few months later, although when last seen he appeared to be in good health. was Flo's oldest daughter. Five-year-old Fifi was the focal point of the documentary People of the Forest: The Chimps of Gombe, in which her mother and siblings also featured, attempting to gain access to her infant brother Flint. All four of Fifi's surviving sons had all held the alpha and/or beta positions in the community. Grandson Fudge (by Fanni) also attained alpha male status. Late in Frodo's reign as alpha male, Fifi helped defend him against attacks and she suffered some injuries in the process. Although males are perceived as the more aggressive sex in chimpanzees, studies at Gombe have revealed that aggression among females with each other does indeed occur. The attacks by Fifi and Fanni mirror those of previous perpetrators Passion and Pom in the 1970s, During that year she shifted her range to the far north of the Kasekela community territory, and the simultaneous advancement of the neighbouring Mitumba community further south nearing the Kasekela territory border suggests that Fifi and her youngster may have been fatally attacked by the Mitumba territorial males. A female chimpanzee leaving the safety of her community territory poses risks, particularly if she has a vulnerable youngster. Studies on chimpanzee intercommunity relations revealed that chimpanzees are likely to be attacked by the territorial males of a rival community, provides a near definitive conclusion of the fate that befell Fifi and her youngster. Flint Flint (1964–1972) was Flo's third son, and her first infant born after Goodall began observing the community. After Flame disappeared, possibly by the hand of Flint, he regained his enthusiasm, but resumed his needy, infantlike behaviour. Following the death of his mother Flo in 1972, Flint became depressed and ill; he died about three weeks after her. Freud Freud (May 1971 – March 2014) was Fifi's oldest son. As a juvenile, he benefited from a high-ranking mother and an uncle, Figan, who was the alpha male. He was also able to serve as an important ally to other males. At , Freud was larger than the 81-pound (37-kilogramme) Wilkie and smaller than the 113-pound (51-kilogramme) Frodo. Freud was one of the first wild chimpanzees whose entire life from birth to old age was documented by researchers. Frodo Frodo (30 June 1976 – 10 November 2013) was Fifi's second-oldest son. As an adult, he was one of the largest chimpanzees ever observed in the community, at about and remained quite aggressive. From 1990 to 1995, Frodo killed 10% of the red colobus monkeys within his home range. Researchers speculated that Frodo was unaffected by the mange because he interacted less with the other apes, giving the parasite less opportunity to infect him. he was then defeated by a coalition of several males and spent most of the next two years alone, recovering from his wounds and illness. In 2004, he once again began travelling with the rest of the community, but was unable to re-establish his alpha status. Frodo died in 2013. Frodo's aggression was not limited to colobus monkeys and other chimpanzees. In May 2002, he killed a 14-month-old human child that the niece of a member of the research team had carried into his territory. Infants he fathered included: • Zeus (1993– ), by Trezia. • Fred (1996–1997), by Fifi, Frodo's own mother She had her first infant, Fax, at just 11 years old, making her one of the youngest mothers seen in the community. Her infant, Fax, was given that name because of the continuous messages about his birth that Dr. Jane Goodall was receiving from her fax machine. Unfortunately, Fax did not survive to adulthood. She has also had five other children, males Fudge (1996– ), Fundi (2000– ), Fifty (2010– ) and Ficma (2015–) and females Familia (2004– ) and Fadhila (2007– ). Fudge, Fundi and Familia were fathered by Sheldon, who would later become alpha male. Whilst most female chimpanzees leave their natal communities upon reaching sexual maturity, Fanni has remained in her natal Kasekela community alongside her mother (in contrast to her younger sister Flossi). Fanni remained close to her mother Fifi, with whom she formed a close alliance against the other community females. Although males are perceived as the more aggressive sex in chimpanzees, studies at Gombe have revealed that there is substantial aggression among females with each other. Flossi Flossi (b. 8 February 1985) is Fifi's second-oldest daughter. Her father was Goblin. Flossi has given birth to four offspring, the males Forest (1997– ) and Fansi (2001– ) and the females Flower (2005– ), and Falida (2009– ). Flossi became a high ranking female within the Mitumba community; more typically immigrating females remain at a low rank. As a result, Faustino had to be weaned at an unusually young age, leading to a particularly difficult weaning conflict. He had worked his way up to become the beta, or second highest-ranking, male in the community until struck by a near fatal disease in 2005. He is the father of Gaia's son Google, born in 2010. Ferdinand Ferdinand (b. 19 August 1992) is Fifi's fourth oldest son. In 2008, he succeeded in supplanting Kris as alpha male, after wounding Kris badly in a fight. Ferdinand maintained his alpha male position primarily through intimidation and threats and even surprising attacking males. Ferdinand has been successful in siring offspring. Infants he fathered included Diaz by Dilly fathered at very young age of 12 in 2005, Tabora (2006– ) by Tanga, and Gizmo (2010–2016) by Gremlin. This probably allowed her to survive when her mother died before she was seven years old. Fundi Fundi (b. 2000) is Fanni's second oldest surviving son. His father is the former alpha male Sheldon; Fudge, the alpha male as of 2016, is his full brother. In 2016 Fundi helped Fudge attack their uncle Ferdinand, the previous alpha male, which allowed Fudge to attain his alpha status. In 2019 Fundi helped Ferdinand rejoin the core group. In surprising occurrence, in 2017 high-ranking Kasekela female Fanni was observed attacking lower-ranked female, Imani, with the goal of killing her infant, but was stopped and herself attacked by none other than her own son, Fundi. ==G-family==

Melissa Melissa (c.1950–1986) Researchers also suspected that she was related to alpha male Humphrey and another male, Mr McGregor. Goblin was protected by Figan as an adolescent, but at the young age of 15 in 1979 he challenged and defeated Figan to become the top-ranking male. He was defeated and brutally beaten by a coalition of older males later in the year, giving up his top ranking. He later became Freud's key ally in becoming and retaining his position as alpha male, apparently going so far as to encourage Freud to challenge Wilkie for the role. After recovering from his injuries, Goblin maintained a high-ranking status within the community by forming alliances with the alpha males, especially Freud and Frodo. The attacks by Fifi and Fanni mirror those of previous perpetrators Passion and Pom in the 1970s, He reached a relatively high rank in the late 1990s but fell to a low-ranking male by 2004. His father was a low-ranking male, Atlas. Galahad was described by researchers at Gombe as mischievous and playful, often observed terrorizing baboons. Gaia gave birth to her first baby in April 2006, However, once again her mother took over the babies, and one of the twins died at a few days old. She finally gave birth to a son named Google in 2010, fathered by Faustino. In 2011, Glitter gave birth to daughter named Gossamer, who was fathered by Sheldon. Golden and Glitter have remained extremely close through adulthood. ==P-family==

Passion Passion (c.1951–1982) was a central female of the Kasekela community. She, along with her daughter Pom, captured, killed, and ate about ten newborns at Gombe. Passion possessed a rather domineering and aggressive personality; according to Goodall, Passion was an indifferent mother to her three surviving offspring, but she became a very high-ranking female. She became more solitary later in life and died of some type of wasting disease in 1982. In addition to Pom, Prof and Pax, she gave birth to a baby in 1962 which died in infancy. She also had a stillborn baby, or possibly a miscarriage in 1970. Pom Pom (1965–1983) was Passion's oldest known offspring to survive to adulthood. Pom was instrumental in helping her mother capture and kill community infants. He also has been chosen by a couple of orphans as a companion. Pan Pan (17 October 1978 – 1981) was the only known offspring of Pom. He was injured after being blown from a palm tree by a strong wind and died four days later. ==T-family==

Patti Patti (c.1961–2005) was not born in the Kasekela community but joined the community in 1973. A female chimpanzee leaving the safety of her community territory poses risks; studies on chimpanzee intercommunity relations revealed that chimpanzees are likely to be attacked by the territorial males of a rival community, Tapit Tapit (1979–1983) Tapit surviving as long as he did was attributed by Goodall to the infertile chimp Gigi, who lacking any children of her own appointed herself as Tapit's primary protector. Tapit died of an unidentified illness, but Patti would prove to have learnt from his experience and was a model mother to her following children. Tita Tita (b. January 1984) is Patti's oldest daughter. She gave birth to her first child, Tibi, in 1995; he died in infancy. Another son, Tofiki (fathered by Sheldon), was born in 2000, and killed in 2004 when Freud attacked him while grooming Tita. She still lives in the community and gave birth to her first infant, Tom, in 2001. In 2006, she gave birth to a daughter named Tabora. In October 2012, she gave birth to a daughter named Tarime who died in 2013. In 2014, she gave birth to Tukuyu, whose father is mostly likely Fudge. Titan Titan (b. August 1994) is Patti's third oldest son, fathered by Frodo. Titan displays aggressive behaviour resembling his father Frodo's violent tendencies. Like Frodo, as a youngster he would throw rocks at researchers. Also like his father, Titan is large, and as of 2013 was the largest male in the community. As of 2012, researchers believed that he may have been ready to challenge Ferdinand for alpha status, as he spent a lot of time near Ferdinand and sometimes helped Ferdinand maintain control. However, over the following year, Titan slipped in rank. Researchers suspect that he may be afraid to challenge for the alpha spot, and also that his reluctance to groom other chimps may inhibit him from forming the alliances needed to attain alpha status. As of early 2014, Titan had occasionally been able to ally himself with Ferdinand's older brother Faustino in attempts to challenge Ferdinand, but he has not been able to maintain that alliance reliably, and at times Faustino would also join with Ferdinand to attack Titan. Titan fathered a daughter, Baseke, by Bahati in 2010. Tarzan Tarzan (b. October 1999) is Patti's fourth oldest son. His father was Frodo, making him Titan's full brother. Tom Tom (b. March 2001) is Tanga's first son, fathered by Kris. Tabora Tabora (b. 2007) is Tanga's first daughter. Her father is Ferdinand. ==S-family==

Sparrow Sparrow (b. 1958) is the oldest female and matriarch of the family. She has had seven offspring, including four sons (Sheldon, Steve, Spud and Sinbad) and three daughters (Sandi, Barbet and Schweini). Sinbad Sinbad (b. June 2001) is Sparrow's youngest son. His father was Frodo. Sherehe Sherehe (January 1991 – 11 May 2006) was Sandi's oldest daughter and first offspring. Her father was Beethoven. She gave birth to her first infant, Shangaa in 2004. Sampson Sampson (b. April 1996) is Sandi's oldest son. His father is Apollo. He is a low-ranking male. Sampson was part of a coalition that included his uncle Sheldon and his cousin Fundi that helped Sampson's cousin Fudge supplant Ferdinand as alpha male in 2016. Samwise Samwise (b. June 2001) is Sandi's second-oldest daughter. Her father was Frodo. ==Male dominance==

Chimpanzees live in large mixed-sexed communities, in a society that is male dominant Faben (Figan's older brother with a paralysed arm), Evered (defeated by Figan in his bid for alpha status who became Ferdinand's father) and Sherry (lower-ranking male who became Frodo's father) are examples of males who successfully devoted their energy to breeding success despite not attaining alpha status. In 1964, Mike, who was previously a low-ranking male, deposed him. In October 2016, Ferdinand was attacked by a coalition of males led by his nephews Fudge and Fundi and also included the former alpha male Sheldon. Ferdinand was badly injured in the attack and Fudge asserted himself as the new alpha male. ==Female dominance==

Even though chimpanzees live in a male-dominant society, the female chimpanzees in the Kasekela community have evolved their own pecking order, in which the top-ranking female has priority access to food, mates and sleeping sites. Studies in Gombe have discovered that the rank of a mother directly correlates to infant survival, fast maturing of daughters and faster production of offspring. High-ranking adult females and adolescent males frequently fight as the latter attempts to establish themselves on the male dominance hierarchy; if a high-ranking female does not have a dependent child (as was the case, for example, with the large and dominant yet infertile Gigi) they are more capable of winning fights with males. The dominance of a female to other community females depends largely on family ties. The bond between mothers and daughters is instrumental in dominance interaction between females in a community, especially in the aspect of infanticidal attacks. Infanticide among chimpanzees, although rarely filmed, is a common occurrence, with observations at Gombe Stream National Park revealing that such gruesome acts are done by females within their own community. Jane Goodall considered elderly female Flo, the original matriarch of what is now the famous 'F' family of Gombe, to be the most dominant of the females in the Kasekela community at the time that the study began (in the 1960s) She was a successful mother and fierce defender of her offspring, one of whom would succeed her. Fifi was a popular female in Gombe, not only from her high-ranking family but also from her close ties with the males. She inherited her mother's superior status and because her older brothers Faben and Figan were among the top big males, she grew up with enormous confidence. As a mother of nine, Fifi was fiercely defensive of her offspring and her ability to have reproduced as frequently as she did, and have enough resources and social standing to ensure the survival of seven of her nine children validates the studies of how the social rank of a chimpanzee mother directly correlates to infant survival, fast maturing of daughters and faster production of offspring. Just as her mother's high status rubbed off on her, Fifi's high standing in the community benefited her daughters. Although second daughter Flossi emigrated to dominate another chimp community One of two contexts for female-female aggressive encounters in Gombe was the presence of newborn infants. and her high-ranking brothers Faustino and Ferdinand (Fudge's predecessor). Fanni shifted her range to the southern part of the Kasekela territory, further away from the other community females, particularly Gremlin's growing 'G' family, which now makes up a large portion of the Kasekela community and who occupy the top of the hierarchy. ==Other communities of chimpanzees at Gombe Stream National Park==

Within the Gombe Stream National Park live other chimpanzee communities other than the Kasekela, which also inhabit certain home ranges. The two other communities currently bordering the Kasekela community include: • Mitumba Chimpanzee Community • Kalande Chimpanzee Community One extinct community of Gombe was: • Kahama Chimpanzee Community The Kahama community came about from a split within the Kasekela community. In the early 1970s several of the Kasekela chimpanzees, including 8 adult males, kept to the northern portion of the Kasekela range, while others, including 7 adult males, kept to the southern portion of the range. The two groups became hostile towards each other, and had less and less to do with each other, and eventually the southern community became totally separate, and was referred to by researchers as the Kahama community. By 1974, the Kasekela males began to attack the Kahama chimpanzees in what was referred to as the "Four Year War." Figan, Faben, Humphrey, Frodo's father Sherry, and Sherry's brother Jomeo were often among the ringleaders of the attacks. Researchers described these attacks as being of the nature of raids, as opposed to simply defending their territory. The Kasekela chimpanzees did not collect food during these "raids," although at least three Kahama females were brought back to the Kasekela community. Kahama chimpanzees were brutally attacked during these raids and often were killed. Former Kasekela alpha male Goliath, who had joined Kahama and was then very old, was killed in one such attack in 1975. Kahama's alpha male Charley was killed in 1977. By 1977 the Kahama community had been completely wiped out, and the Kasekela community absorbed its territory. Annexing the Kahama territory brought the Kasekela community in contact with the Kalande Chimpanzee Community. The Kalande community may have been attacking Kahama chimpanzees during the Four Year War, and after Kahama was wiped out they began to attack Kasekela chimpanzees. At least one Kasekela female was badly injured in an attack by Kalande chimpanzees, and at least two infants were killed in such attacks. Former Kasekela alpha male Humphrey died in 1981, possibly from injuries from an attack by Kalande chimpanzees. Kasekela has had interactions with the Mitumba Chimpanzee Community as well. Some of these interactions have been hostile, and some Mitumba chimpanzees are known to have been killed by Kasekela chimpanzees. At least two Kasekela females, Fifi's daughters Flossi and Flirt, have emigrated from Kasekela to join the Mitumba community. Based on circumstantial evidence researchers believed that it is possible that Fifi herself may have died as a result of an attack by Mitumba chimpanzees. ==Books about the community==

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