Updated
A female chimpanzee born at a central Queensland zoo
recently will provide a much-needed genetic boost to an Australasian
breeding program, keepers say.
The chimpanzee is the first baby born in Queensland since the 1970s and the first for Rockhampton Zoo.Rockhampton Zoo life sciences coordinator Graeme Strachan said the baby, born 11 days ago, is part of an Australian and New Zealand program that aims to increase the number of chimpanzees from 51 to 80 in the next 20 years.
"This little girl is going to be very genetically valuable to the region, much-wanted I would say, because she's totally unrelated to the other chimps here and that's a big thing about keeping the genetic lines healthy," Mr Strachan said.
But for the next five years, the baby will stay very close to her mother, Leakey.
"They have a long weaning period and it will probably be another five years before she gets a little brother or sister," Mr Strachan said.
"That's the problem when their numbers decline.
"They've got a slower reproductive rate so the population can't recover."
Reproduction challenges
The Rockhampton Zoo is one of three zoos in Australia and two in New Zealand working together to boost the population of chimpanzees in captivity.The common chimpanzees are a high-priority species because of their endangered status in Africa, and numbers have plummeted from 3.5 million in 35 countries 50 years ago to fewer than 200,000 today.
"The sad part of what's happening with chimps in Africa with palm oil, poaching and habitat destruction is that the future of chimps could be in captivity," Mr Strachan said.
"This was why the regional breeding program, and the zoo's latest addition, is so important.
"The regional program copies what happens in the wild, so many males born here will stay here and be part of a patriarchal, hierarchical line that stays there.
"Then the females, when they reach maturity around nine, 10 or 11 years, will be transferred out to other groups so we just follow that cycle in captivity."
There are currently seven chimpanzees at Monarto Zoo in Adelaide, 22 at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, 10 in Wellington and six in Hamilton in New Zealand.
The new arrival has boosted Rockhampton Zoo's numbers to six chimpanzees.
Increasing numbers will be no easy task as it is not just about genetics and breeding but also about providing the best social situation for the animals.
There was no breeding in the region for a number of years until a number of unrelated chimpanzees were imported from Israel through a European program.
Since then, there has been one reproduction in Taronga Zoo in Sydney and one at Monarto Zoo in Adelaide.
"That's been a huge boost to the regional program," Mr Strachan said.
This baby's parents, mother Leakey, aged 23 and father Alon, 10, are originally from Israel, transferred to Rockhampton together because they are from the same community but genetically separate.
"We're hoping now this will kick it all off with the other two females, Samantha and Holly.
"They're quite socially inexperienced and that's why we were quite concerned about them giving birth, but now I think this going to get the interest going, the 'cluckiness' going."
There are occasions where first-time mothers will lose their infants through inexperience, but Mr Strachan doesn't think this will happen to Leakey.
"She's a very stable and experienced female and has the best chance of raising a baby," he said.
She has taken to her new role like a duck to water, showing her baby off to the zoo staff shortly after giving birth.
"Leakey actually brought the baby and held the baby up, just like the Lion King," Mr Strachan said."It was amazing."
The baby has been welcomed into the group, with Samantha and Holly showing a healthy curiosity while Alon has demonstrated his protective instincts.
"He's allowed to touch the baby, but the others aren't so he's got his special status," Mr Strachan said.
"Generally the males stay out of it; they have a natural curiosity, but they are there to protect the group."
Mr Strachan said since the birth of the little girl, the whole group has a new sense of calmness.
"They're all quite inquisitive but they've got this feeling of new life and the future of their tribe," he said.
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