Maryland Zoo Announces Birth of Baby Chimpanzee

Rozi’s unnamed baby chimpanzee (courtesy of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore)

BALTIMORE, MD. (WHTM) — Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are an endangered species; since 1900, the wild chimpanzee population in Africa has declined from two million to only about 150,000.

Reasons for this decline include poaching, habitat loss, human-introduced diseases, and habitat loss due to deforestation for logging, creation of agricultural land, and any other means man finds to encroach on wilderness.

All of which makes the birth of a baby chimpanzee, whether in the wild or at a zoo, a source of hope. And today, the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore announced that its chimpanzee Rozi (pronounced ROSE-ee) gave birth on June 10.

At first, Rozi and her baby were doing well, but after a few weeks, the animal care staff noticed a deterioration in the baby’s health. They began to worry that she was not getting enough breast milk.

“Rozi is a hand-raised chimpanzee and this is her first time giving birth to a baby, so we didn’t know what to expect,” said Pamela Carter, chimpanzee forest area manager at the Maryland Zoo. “In this case, it was in the best interest of the baby that we intervene cautiously.”

Zoo veterinarians were able to stabilize his condition and keepers provided him with round-the-clock care until the baby was strong enough to join Rozi and the troupe. For now, the baby is being cared for behind the scenes.

Although medical staff are pleased with the baby’s recent progress, he may need supplemental feeding even after he is reunited with his mother.

Rozi has been approved for breeding by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Program, and is genetically compatible with the zoo’s three breeding males. (We’ll find out who’s daddy after a little genetic testing.)

Chimpanzees learn to live in groups from birth. They observe their mother and other group members and learn from them everything: how to feed, where to sleep, how to groom themselves, how to “read” the behavior of other chimpanzees, and how to interact with others.

The baby will join the Maryland Zoo’s three other juvenile chimpanzees: Lola, born in July 2019 to zoo parents Bunny and Jack; Violet, born in December 2019 to zoo parents Raven and Louie; and Maisie, born in August 2020 (her mother is at the Oklahoma Zoo) and arriving at the Maryland Zoo in September of that year.

As for the baby’s name, the Maryland Zoo will let the public decide. Details about the baby’s progress and the date of a naming contest will be posted on the zoo’s website, MarylandZoo.org, and on its social media channels.