ZooBorns

Belfast Zoo Celebrates First Chimpanzee Birth in 15 Years!

Belfast Zoo is celebrating the arrival of the first Chimpanzee to be born at the zoo since 1997. On March 17, little Lucy came into the world to mother Lizzie, and father, Andy.  

Zoo curator, Julie Mansell, is delighted with the latest arrival, “We had been looking forward to celebrating Lizzie’s 40th birthday this summer and it was a wonderful surprise to discover her pregnancy. She has been a wonderful mother in the past and this time is no exception. Lewis, Kim, Phoebe, Sophie and Andy are also excited about the new arrival and are paying Lizzie and Lucy extra attention. Our visitors are always fascinated by the chimpanzees, I think, in part, because we recognize so much of ourselves in them. Humans and chimpanzees share 98% of the same DNA!”

Chimpanzees originate from Western Central Africa and The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) believes that chimpanzees are facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. Populations have declined by more than 66% in the last 30 years due to deforestation, hunting and many other factors. It is therefore imperative that zoos play an active role in the conservation of this species. 

Photo Credit: Belfast Zoo

Read more about Belfast Zoo's conservation work with chimpanzees after the jump:

New Pictures! North Carolina Zoo's Baby Chimp

We covered the arrival of baby Ebi, a female chimpanzee born at the North Carolina Zoo on January 16, on ZooBorns a few weeks ago. You can read all the details and see her earliest pictures there. In these new photos, little Ebi looks out at her new world from the safety of her mother's arms and eventually drifts off for a nap.  

The baby chimp will be on exhibit occasionally, depending on the weather and her acclimation to the exhibit.

 

Photo Credit:Tom Gillespie/NC Zoo 

It's a Girl! Baby Chimpanzee Born at North Carolina Zoo

A baby chimpanzee was born at the North Carolina Zoo Monday evening. The little female has been named Ebi. This is the second baby for Mom Tammy, a 41-year-old female, who had previously given birth to Maki in March 1994.

Both mother and daughter are doing fine. Tammy is caring for her infant without any intervention from zoo staff members. The two are not on exhibit and will not be in the foreseeable future due to the cold weather and the infant-rearing process. According to General Curator Ken Reininger, it will be at least summer before the two will be on exhibit.  

Ebi's arrival makes her the 12th chimp birth at the park since its opening in 1974 and the second since August 2010. The North Carolina Zoo's chimp troop is one of the largest in U.S. zoos.  

 Photo Credit: Jb Minter/N.C. Zoo

 

Nori The Explorer

Last month, keepers began introducing the North Carolina Zoo's baby Chimp, Nori, to her outdoor exhibit. Born August 2 at the Zoo, Nori is just beginning the process of learning to be outside with other members of her troop. As she adjusts to these new surroundings, she will be outside intermittently. Because Nori's appearance will depend on many factors outside the keepers' control, visitors will have to depend on good timing and a little bit of luck to catch an early glimpse of the infant. Keepers hope to have Nori on exhibit full time by late Spring.

Photo credits: thezoodude

Adopt Baby Nori the Chimpanzee at the NC Zoo

As covered in August on ZooBorns, baby Nori's mom could not properly take care of her and North Carolina Zoo staff made the difficult decision to hand-raise her. Now three months old, baby Nori is doing well and the North Carolina Zoo Society is offering a special adoption package to commemorate this very special baby's birth. The $30 adoption package contains a copy of Nori’s birth certificate, a fact sheet about the young female, a button commemorating her birth and a photo. Proceeds from this special adoption will help support Nori and her companions at the N.C. Zoo as well as their wild relatives. 

DO NOT MISS THE EXCEPTIONAL VIDEO AT THE BOTTOM

With 13 members in the troop, the N.C. Zoo has the largest chimp collection in any U.S. zoo. The zoo also has a strong conservation presence in Africa and supports conservation efforts in great ape range countries. We here at ZooBorns think adopting Nori would make a special gift for any animal lover this holiday season.

It's a long but exceptional video. Skip around if you get impatient, but don't miss it.

To learn more about adopting Nori, call the N.C. Zoo Society at 336-879-7250 or visit this site for more information. 

Baby Chimpanzee Welcomed at Everland Zoo

Korea's Everland Zoo recently welcomed a baby Chimpanzee and these outstanding pictures were taken by zoo photographer In Cherl Kim just three days ago. Human's closest living relative, Chimpanzees have highly complex social structures and distinct cultures within communities with preferences for different types of tool use. For example, some groups of Chimpanzees use long sticks to fish out termites from within their mounds (imagine Fun Dip, just with twigs instead of the edible spoon and termites instead of the citrusy-sugar). Other groups of Chimps use rocks to smash open nuts or dig their way into beehives high in the trees. 

Want to learn more about Chimpanzee behavior? Click Continue reading

Baby Chimp Doing Well at NC Zoo

Early this month, North Carolina Zoo staff made the tough decision to take their new baby chimp in for hand-rearing after it became clear that the baby's first-time mother could not adequately care for her. The baby is healthy and eating well and weighs 3 lbs. 14 oz. She is cared for by staff 24 hours a day and is carried by them most of the time except for brief periods in an incubator. The goal is to get the infant back into the chimpanzee group as soon as possible. She is shown to the chimpanzee group each day for visual socialization.

Photo credits: North Carolina Zoo

Meet Little Wingu!

Dutch photographer A.J. Haverkamp has amazed us again with these beautiful pictures of baby chimpanzee Wingu and mother Willie at the Amersfoort Zoo in the Netherlands. At six months old, little Wingu is still just a tyke!

Video courtesy of Jip H.

Baby Chimp Makes Her Debut at OKC Zoo

For the first time, visitors to the Oklahoma City Zoo have the opportunity to meet baby Zoe, a female chimp born all the way back in October, 2008. Sadly, Zoe's biological mother died shortly after her baby's birth. Lucky for Zoe, OKC Zoo staff provided round-the-clock surrogate parent care, even wearing a hairy vest to simulate a mother chimp, until a nurturing and protective surrogate chimp mother could be found. 

 

More to the story below the fold.

Baby Chimp Settles in at The Basel Zoo

The new arrival at Switzerland's Zoo Basel is a rather animated baby chimp.

Checking out his new pals...

 

 

 

Thanks to ZooBorns reader Salome in Switzerland for alerting us to this feisty little guy.