MOTHER, BABY, BUT DADDY? L.A. ZOO'S LATEST `MYSTERY' CHIMPANZEE DOING JUST FINE.Byline: Yvette Cabrera Just months after the birth of baby chimp Toshi caught Los Angeles Zoo The Los Angeles Zoo founded in 1966, is a large zoo located in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Zoo, located in Los Angeles' Griffith Park, is home to 1,200 animals from around the world. staff off-guard, another of its chimps produced a second mystery baby, officials announced Tuesday. The female baby was delivered by Gracie, 12, the second of three chimps to get pregnant despite the fact that the zoo's three breeding-age males had been given vasectomies. ``There are so many babies out there, you can't keep them straight, except for our faithful followers followers see dairy herd. who know them by name,'' said Vicki Bingaman, chimpanzee chimpanzee, an ape, genus Pan, of the equatorial forests of central and W Africa. The common chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes, lives N of the Congo River. Full-grown animals of this species are up to 5 ft (1. keeper. ``Everybody's fascinated by the new baby and everybody wants to be around her and see her and touch her.'' The baby, born about 4 p.m. on Thursday, weighs about four pounds, is in good health and can be seen by the public at the Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains The Mahale Mountains lie in western Tanzania, on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika. They rise to 2,462 m at Mount Nkungwe and are protected by the Mahale Mountains National Park, being known for wildlife including chimpanzees and lions. exhibit. The chimp will be named through a name-the-baby contest co-sponsored by KDIS-AM (710). On Jan. 31, 8-year-old Yoshiko surprised unsuspecting zoo keepers when she gave birth to Toshi. The two births have created a bit of baby mania that Zoo spokeswoman Judy Shay shay n. Informal A chaise. [Back-formation from chaise (taken as pl. )] Noun 1. believes has contributed to an increase in visitor attendance. Last February, attendance peaked at 119,385 or 69 percent more than February 1998 attendance, which was 70,422. ``We would go up there (to the chimp exhibit) and we would see crowds five-six people deep,'' Shay said. ``The lines were just incredible.'' And one more baby is on the way. Gracie's older sister Regina is due in June or July and like Gracie and Yoshiko, the paternity The state or condition of a father; the relationship of a father. English and U.S. Common Law have recognized the importance of establishing the paternity of children. of the baby is a who-whodunit mystery for zoo keepers. With the latest addition, the zoo now has 15 chimps. Bingaman believes the zoo will wait about one year before taking either blood or hair samples to conduct DNA testing DNA testing Analysis of DNA (the genetic component of cells) in order to determine changes in genes that may indicate a specific disorder. Mentioned in: Acoustic Neuroma, Retinoblastoma, Von Willebrand Disease to determine the paternity of Gracie's baby. The procedure would require putting Gracie under anesthesia to take the samples from the baby. ``It's just something that's not an issue - rushing to do it,'' said Bingaman. ``It's more of a priority to make sure the babies are healthy and well taken care.'' As with Regina, zoo keepers suspect 11-year-old Shaun as the father of Gracie's baby because he and Gracie were ``quite an item'' prior to the pregnancy, said Bingaman. ``All the midwives were with Gracie during the birth and Shaun was the only male with them all. He stayed with her the whole time,'' said Bingaman. CAPTION(S): photo PHOTO Gracie, 12, cuddles Cuddles may be:
David R. Crane |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion