Gombe Gets a New Alpha – The Fall of Ferdinand

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Fudge portrait

Ferdinand’s nephew Fudge.

The Last Straw

Although rank is frequently tested in chimpanzee groups, it is very rare that an alpha is toppled.
In the last two years, Ferdinand’s aggressive leadership left him few friends within the Kasekela community. In recent months, he has spent time in a subgroup with a few of the females who live in the northern valleys. At the same time, the majority of adults have formed a larger separate group, further south. However strong a leader, an alpha cannot rule from afar, and from time to time Ferdinand would come back to assert his undoubted prowess and confirm dominance over all. While this worked for a brief period, younger males in the group have been maturing and gaining strength. A storm was brewing.

Ferdinand’s sister Fanni, has two sons: Fudge (19 years) and Fundi (16). These two were prominent in the southern subgroup together with a former alpha-male Sheldon (33 yrs), his brother Samson (19), a timid adult named Zeus (22), and an adolescent, Tom. With an absent alpha and the fire of young blood, the time for a revolution was upon the group.

This October, the rift between Ferdinand and the rest came to a head when he made one of his periodic returns to surprise them. Instead of finding compliance and submission, he found that the males were already riled up because they heard him approaching. This once fearsome alpha became the victim of a group attack.

About Author

Ashley Sullivan is the Director of Storytelling & Marketing for Communications & Partnerships at the Jane Goodall Institute USA, where she works to connect individuals with Dr. Jane Goodall's vision, and the JGI mission to create a better world for all by protecting the interconnections between people, other animals, and the environment. Ashley graduated Stony Brook University with a Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology and a minor in Biology, and is pursuing a Master's of Science in Environmental Science & Policy at Johns Hopkins University with a focus on Environmental Justice. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, now a D.C. resident, she has a varied background including 10+ years of expert communications and digital marketing in the social and environmental non-profit sector. Her intersectional approach to this work has been shaped by a holistic world-view, having traveled to Madagascar and Ecuador for conservation research projects, leading communications for youth social justice filmmaking organizations, and as a part of several professional groups advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in environmental spaces including Greens REALIGN. With skills ranging from conservation fieldwork, policy and advocacy campaigns, strategic communications, art, digital media, and design, Ashley believes in sharing information to empower and in the magic of storytelling to transform hearts and minds. Through growing understanding, empathy, and justice, she is igniting positive change to create that better, more equitable world, every day.