Pretoria – South Africa’s national zoo in Pretoria has added two chimpanzees to a long list of animal species that will woo visitors at the famous animal reserve in the city centre.
Zoo spokesman Craig Allenby said on Thursday that the two “beautiful” male chimps were received late last year from the Ramat Gan Zoo in Tel Aviv and the Tisch Family Zoo in Jerusalem, Israel.
“The two adapted well to their new environment at the zoo’s animal hospital’s quarantine facility, as well as to each other – they did not know each other at all due to being from different zoos,” said Allenby.
“The chimps, Moti and Abshalom, were placed at the Pretoria zoo by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). They had formed part of EAZA’s studbook and were listed as surplus by their respective zoos.”
He said after around three years without chimps in the national zoo, negotiations were underway with the international zoo community to re-introduce the loved primates.
“The zoo had not had chimps for a number of years and has heeded the requests from its visitors to once again home these charismatic primates,” said Allenby.
“It is standard practice for zoos to exchange animals in order to sustain their populations. This practice ensures that animals are not collected from the wild, population genetics are maintained and that surplus animals are placed with institutions that are able to optimally house them.”
On Thursday, after medical checks and weighing by the zoo staff, the primates were moved to their permanent homes in the zoo. Their enclosure is opposite that of the Cape vulture inside the zoo.
Allenby said visitors to the zoo will however not be able to see the chimps for a while as the primates will be given time to adjust to their enclosure’s night rooms first.
“For now, visitors will be able to monitor the introduction process on CCTV cameras that have been installed in Moti and Abshalom’s enclosure,” he said.
“A video along with other educational resources have also been installed at the viewing area of the enclosure where our visitors can get some information on the progress of the introduction.”
Several news crews were on site at the zoo as the sedated primates were moved to their new home.
African News Agency
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