Poor Julie, The 23 Yr Old Chimpanzee Has To Move From Her Home At The Knoxville Zoo

Twenty-three-year-old Julie is moving from Knoxville to New Mexico because she doesn't get along with the man of the house. Julie is a chimpanzee at the Knoxville Zoo.

There's trouble in paradise at Chimp Ridge. After 23 years at the Knoxville Zoo, trainers say Julie the chimpanzee is leaving because she can't seem to get along with the alpha male, Jimbo.

"The arguments between Julie and Jimbo just caused the whole group to frizzle and destabilize," says Knoxville Zoo trainer Lisa New.

The relationship has been rocky since Jimbo moved to the Knoxville Zoo in 2006.

"Julie is obviously threatened by the new male in the group because she and her friend Debbie enjoyed a high rank. She's very smart, she's socially savvy, and she enjoys the perks of having a somewhat high rank through her relationship with Debbie."

Trouble really started when females from Jimbo's past in Cleveland moved in.

"There was a lot of fighting, and Jimbo really received a lot of aggression from the females in our group," says New.

She says Julie and Jimbo had to be separated this past summer. They can't even be in the exhibit at the same time.

"We really tried every combination and building and rebuilding group and when all those options failed and they're just making it very clear to us that they would prefer to be apart."

So, why does the female have to leave?

"It's natural for a female to leave her group, natural for a female to emigrate out of the community and we're following what they do in the wild," says New.

Trainers will miss Julie as she makes a new home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but they want what's best for everyone involved. "We want what's best for her and the group and for all of them."

There is no set date on Julie's departure. If the move doesn't work, the Knoxville Zoo says they will always welcome her back.

Jimbo is the father of George, who was born about a year ago, and trainers hope he'll father more.

------

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Twenty-three-year-old Julie is moving from Knoxville to New Mexico because she doesn't get along with the man of the house. Julie is a chimpanzee at the Knoxville Zoo.

Zoo officials say Julie has never accepted the male chip, Jimbo, as leader of her troupe. Jimbo was brought to the zoo in 2006.

"Unfortunately, Julie never would accept the presence of Jimbo as the alpha male, which disrupted the balance of the entire group," says Lisa New, director of collections at the Knoxville Zoo. "Although we hate to see Julie go, it's the right thing for her, the right thing for the rest of the group, and what would be a natural occurrence in the wild."

Since coming to the zoo, Jimbo has fathered one chimp, and zoo workers hope he'll father more with two of the zoo's other female chimpanzees.

As for Julie, female chimps often move to new social groups when they reach maturity, so the move shouldn't be tough for her, zoo officials say.

Julie will move to the Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque, N.M. in early 2010.

Source