The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium welcomed its newest primate earlier this week. Another bonobo ape was born Tuesday, Dec. 28, to mother Ana Neema. The baby is her third -- and the zoo's second this year. It's father and sex have not been determined, zoo officials said. Zoo animal caretakers have waited about nine months for the baby to arrive. Shannon Morarity, zookeeper in the zoo's African Forest Australasian region, said mother and baby are in good health.
Meanwhile, caretakers are excited at the baby's birth. "You wait for so long and build anticipation, and then get so excited when the baby arrives," Morarity said. Prior to the baby's arrival, caretakers put together a birth management plan to anticipate any potential issues. Morarity said she weighed Ana Neema weekly to make sure she was on the right track.
The mother was given extra foods rich in natural fats, such as avocados and coconuts. Once the birth takes place, Morarity said, the zoo takes a hands-off approach, except to monitor the mother and baby. "We don't want to involve ourselves in raising the baby, if we don't have to," she said. Ana Neema and her baby are in the initial bonding stage, which takes just hours, if that. "It's usually instantaneous, or a matter of hours. Bonobos are so intelligent," Morarity said.
"For me to describe how well she is handling her newborn -- it's better than you can imagine. She stops everything she's doing to help her baby."There are 16 bonobos at the zoo. The new bonobo was the 12th born there since it received its first of the species in 1990. Ana Neema has given birth to Bila Isa, 9, and Gilda, 4. Both came with her in 2008 from the Milwaukee County Zoo. The Columbus Zoo on March 1 welcomed baby bonobo Mary Rose from mother Susie and father Jimmy.
The father of Ana Neema's new baby could be Donnie or Toby, but caretakers won't know which is the father until they can pull a hair from the baby and run a paternity test. That could take six months, Morarity said. As for a name, that could come a lot sooner -- once the gender is known. "Usually we can tell visually within the next three days," Morarity said. There are only nine zoos in North America that care for bonobos. Morarity said it's because the species is hard to maintain and needs an adequate facility.
"(Bonobos are) different from other ape species," Morarity said. Others are dominated by an alpha male, while bonobos are a female-dominated species. While other apes move together in one family, bonobos mix and match their groups in a way that's called fission fusion, Morarity said.
"They'll go to one spot and eat and play, then break off into groups. "After that, they'll come back into one large group, then break down again," she said. Today, 10-month-old Mary Rose is in the group with the newborn, but that could change. Other bonobos will help to raise the baby, Morarity said.