Introducing Twins Golden and Glitter the Jane Goodall Institute

It was a true adventure for these, the only set of twins in Gombe National Park, and the oldest known set of chimpanzee twins in existence. There was an encounter with a bush pig; there were many meals of flying termites; there were moments of panic and of jubilation; and, as with any good adventure, there was a successful reunion with their mother, Gremlin.

"Since their birth, the twins behavior has been observed, documented, analyzed, pondered over and has generally received more attention than the behavior of most human children. From mother-daughter relations to sibling relations to the way in which skills are passed from one generation to the next, this family, these twins, have provided excellent data," says Jane Goodall.

Rare, with a fluffy tuft of hair
In the 45+ years since Dr. Goodall first began the ongoing study at Gombe, there have been only 3 known cases of twin chimpanzees, including Goldi and Glitta. Rearing twins is tremendously challenging for mothers, who constantly carry their infants in the early months and are often their sole protectors throughout their long childhood. Most commonly, one of a set of twins will die early on.

On July 13, 1998, Gremlin gave birth to Golden and Glitter. A fluffy tuft of hair on her forehead and a bit more white on her chin were all that distinguished Goldi from Glitta. But they were healthy from the beginning, though a bit smaller than single infant chimpanzees.

It was but 3 days after their birth that the twins faced a grave threat. A pair of high-ranking females, Fanni and Fifi, began stalking Gremlin and her newborns, not uncommon behavior in chimpanzee communities. The 2 newborns were clutching their mothers chest, their small hands the only hint of clinging bodies as their dark fur blended with their mothers.

Bill Wallauer, videographer at Gombe Stream Research Centre, was there. "Fifi got that look in her eyes — the one she gets when shes after something, he says. "An attack seemed inevitable."

Fifi and Fanni eyed Gremlin for many tense minutes; they moved when she moved, sat close by when she stopped. Finally — seemingly without warning to the untrained eye — they charged, trapping Gremlin between 2 trees, striking her with their hands and with a vine hanging low beside her. Still clutching the twins to her chest, Gremlin eventually escaped their blows and made it to a nearby tree limb where ally males protected her.

The attack didn't last long, but had Fanni or Fifi grabbed 1 or both of the twins, they most likely would have killed them. Jane first documented these kinds of cannibalistic attacks upon newborns in the mid-1970s, when mother and daughter Passion and Pom attacked and killed 7 infants in an excruciating and dark period of Gombe history. Fifi had also instigated an attack on Gremlin in 1993, but again that infant, Gaia, went unharmed.

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[feemcl62]

Beautiful.

[lhammbone]

nice and im 13