Chester Zoo celebrates birth of rare chimpanzee

A newborn male chimpanzee made its arrival into the world in front of amazed visitors at Chester Zoo recently.

The rare chimpanzee was born to mum Alice following an eight-month pregnancy.

Newly released images show the little one being cradled in its mum’s arms as well as by other female relatives in the 21-strong group.

Chester Zoo’s chimpanzees are part of an international conservation breeding programme that sees European zoos working together to help prevent the primates from becoming extinct.

Human-related activities such as the illegal wildlife trade and poaching have severely impacted chimpanzee populations in many parts of Africa. 

Deforestation, driven by agricultural expansion and logging, has also significantly reduced their natural habitats forcing them into smaller and more fragmented territories.

Animal and Plant Director at the zoo, Mike Jordan, said: “A new birth always sparks some real excitement within the chimpanzee group here at Chester.

“While Alice and her new baby are certainly centre of attention among the other chimpanzees, they’re still finding some quiet time to get to know one another and can often be seen cuddled up together.

“What’s also great to see is that some of the others in the group, especially the younger females, are really intrigued by the new baby and are learning all about motherhood from Alice.

“This is an important learning curve for them and this experience can be really useful for when they hopefully go on to have babies of their own.”

About the importance of the conservation of the primates at Chester, Mr Jordan said: “A thriving conservation breeding programme is key to the long-term protection of these animals.

“For nearly 30 years our teams have worked on the ground in Uganda, Nigeria and Gabon in Africa, working hand in hand with wildlife authorities, in-country partners and local communities in an effort to protect some of the world’s rarest wild chimpanzee populations and their forest homes.”

“These collective efforts, paired with the conservation breeding programme in zoos, gives us hope that we can create a future where chimpanzees thrive long into the future,” he added.

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