Smoke

Who is Smoke?

Smoke was born in Africa. We don’t know his exact age, but estimate his birth year as 1968. He was brought to the United States as a baby, maybe as old as 4 years. He lived in a lab for three years before he was moved to the Philadelphia Zoo where he met his long-time companion Mollie. Smoke and Mollie raised a son and two daughters during the years they lived at the Philadelphia Zoo. In January 1994, Smoke and Mollie came to the Saint Louis Zoo. They needed a new home and we needed chimpanzee parents to raise Hugo. Mollie and Smoke were experienced parents and we wanted them to take over our job of raising Hugo so that he could learn to be a chimpanzee. Mollie’s last baby was born in 1984, and because nine years had elapsed, it was generally thought she was not going to have any more children. But much to our surprise, Mollie and Smoke did have another baby; eight months after arriving in St. Louis, Mollie gave birth to Cinder.

A Dad As Goofy As Can Be

Smoke was a great dad. When Mollie let him touch Cinder, he was always very gentle. Chimpanzee parents love to tickle babies and Smoke was no exception. As Cinder began to explore her world she found a fun, tolerant and sweet father waiting to play with her. Mollie and Smoke were clearly doting parents and Cinder could do no wrong in their eyes. Despite great affection for their daughter, both Smoke and Mollie did not hesitate to accept new youngsters into their family. When we introduced them to 29-month-old Jimiyu they immediately embraced (literally and figuratively) him. Months later they accepted two more foster kids, Hugo and Mlinzi. Smoke seemed to thoroughly enjoy living with the baby chimps and was especially adept at conveying his friendly intentions to them. It was even difficult for us humans to misread the signal he sent to youngsters when he stood on his head and twiddled his toes. Certainly a mature adult male chimpanzee would only get into that undignified posture to let them know he was not in the least bit threatening. Quite the contrary, he was an adult chimp who wanted to play with them! Several years later when we added Holly and Bakhari, Smoke accepted two more foster daughters in the same manner.

In 2003, after Tammy, our newest addition to the group, was living with the female chimpanzees, we wanted her to meet the males of the group. Who could possibly be better than Smoke as the first male for Tammy to meet face-to-face? When we opened the doors, Smoke was clearly interested in playing with Tammy, but he didn’t force the issue. Instead, while Tammy played with the females, Smoke laid down nearby. Acting every bit the nonchalant adult, Smoke stretched out on his back, crossed his legs and once again, twiddled those toes. He let Tammy decide when she was ready to approach him and it didn’t take long for her to be drawn into his game.

Gentle Grandpa

As the only adult male in our group, Smoke was the uncontested alpha for many years. But as Hugo and Jimiyu matured into young adults, the normal process of competing for leadership began. Smoke held back the challenges for months, but because Hugo grew to be such a large male, it became impossible for the smaller and older Smoke to retain his alpha status. Once he accepted the role reversal and acknowledged Hugo’s leadership, Smoke was visibly more relaxed. He and Hugo are still friends, and although he is aging, Smoke remains a playful companion to everyone in the group.