by Ian Gilby:
Faustino is Fifi's third son, and was born on May 8th, 1989.
In many ways, he is very much like his older brother,
Freud. He is very "mellow", and spends a lot of time just
sitting in one spot, staring into the distance. Like the
other "F" boys, Faustino is quite large for his age, and
will no doubt become a very impressive male when he fully
matures. At the time of writing, Faustino is 13, yet still
travels quite a lot with his mother and younger siblings. He
doesn't show the independence that males of his age usually
show. Even his brother Ferdinand, who is 4 years younger,
seems to spend as much time apart from Fifi as Faustino
does.
Currently, Faustino has successfully dominated the adult females in
the Kasakela community, and has started to challenge the adult males.
He is in a unique position, because there are no longer any other males
of his age in the community. When I first started my work in 1999, Galahad
was still alive, and it was fascinating to watch the interactions between
he and Faustino. They were both reaching adolescence, and their play
sessions would often erupt into more serious dominance struggles. They
would display at each other, and minor scuffles would become more serious
squabbles. Then, as suddenly as it had started, they would seem to forget
their machismo, and would resume play. We all wondered how their relationship
would evolve, but sadly, Galahad's death left Faustino as the only member
of his age cohort. It will be very interesting to watch Faustino continue
to mature, and see how he fares in the dominance hierarchy. Freud surprised
many people by becoming alpha male. Perhaps Faustino will too.
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