Written by Jacqueline Rohen, Bulindi Chimpanzee & Community Project
2020 brought big changes to the Bulindi chimpanzees. Just before Christmas, Bulindi’s long-term alpha male Sylvester was overthrown by young adult male Moses. Sylvester had led the Bulindi chimpanzee community for eight years. He was a highly successful alpha male: he fathered most of the infants born at Bulindi during his reign, and he remained unchallenged until right at the end.
By 2019, Sylvester was starting to look old.
During the early years of his leadership, Sylvester was a magnificent sight to behold – he was by far the largest male we’ve seen at Bulindi. But he was never brutish, as some alphas are; he was an avid groomer of other chimps and was popular with the females.
Sylvester in his prime back in 2012.
By 2017, however, Sylvester was well into his thirties and no longer as physically impressive as he once was. By 2019 he was unmistakably past his prime, and with four young males growing up in the group, he often looked tired by the demands of keeping order. During the last couple of years young Moses has grown into a fine adult male. Although not physically big, he is muscular and energetic. By December last year, it seems Moses had had enough of waiting in the wings. The challenge when it came was swift, and Sylvester put up little resistance. It was the end of an era.
Moses (left) and Sylvester (right) back in 2018. Alpha male Sylvester is sharing a jackfruit with his subordinate. A little over a year later, Moses would overthrow him to become the new alpha male of Bulindi.
Most deposed alpha males remain in their community – providing they show appropriate respect to their new leader, and often after a period of ranging apart to lick their wounds. In Sylvester’s case, he disappeared a few days after being overthrown. Four months on and he’s still not come back. The Bulindi chimpanzees live in a landscape dominated by villages and farmland; there’s really nowhere for Sylvester to hide for so long without being seen. And there have been no reports of a lone adult male chimp in any of the villages around Bulindi. Sadly, it appears that Sylvester’s story has come to an end. It’s frustrating not knowing what happened to him.
Sylvester in his mid-thirties in 2018.
At the age of 15, Moses is still quite young to lead the group. Even so, he already shows signs of developing into an excellent alpha. He’s already very popular with the females and he’s an exceptionally generous food sharer. As for how long he could reign, however, we doubt he’ll have as long at the top as Sylvester did. Three younger males – Jack, Araali and Gerald – are only a year or so from reaching adulthood. One thing’s for certain: Moses will have to use all his intelligence and political skills to maintain his alpha position in the coming years.
By late 2019, Moses had grown into a fine young adult and was eyeing the stop spot.