Meet Prince – A Stately Chimp

By James Haworth

When Prince arrived at Project Chimps, in a group of nine young males, 15 to 20 years old, caregivers pegged him as a wallflower. But now they say Prince is emerging as one of the higher ranking, more influential chimps in the group.

A Family Man

At 135 pounds, 19-year-old Prince is average size, with a stocky, squatty build. His muzzle and ears are pink, and he sports a splendid white beard. Fun fact: both male and female chimps will grow a “beard”!

Staff comment that he looks like his half-sister Loretta, who’s lived at Project Chimps since 2017. Caregiver Fred Rubio says the two indeed have the same “sweet, expressive eyes.” (Their mom, Precious, is also here. It’s unlikely that Precious would recognize Prince or Loretta as her children though.)

A Life Apart

Like most of the chimps here, Prince was born at the New Iberia Research Center, at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. At the Center, males and females live apart and babies were often raised by humans and not their own mothers. Our caregivers and behaviorist are patiently introducing pairs of males to pairs of females, part of our strategic plan to build an environment for a thriving fission-fusion society of chimpanzees. As a part of this, the team is preparing to merge the nine males with a group of ten females, also recent arrivals from NIRC.

Prince has become the breakout star of the male-female introductions, playfully engaging with the females and reassuring them when tensions arise. When Prince and 17-year-old Manetta met, she became anxious and smacked him with her open hand!

Stoic and Stately

Rather than respond in kind, Prince remained calm. When the energy in the villa subsided, he quietly climbed up to the room where Manetta sat, approached her slowly, and placed his hand on her shoulder. And then he walked away. In the language of chimps, he offered reconciliation after a fight she’d started. “He turned the other cheek, in a way,” said Fred, who believes Prince may become the alpha male after the two groups merge. “If he intervenes in fights and keeps things under control, if he takes time to diffuse tension and reassure the others, he’ll be an awesome candidate.”

Time will tell if Prince becomes the alpha male of his group. But either way, we’re confident this playful, handsome fellow will be popular with chimps, and caregivers, alike.

Show your support for Prince and his 95 chimp friends by making a donation for Giving Day for Apes today!