Zoo’s newest arrival gets into the swing of life
When your big cousin is the King of the Swingers and keepers treat you as Edinburgh Zoo’s VIP baby, someone has to be on hand to show just how to get a grip of the ropes.
Luckily for little Masindi, big brother Velu was there to give those all important tips at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s( RZSS) showpiece attraction in the Capital.
Masindi, a seven- monthold Western chimpanzee, clung on to Velu as the pair studied the intricate web of ropes in their incredible enclosure at the zoo.
The youngster s hares her name with the nearest town to the Budongo Conservation Field Station in Uganda where RZSS funds vital conservation efforts for the critically endangered species which faces a loss of habitat among a host of other issues.
Mum Heleen, who was rescued from a research laboratory in the Netherlands before being brought to t he zoo i n 2010, gave birth to a Masindi in February and she was named following a public vote.
RZSS has funded work to protect chimpanzees in the Budongo forest in Uganda since 2005, and the team also work with local communities to dissuade hunters from setting bush meat snares in the forest.