The family of animals at the Oklahoma City Zoo continues to grow with the recent birth of the endangered chimpanzee.
After about eight months of gestation, 14-year-old Nia gave birth to a female chimpanzee on October 12 at 10:17 am in the zoo’s ape habitat. This is her second offspring of Nia.
Nia’s babies weigh about 4 pounds at birth and are healthy. Shortly after Nia gave birth, her caretakers began observing Nia’s interactions with her newborn infant, making sure she bonded with her.
However, despite several occasions, Nia did not display proper maternal behavior towards her daughter, so it was decided that the zoo’s veterinary and primate care team would intervene and start breeding.
Through assisted living, a dedicated team of animal experts and hand-picked volunteers now provide 24/7 care for infant chimpanzees behind the scenes in their habitat, allowing newborns to be reunited with their near or surrogate mothers. I will continue to take care of her until she becomes like this.
Infants can hear and smell their chimpanzee family while being cared for in private.
Care team members wear a specially designed vest that mimics chimpanzee fur and encourages the infant to grasp while holding the newborn. Primate caretakers have named the chimpanzee baby Kiazi, the Swahili word for potato root vegetable.
Tracy Dolphin, the zoo’s primate curator, said that pheasants “rooted” into family herds and, when they were old enough, reintegrated with the help of Quito, a proven chimpanzee surrogate mother. It will be.”
In preparation for Kiazi’s birth, the caretaker trained Nia to voluntarily attend an ultrasound and began training her to be a surrogate mother with Quito in case intervention was needed.
Quito is a proven foster parent and most recently stood in for Reuben, a young male chimpanzee in the group.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Chimpanzee Species Survival Plan® recommended that Nia mate with both the zoo’s male chimpanzees, Mwami (34 years old) and Ruben (10 years old). Blood test.
Nia arrived at the OKC Zoo in 2020 from the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, Kansas through a recommendation from AZA’s Chimpanzee SSP.
Nia was about eight months pregnant with her first child when she arrived. However, after her Nia gave birth, she did not show her active maternal care for her infant.
The zoo’s veterinary team and primate care team decided to go ahead with the assistance, and infant Macy was transferred to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, Maryland, where she is thriving.
Native to Central and West Africa, chimpanzees are now listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. As populations decline, chimpanzees are endangered by deforestation, hunting, and the illegal pet trade.
Zoos are supporting population growth by participating in AZA’s Chimpanzee SSP.
Rounding Up for Conservation allows zoo guests to help protect endangered wildlife such as chimpanzees and wild places.
With the addition of pheasants, the zoo now has seven chimpanzees in its care. They are females Cindy, 54, Quito, 35, Kirsty, 21, Nia, and males Mwami and Ruben.
The zoo is open daily from 9am to 5pm, with last admission at 4pm. The zoo is closed to the public on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, and during the day on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from December 6 to February 8.
Advance tickets are available at okczoo.org/tickets. Zoo members enjoy free admission year-round, as well as other benefits and discounts. For more information, visit okczoo.org/membership.
For more information on what’s happening at the zoo, call 424-3344 or visit okczoo.org.
.
Comments
Post a Comment