Caesar’s Rise

He is a bit of a 'Mummy's Boy,' often in the presence of his high ranking mother Cynthia who has a young baby boy yet to be named at the moment and a sister who died at the age of 4 before being named.

Here Caesar and his mother do the diagnostic Mahale 'hand-clasp,' a grooming technique that has many different versions among Chimpanzees but this one unique to our Mahale Chimps.

As a teenage Chimp, Caesar is starting to push his limits, taking on the other young chimps as well as those passed their prime. He is showing much gain over the past few weeks and taking dominance over many other males forcing his way into the M-group hierarchy.

With a face like this, could you stare him down? His mother's high rank among the females gives him somewhat of a head start in the race to the top of the Males, but still in his teens he is yet to reach his prime.

But with high hopes of his recent endevours, the name Caesar might just prove to be a well chosen one, relating the name to the famous Roman leaders or Caesar the leader of the Apes in the modern Planet of the Apes films.

If, in years to come, he does manage to rise to the top of the M-community, we are sure with his softer side along with his value of family will make him a leader of poise and modesty.