Watch the video about the birth below.
[rumble video_id=v5cf5j domain_id=u7nb2]
Being a witness to the welcoming of a new life in the world is always awe-inspiring, no matter what species that life is from. And that’s what a few visitors at England’s Chester Zoo experienced when they saw a Western African chimpanzee give birth right before their very eyes.
The zoo announced that the resulting baby was a healthy female that the lucky onlookers could only describe as “amazing” and “epic” to watch. The chimpanzee mother, named Alice, is a 27-year-old who gave birth after a seven-and-a-half-month pregnancy.
The baby, as yet unnamed, is bonding well with her mother and has been welcomed by the 21 other chimps in the zoo.point 202 |
The baby’s birth also bodes well for Western African chimpanzees all over the world.point 77 | This is because there are only about 18,000 Western African chimpanzees left in the wild, according to estimates by conservationists.point 191 | This subspecies of chimpanzee was the first that was put on the list of critically endangered apes.point 274 | 1
Mike Jordan, the zoo’s collections director, said in a statement: “Alice and her daughter have bonded well and she’s doing a wonderful job of caring for her so far. A new baby always creates lots of excitement and Alice has plenty of support from some of the other experienced moms in the group, who are all keen to lend a helping hand.”
“The youngster provides particular cause for celebration given the plight of chimpanzees in Africa.point 198 | More chimpanzees are hunted for the illegal bushmeat trade than are born each year, causing populations to plummet in the wild.point 305 |
Couple that with the fact that humans are destroying their habitats and it’s easy to see why these fantastic animals – one of our closest cousins – are being pushed towards extinction,” he added.point 170 | 1