This is not a recent article but it is included as laying out the types of concerns the Zoos of the world must deal with to preserve endangered species of animals.
Sex, violence and vasectomies – as Edinburgh Zoo bids to safeguard rare chimps - Edinburgh Evening News - Scotsman.com:
'via Blog this'
Sex, violence and vasectomies – as Edinburgh Zoo bids to safeguard rare chimps - Edinburgh Evening News - Scotsman.com:
CHIMPS will be arriving in Scotland to take part in a breeding programme that experts hope will boost numbers of the rarest type of the primate, The Scotsman has learned.
Western chimpanzees used to thrive in 13 countries including Nigeria and Sierra Leone, but the sub species is under threat due to habitat loss.
In a bid to help increase numbers, bosses at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) are planning to add about five western chimps to the Budongo Trail enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo.
It is hoped the newcomers will breed with two resident male western chimps.
David Windmill, chief executive of RZSS, said: "The western chimp is particularly endangered and we are hoping the breeding we do will contribute to a much wider, worldwide effort to maintain endangered species in captivity."
Jo Elliot, animal registrar at Edinburgh Zoo, added that the breeding programme was important to make sure all captive chimps did not become hybrids – a cross between different sub-species.
"There's a concern that if we don't do something now, we will only have hybrid chimps in captivity," she said.
" There is no immediate risk of western chimps going extinct but, if we can, we want to keep pure sub-species, which are specifically adapted to a particular region."
Is the Western Chimpanzee still safe from extinction?'via Blog this'
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