Chimpanzee · No. 17 of 22
The Hug
Chattanooga needed an alpha male. The introduction went better than anyone expected.
The Deal
The Grades
Chattanooga
Filled an alpha vacancy and added a settled adult female in one transaction. Selected on personality and age, not just availability.
The Breakdown
Chattanooga's troop needed an alpha male. Houston had two siblings available: Willie, 22, and Sally, 40. They arrived around midnight on June 12, 2026 and joined Scott, Shirley, Brandy and Katrina.
The zoo then did something almost no institution does and published the introduction blow by blow. Brandy rejected Willie initially. Shirley's meeting went better and produced what staff described as an immediate hug shared between Sally and Shirley. Full integration took several days and involved, in the zoo's own words, screaming and attempts at intimidation, but no one really touched each other.
Every trade in this sport has a fit question that no amount of scouting fully answers. This is one of the few times the public got to watch the answer arrive in real time.
