IF YOU GO
The zoo is hosting a going-away party for the chimps Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and guests are invited to write farewell cards and participate in special activities.
One of the Chattanooga Zoo's centerpiece exhibits will be emptied next week, as the zoo is sending off its pair of chimpanzees.
Randi and Goliath are the two chimps who are still alive out of the pack of five who arrived at the zoo 14 years ago. The loss of their fellow chimps and the lack of replacements has taken a toll on the survivors, zookeepers said.
"Chimps are very social animals," said Stacy Laberdee, general curator at the zoo. "We've noticed a difference in their behavior now that it is just the two of them ... they are more subdued and reserved."
The zoo's solution is to send these chimps to live with a troop of chimps at the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Ind., and replace them with six to eight new ones in the "near future."
Goliath the chimpanzee looks through a viewing window at the Chattanooga Zoo on Thursday, May 7, 2015, in Chattanooga.The most recent death of a chimp at the zoo took place in 2012, when Josie, a 37-year-old chimp, was euthanized. Zoo officials said that before she died she lost complete mobility due to unexplained rapid deterioration and weight loss.
Josie's death followed a probe by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in 2011. Investigators with the USDA inspected the zoo after receiving an anonymous complaint and learning that seven animals had died at the facility in the span of a month.
The report found that at least four of the zoo's past 10 deaths could have been caused by problems at the zoo, specifically citing two marmosets that died from not having food for at least two days and two snow leopard cubs that died from being locked out of shelter in bad weather.
Zoo officials say this is a "new zoo," and that Goliath and Randi just had their yearly physical examinations and appear to be healthy.
On Thursday, the dark black chimps, who are both in their 30s, remained fairly subdued as they were given a treat of frozen coconut water. Zookeepers said a chimpanzee's life span is between 35 and 60 years in captivity.
Goliath, the 175-pound dominant male, is known at the zoo for his spitting and lazy behavior.
Amy Solis, a zookeeper who has worked with the chimps for years, said Goliath's grumpy personality has made him endearing to the staff. She also bragged about the resourcefulness of 110-pound Randi, who has learned to sneak food from the zookeepers when Goliath is not watching.
Zoo CEO and President Darde Long said it will be hard for the entire zoo staff to say goodbye to the pair.
"We are so excited for our chimpanzees to be introduced to a larger group and have the opportunity to exemplify their naturalistic social behaviors," Long said in a written statement. "We have grown so close to these animals, and although we are happy for them to join a new troop, it is a bittersweet goodbye for our staff to see them go."
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592.