Joy at birth of rare baby chimpanzee at Chester Zoo

The new male infant arrived to mum Alice in front of astonished zoo visitors following an eight-month pregnancy.

Joy as rare baby chimpanzee is born at Chester Zoo. Pictures: Chester Zoo.

Newly released images of the tiny newborn show it being carefully cradled by mum and other female relatives in the 21-strong group.

The chimpanzees at Chester are part of an international conservation breeding programme which sees European zoos working together, using the latest scientific technologies to determine the genetic makeup of each chimpanzee, to create a safety-net population to help prevent the primates from disappearing altogether.

Human-related activities such as the illegal wildlife trade and poaching have severely impacted chimpanzee populations in many parts of Africa. Deforestation, driven by agricultural expansion and logging, has significantly reduced their natural habitats into smaller and more fragmented territories.

Mike Jordan, animal and plant director at the zoo, said: “A new birth always sparks some real excitement within the chimpanzee group here at Chester.

"While Alice and her new baby are certainly centre of attention among the other chimpanzees they’re still finding some quiet time to get to know one another and can often be seen cuddled up together.

"What’s also great to see is that some of the others in the group, especially the younger females, are really intrigued by the new baby and are learning all about motherhood from Alice.

Joy as rare baby chimpanzee is born at Chester Zoo.

"This is an important learning curve for them and this experience can be really useful for when they hopefully go on to have babies of their own. A thriving conservation breeding programme is key to the long-term protection of these animals.

“For nearly 30 years our teams have worked on the ground in Uganda, Nigeria and Gabon in Africa, working hand in hand with wildlife authorities, in-country partners and local communities in an effort protect some of the world’s rarest wild chimpanzee populations and their forest homes.

"These collective efforts, paired with the conservation breeding programme in zoos, gives us hope that we can create a future where chimpanzees thrive long into the future.”