Rockhampton Zoo welcomes birth of first baby Chimpanzee

Published on 13 February 2018

Rockhampton Zoo has welcomed the successful birth of a baby chimpanzee in the early hours of yesterday morning - marking the first birth of a baby chimpanzee in Queensland for decades.

First time mother Leakey and the new baby are both showing healthy signs and the beginnings of a strong bond with zoo staff closely monitoring the new mum and baby.

Zookeeper Blair Chapman said staff had been closely monitoring the pregnancy and while the gender of the baby is yet to be identified, it is incredibly encouraging to see Leakey doing all the right things.

“Leakey has been observed cleaning the baby and our staff will continue to keep a close eye on the pair to see when feeding begins – which could take up to another three days,” Mr Chapman said.

“This is significant as it’s the first birth of a chimpanzee in the history of Rockhampton Zoo and probably the first birth in Queensland since the 70s when Ockie was born in Coolangatta. 

“From here we will closely monitor the pair and the rest of the troop to make sure not only Leakey and the baby are doing well but that the social structure amongst the chimp family remains healthy.

“There is always a risk with chimpanzee births and Leakey is a first-time mum, which makes it harder again, and while there is still a way to go, we are hopeful everything will remain on track,” Mr Chapman said.

Parks Committee Chair Councillor Cherie Rutherford said with Rockhampton being only one of three Zoos in Australia currently to have chimpanzees – the other two being Taronga in NSW and Monarto in SA – it was an incredible moment in the Zoo’s history.

“Given this is such a rare event, it really is exciting and nerve-wracking all at once as we experience this incredible journey with Leakey, Alon and their new baby,” Cr Rutherford said.

“We know that plenty of people will want to come and see the proud new mum but they’ll have to wait just a little while yet with the enclosure blocked off to the public until Leakey is ready. We do not want to do anything that may jeopardise  the social interaction of the chimps with the new baby.

“Once she’s ready for that interaction again we will reopen the enclosure but until then the safety and care of Leakey and the baby are our top priority so we’ll leave the barricades in place until then.

“In the meantime, the rest of the zoo will remain open and our staff will be monitoring the pair day and night in addition to video monitoring to keep the chimps routine as normal as possible with minimal disruption and ensure we are doing everything we can to help,” Cr Rutherford said.

Chimpanzees live across central and western Africa, and are listed as endangered with as few as 150,000 remaining in the wild.

Rockhampton Zoo now has six chimpanzees – Cassius 46, Alon 10, Leakey 23, Samantha 34, Holly 29 and the new baby.