An osteobiography of a celebrity chimpanzee reflects the changing roles of modern zoos

Abstract

Abstract The role of zoos has shifted markedly from their origins in the nineteenth century to the present day. Long-lived and charismatic individual animals have been central to zoological collections, as priorities have changed from a primary focus on entertainment to a greater emphasis on education, conservation, research and welfare. Here, we construct the osteobiography of a celebrity chimpanzee to highlight the changing practices of modern zoos over a near half-century timescale. We applied archival, biogeochemical, pathological, and morphometric analyses to the skeleton and tissues of Choppers, a captive female western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus), who featured in the PG Tips television advertisements in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. We show the efficacy of the osteobiographical method in revealing Choppers’ life events, including her capture from the wild, dietary transitions over decadal timescales, and her declining health in old age. These direct analytical techniques applied to her physical remains allow for a more in-depth understanding of her life history than from archival material alone. By using a mixed-method, in-depth assessment of a single captive chimpanzee, we provide a rich context for analysing the impact of the changing roles of zoos on captive animals during the late 20th and 21st centuries.