Rockhampton Zoo welcomes two new chimpanzees, Alon and Leakey, to help boost captive breeding program
Updated
Australia's captive breeding program for chimpanzees has been given a boost with the arrival of two more animals at the Rockhampton Zoo in central Queensland.
Alon, a seven-year-old male, and a female named Leakey, 20, have come from Israel - a 40-day journey.
Alon is a Hebrew word for oak tree, while Leakey was named after primate researcher Dr Louis Leakey.
The thought of having some baby chimpanzees running around in the not-too-distant future is just a really exciting thing for the zoo.
Cherie Rutherford, Rockhampton Regional Councillor
Zoo coordinator Graeme Strachan said chimpanzees born in captivity became so used to human interaction they could not be released back into the wild.
"It doesn't work a lot because they miss that vital interaction," he said.
"It has worked with a number of primate species, particularly tamarinds, but chimps are very complex."
Mr Strachan said bringing in new chimpanzees from Israel would introduce new bloodlines into Australia.
"Especially Alon here, because all the males in the region trace back to Sydney Taronga, so he's a whole new blood line, as is Leakey," he said.
"This was the time, we'd reached the stage that no new chimps had come in for a number of years, so we definitely had to bring in overseas bloodlines and keep them healthy."
The new arrivals have attracted strong interest from visitors to the zoo, and Mr Strachan said the chimps enjoyed the attention.
"Generally chimps find visitors quite stimulating so this is all something new for them," he said.
"Obviously we wanted to keep it quiet for a week until they settled in after what they've been through, but now they're showing a great deal of interest in everybody here."
Older chimpanzee helps new arrivals settle in
Rockhampton is one of only three zoos in Australia that has chimpanzees.
It acquired its first two males in 1986, Cassie and Ockie.
In 2012, the zoo then received two females, with plans to establish a breeding program, but it had a setback when Ockie died a year later.
Mr Strachan said one of the chimps appeared to try cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to revive him.
Rockhampton Regional Councillor Cherie Rutherford said Ockie's death was tragic.
"We miss him terribly, you know, particularly the keepers that had the most to do with them; and you know Cassie, they grew up together, and I'm sure Cassie missed them as well," she said.
"But you know nature is a wonderful thing, it gives us the skills to be able to move on.
"And the thought of having some baby chimpanzees running around in the not-too-distant future is just a really exciting thing for the zoo."
Mr Strachan said the two newcomers have settled in well, with support of Cassie, who is now 43.
Topics: zoos, animals-and-nature, animals, rockhampton-4700
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