Chimpanzee births in captivity: a typical case history and report of sixteen births

Abstract

Twenty years after the announcement by Montané (1915) of the first chimpanzee birth in the New World, which occurred at the estate of the late Señora Rosalia Abreu in Hav ana, Yerkes (1935) reported the birth of a second-generation captive-born chimpanzee at the Yale Laboratories of Primate Biology, Orange Park, Florida. This was the twelfth of the sixteen births at the laboratories in the last six years. The first case was described by Tinklepaugh (1932), and a twin birth was subsequently announced by Yerkes (1934). The other cases have not been reported previously. Inasmuch as the possibility of breeding chimpanzees successfully in captivity has been demonstrated convincingly in this establishment, it now seems appropriate to describe a typical case of reproduction in the chimpanzee, together with a summary report of all normal births which have occurred here. The observational data upon which this report is based have been contributed by several individuals. In addition to the writers, those who have contributed most are: William C. Atwater, Kenneth W. Spence, Otto L. Tinklepaugh, Michael I. Tomilin, Ada W. Yerkes, Joseph G. Yoshioka, and S. Zuckerman. We wish to emphasize the importance of collaborative and co-operative endeavour and to acknowledge our indebtedness to our several associates.