Chimp gives birth overnight, surprising NC Zoo. See mom, baby share ‘tender moments’

A chimpanzee gave birth overnight, giving North Carolina zookeepers “quite the surprise the next morning.”

Now, an adorable video posted to Instagram shows the newborn chimp sharing “tender moments” with her mom, Genie.

“Genie is doing so well being a first-time mom,” Sarah Himmelspach, animal keeper at the North Carolina Zoo, said in a July 11 news release. “Genie’s childcare practice with her little brother Obi is definitely coming in handy.”

Genie, an 11-year-old chimp, came to the wildlife park in 2012. Her baby was the seventh chimp to be born at the North Carolina Zoo in recent years, and the newborn has been “holding on tight” whenever she moves, Himmelspach said.

“Chimps are very protective of their young, and mothers hold the infants exclusively to their chest until about four months of age; only then are they allowed on the ground to begin exploring,” the zoo wrote.

Though the newborn didn’t have a name as of July 11, members of the North Carolina Zoo Society will be able to vote on one.

More about the baby chimp

Genie welcomed the healthy girl July 1, almost two months after another chimp was born at the wildlife park. The other mom, Gigi, gave birth to her son, Gombe, “in full view” of zoo visitors, McClatchy News reported.

And experts already are starting to see differences between the two moms.

“Gigi, who gave birth in May, supports her infant whenever she is on the move,” Jennifer Ireland, curator of mammals at the zoo, told McClatchy News in a July 12 email. “Genie on the other hand does not support her infant, requiring it to cling.”

“This is actually a really good mothering style which encourages the infant to hold tight. In the wild this would be vital to the infant’s survival if mom is climbing trees to nest and to get food.”

Though the zoo noticed that Genie is encouraging her daughter to be independent, it hasn’t seen much of the newborn’s personality yet. Those traits won’t be noticeable for a few months, experts said.

Genie and Gigi’s babies are in different chimp groups. So, visitors will be able to see a baby chimp no matter which group is out on habitat, according to the zoo.

Chimps are an endangered species that live in the wild in parts of Africa. The creatures can live up to 40 years old in zoos, officials said.

The North Carolina Zoo is in Asheboro, roughly 70 miles west of Raleigh.

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