Rare Chimpanzee ZeeZee Bonds With Baby Boy

The critically endangered western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) gained a new member recently when a baby boy was born at Chester Zoo. The new arrival is far from his natural habitat – Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and environs – but he is already at home in the zoological gardens just south of Liverpool.

“We’re incredibly proud to see a precious new baby in the chimpanzee troop,” says Andrew Lenihan, the zoo’s primate section manager. “Mum ZeeZee and her new arrival instantly bonded and she’s been doing a great job of cradling him closely and caring for him.”

The baby boy is in good health and will spend his first few weeks bonding with mum as well as the other 22 chimps in the troop. Chester Zoo is home to more than 20,000 animals and maintains strong programs on conservation and extinction prevention. “He may not know it,” says Lenihan, “but ZeeZee’s new baby is a small but vital boost to the global population of Western chimpanzees, at a time when it’s most needed for this critically endangered species.”

The little guy doesn’t have a name yet, but the Zoo will follow its usual naming protocol for chimps and give him a rock star moniker. Previously named chimps include Dylan (as in Bob), Alice (Cooper), and Annie (Lennox). With the zoo being so close to Liverpool, we can think of four fab names right off the bat.

Photo credit: Chester Zoo