Another milestone for Capri

Published on 09 July 2018

Rockhampton Zoo’s baby chimpanzee Capri continues to delight crowds after reaching a new milestone – taking her first steps.

Zookeepers captured the sweet moment the soon-to-be five month old little girl lets go of mum and tries to walk towards the camera before taking a tumble and being immediately cuddled by mum Leakey.

Parks Committee Chair Councillor Cherie Rutherford said it was the perfect moment to be caught on camera.

“Capri has captured hearts right around the country with her adorable face and inquisitive eyes and to see another milestone reached is a very sweet moment for the troop, zoo staff and the whole Rockhampton community,” Cr Rutherford said.

“You can see from the footage how close a bond our chimp troop has with the amazing zoo staff and when she tries to walk towards the camera and falls over you can see she really is your typical little baby girl.

“Mum Leakey is very quick to scoop her up and make sure she’s okay which is also quite a nice tender moment and we’re really pleased that our zookeepers caught it so we can share it with the rest of the community.

“Since she was born in February, Capri has really shined a light on the fantastic attraction which is Rockhampton Zoo.

“You only have to look at the almost triple increase we’ve seen in visitor numbers this year to realise she is something special and that the rest of the country is following her story.

“We recognised when she was born how special she was, especially as the only baby chimpanzee in Queensland, and we wanted to make sure her story was told far and wide.

“There are still many more milestones to come yet and we look forward to sharing each one with the community as she reaches them,” Cr Rutherford said.

The Rockhampton Zoo is open daily from 8am until 4:30pm. Entry is free.

Watch the video on Rockhampton Zoo's facebook page.