PLAYFUL PRIMATE

BABY CHIMP CAPRI IS WINNING HEARTS AT ROCKHAMPTON ZOO

An adorable baby chimp has visitors to Rockhampton Zoo going bananas to see her.

Capri, the first baby chimpanzee born in Queensland in more than 40 years, turns four months old this week and, like a human baby, she is already hitting her milestones.

If you visit you’ll most likely see the little one with her fingers in her mouth – she’s teething – and soon the playful primate will take her first steps.

Capri is guided by her doting mum, Leakey, who holds her up to encourage the baby chimp to stand on her own. Mum also loves showing off her baby to the zoo’s visitors. In March alone, numbers through Rockhampton Zoo’s gates tripled to just under 19,000 people.

Chimpanzees are rare in Australian zoos, with only three in the country who keep them – Rockhampton in Queensland, Taronga in New South Wales and Monarto in South Australia.

Rockhampton councillor Cherie Rutherford said the story of Capri’s birth on February 12 had reached millions of people across Australia. Already this year, more than 40,000 people had visited Rockhampton Zoo.

“These numbers provide the evidence for what we have all seen and experienced – the zoo’s popularity is soaring,” she said.

“It is also due to the staff and volunteers, who work hard every day to ensure the zoo is an exciting and welcoming place to explore.”

At Rockhampton Zoo, the chimpanzees live in a large enclosure which resembles a rainforest. They are supplied with a large variety of climbing trees and natural vegetation.

“There are areas where chimps can retreat to and be away from the others which is natural to their type of behaviour,” Cr Rutherford said. “However, most of the time they enjoy being in the open areas near the windows where visitors can get a good view of them going about their daily lives.”

Rockhampton Zoo believes Capri is quite advanced for her age. She often explores and attempts to move away from her mother.

Capri enjoys playing with the other chimps if they are in the vicinity, but Leakey keeps a watchful eye on her daughter.

The youngster tries to take food that her mum is eating to give it a taste test.

She is very curious about everything around her, especially when a zookeeper is doing Leakey’s health check in the morning – Capri then wants to interact with the keeper.

Most of the chimpanzees’ diet at Rockhampton Zoo consists of green leafy vegetables with root vegetables such as carrots, sweet potato and onions. The chimps are also fond of capsicum and sweet corn.

“We do feed them some fruit but try to avoid ones that are too high in sugar,” Cr Rutherford says. “They also need protein and this comes in the form of seeds and nuts, boiled eggs and chicken.”

Chimpanzees live across central and western Africa, and are listed as endangered with as few as 150,000 remaining in the wild.

Rockhampton Zoo has six chimpanzees – Cassius 46, Alon 10, Leakey 23, Samantha 34, Holly 30 and Capri.

Capri’s birth is the first of a chimpanzee in the history of Rockhampton Zoo and the first birth in Queensland since the 1970s.

Her mother, Leakey (23 years old) and Dad Alon (10 years old) came from Israel.