12 January 2023 , 17:09
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Conservationists have hailed the arrival of the "world's rarest chimpanzee" which has been born in a UK zoo and will be named after a rock star.
Chester Zoo said they were "incredibly proud" to welcome the rare animal as it gives a "vital boost" to a critically endangered species.
Born to mum ZeeZee, the baby male is reportedly doing well and has been bonding with his mum . He's now settling into the 22-chimp-strong enclosure.
Andrew Lenihan, team manager at Chester Zoo, said: "We're incredibly proud to see a precious new baby in the chimpanzee troop.
"Mum ZeeZee and her new arrival instantly bonded and she's doing a great job of cradling him closely and caring for him."
The young chimp will be named after a rock star (Chester Zoo / SWNS)The new chimps are bonding with each other in their Chester home as a "birth always creates a lot of excitement in the group," Lenihan said, adding that "raising a youngster soon becomes a real extended family affair".
He said: "You'll often see the new baby being passed between other females who want to lend a helping hand and give ZeeZee some well-deserved rest, and that's exactly what her daughter, Stevie, is doing with her new brother.
"It looks as though she's taken a real shine to him, which is great to see."
The chimp group has been pitching in looking after the new baby (Chester Zoo / SWNS)"It's been a tradition of ours for decades now to name baby chimpanzees after famous rock and popstars in a bid to help raise some urgent attention for this charismatic species."
Soon to be named after a rock icon, the baby chimp will follow in the footsteps of Dylan (Bob), Alice (Cooper) and Annie (Lennox).
The birth comes at a critical time for the species and only about 18,000 Western chimps remain in their native Africa. They were declared as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Western chimps are critically endangered (Chester Zoo / SWNS)Chimps face the destruction of their habitat and poaching for bushmeat, according to the WWF.
Animal and Plant director at Cheser, Mike Jordan, said: "In the last 25 years alone the world has lost 80 per cent of its Western chimpanzee population, so the arrival of a healthy baby here at Chester offers us real hope that we can help turn things around for this species."
The animal is already extinct in a number of African countries (Chester Zoo / SWNS)They can typically be found in areas in Senegal, Uganda, Nigeria, Gabon, and Ghana, but no longer exist in countries like Togo, Burkina Faso and Benin
"We're in the midst of a global extinction crisis," Jordan added. "The UN estimated that one million species could be wiped out in our lifetime.
"Our teams have worked on the ground in Uganda, Nigeria, and Gabon to help protect wild chimpanzee populations and their forest homes.
It is hoped the work in the zoo and a breeding programme will help protect the species.
"This work, paired with the endangered species breeding programme in conservation zoos, will help play a key role in protecting this species from being lost forever."