Hugo

Chimpanzee

HI, MY NAME IS HUGO

Date of birth: December 2, 1994
Place of birth: France
Date of arrival at MONA: June 8, 2022

Subspecies: Pan troglodytes verus

He is a great ximpanzee, calm and affable. He came to MONA due to his mental health problems.

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ABOUT HUGO

His past

He used to live at La Flèche, a zoo in western France, with two other females. The centre’s managers, concerned about his well-being, contacted MONA about the animal’s episodes of self-aggression. They were unable to discover what was triggering them, but they thought it might be because of the presence of visitors. They covered the chimpanzee enclosure to hide it from public view, but the primate continued to have intermittent crisis.

Next to his daughter Mayumba when she was still a child

His present

After his arrival he adapted very quickly and accepted his new life very well. We introduced him to all the other chimpanzees at MONA, to better understand which group could be best for him. It must have been very intense to meet so many new individuals, especially the other males. He got along better with some than others, so the balance has been tipped so that in the future he will live with the Bilinga group, and we are in the middle of the integration process.

His social life

When he arrived he met Suzie, the oldest chimpanzee at MONA and one of the longest-lived in the world, with more than half a century behind her. They immediately got along well and together they started to be integrated with the other inhabitants of MONA. And a year later Caline and Mayumba arrived, his family from the same zoo where he lived before. On the days when there are no associations with the others, he is enjoying the tranquility of life with the three females. And he also acts as a peacemaker when there are misunderstandings between them.

Hugo likes

Knowing everything that happens

He still feels a little insecure the days he uses the outdoors facility, so he needs to know where his group is at all times.
Keeping the group together

He tries to keep the females from scattering around the facility, and since he almost never succeeds, he cries out of frustration and fear of losing them.

**Anecdotes**
When he has met a chimpanzee that he really likes, it is very complicated to separate them after an introduction session.

**Anecdotes**
To help with the change and not trigger his severe nervous breakdowns, one of his keepers came from France and spent a few weeks with us.

**Anecdotes**
When he gets angry with a keeper, when they close the doors for example, he spits.

Hugo's group: New Rescues

Suzie

One of the oldest chimpanzees in the world, she has already passed the half century.

Caline

In her early years she was exploited to take photos, but then luckily she became part of a small group of chimpanzees that finally arrived together at MONA.