Sedgwick County Zoo is excited to welcome a new member of the chimpanzee troop – a baby girl born last Sunday, August 20. Her name is Alizeti which means “sunflower” in Swahili.
Chimpanzee Chuckie gave birth in the presence of the troop during the early morning hours. The animal care team at SCZ observed mom and baby for a short time before coming to the conclusion that Chuckie was not exhibiting appropriate maternal behavior. In order to give Alizeti the best chance of survival, our team made the life-saving decision to remove her from the troop and provide human-assisted rearing during this first crucial stage of her development.
Human-assisted rearing involves round-the-clock care and attention for baby, designed to mirror how a chimp mother would naturally care for her infant. Just as mother chimpanzees never let baby out of their arms, our caretakers will do the same for at least a couple of months until Alizeti is developmentally strong enough to be reunited with the troop. At that point, she will be raised by a foster mother with support of the rest of the chimpanzee family.
Our hearts are full of joy to welcome this sweet blessing and we can’t wait to share all of Alizeti’s milestones with you!
#ChimpLove