A critically endangered chimp mum beaming with joy after showing zoo visitors her newborn baby after the loss of her first baby during delivery last year.
Images captured at the Leipzig Zoo in Germany showed 13-year-old Western chimpanzee Changa holding the sleepy newborn in her arms and flashing a smile at the camera in the Pongoland enclosure on 6th June.
The proud first-time mother, who joined the zoo in 2019, reportedly delivered her baby in the early hours of Tuesday (5th June). In the presence of the other members of the chimp troop.
Zoo director Dr Joerg Junhold cheerfully shared that the baby, whose gender is unknown at the time. Is doing well and is tenderly looked after by Changa, as well as its father, nine-year-old male Azibo.
Junhold said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “Offspring among great apes is always a cause for great joy for us in zoos, considering their endangered status in their natural habitats.
“So far, Changa has been taking good care of her offspring, although the keepers have not yet observed it nursing.
“Therefore, the excitement is still somewhat restrained. But we are optimistic because the first search reflexes were already visible. all
“Both are now clearly visible to visitors in the indoor enclosure.”
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Last time a West African chimpanzee, a subspecies listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ on IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. Offspring was born at the zoo in 2021.
Highlighting their extensive history of caring for great apes and their achievements in breeding, Leipzig Zoo stated. “Orangutans, chimpanzees, and gorillas have been kept continuously since the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century.
“Bonobos, on the other hand, have been on display in Leipzig since 1989. Pongoland offers visitors the unique opportunity to experience and get to know all four great ape species in all their diversity under one roof.”
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Story By: Georgina Jedikovska, Sub-Editor: Georgina Jedikovska, Agency: Newsflash
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