In its bid to become successful in captive breeding of chimpanzees, Mysuru zoo is banking on a female chimpanzee located at the faraway Nandankanan Zoological Gardens, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. This chimp has been identified as an “apt mate” for the males in collection here.
The management of Nandankanan Zoological Gardens has apparently agreed to spare the female chimp to Mysuru zoo. But it comes with a rider — Mysuru zoo has to spare a pair of giraffe, or at least a male giraffe, in return for the primate.
The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has given its nod to the zoos to go ahead with the exchange of animals suiting their collection and captive breeding plans. Mysuru zoo now has five chimpanzees — Guru, Ganga, Mason, Kimoni, and Nkosi.
Six-year-old Kimoni and eleven-year-old Nkosi were brought from Singapore zoo four years ago to accentuate captive breeding, but the zoo hasn’t tasted success yet. Kimoni and Nkosi were exchanged after a long gap. Prior to this, the zoo got chimpanzees under an exchange scheme way back in 1984 from Sweden. Of the four, Mason, 23, and Mirella, 24, are at Mysuru zoo, while Jason and Nikitha were sent to Lucknow zoo in exchange for Kushi, a giraffe, in 2007. Mirella is no more.
If an exchange of chimp happens with Odisha zoo now, it will be the third since 1984.
The Odisha zoo’s condition has put the zoo authorities here in a dilemma since it has three male giraffes, including Krishnaraja, Yuvaraja, and a relatively younger male. This means, it’s not a position to spare a male at this juncture but can spare a female to the Bhubaneswar zoo. While Krishnaraja is aged, Yuvaraja cannot be spared being a prolific male.
At the same time, the Mysuru zoo wants a female chimp that can accentuate captive breeding with the existing females unable to breed. The zoo had hoped that Nkosi and Kimoni would brighten the prospects of breeding, but the zoo had not bred any chimpanzees in the recent past.
Zoo Executive Director C. Ravishankar told The Hindu that the exchange with the Odisha zoo has been kept on hold until the two pregnant female giraffes deliver the young ones.
