A female chimp gazes adoringly at her mate.
Kenya and Aby at Chapultepec Zoo
She is one of two shy female chimpanzees who were presented to an outgoing male chimp at Mexico City's Chapultepec Zoo this week in the hope they will breed.
Fourteen-year-old Kenya and 15-year-old Aby were brought from Wameru Zoo in the Mexican city of Queretaro. They will stay with a 26-year-old male chimp, called Lio, at the zoo for a period of five years.
Lucky Lio has been living at Chapultepec Zoo since 1996.
Environment Minister Marta Delgado told reporters the female chimps are in excellent health and have shown great enthusiasm and interest in Lio. She is optimistic the threesome will successfully breed.
"The coupling has been successful. It's not easy. A chimpanzee who has lived alone for many years, or with other companions, now receives two new mates," she said. "It's a complex process which has been monitored carefully by zoo personnel and fortunately they have now become a new family."
The coupling has been closely monitored by veterinarians. Both female chimps have now become romantically attached to the male.
Any births resulting from the mating will be shared between both zoos.
"The first-born will belong to Chapultepec Zoo and the second one will belong to Wameru Zoo and so on. This agreement is valid for five years, but it could last longer. If it's successful and we see there is reproduction of these animals, we'll probably extend it," said the director of the capital-area zoos and wildlife, Jose Bernal Stoopen.
Chimpanzees are genetically the closest living relatives to human beings. They share more than 98 percent of our DNA.
Scientists believe the precursors to chimps and humans split off from a common ancestor about 7 million years ago.
Story and Photo Credit Here
Kenya and Aby at Chapultepec Zoo
She is one of two shy female chimpanzees who were presented to an outgoing male chimp at Mexico City's Chapultepec Zoo this week in the hope they will breed.
Fourteen-year-old Kenya and 15-year-old Aby were brought from Wameru Zoo in the Mexican city of Queretaro. They will stay with a 26-year-old male chimp, called Lio, at the zoo for a period of five years.
Lucky Lio has been living at Chapultepec Zoo since 1996.
Environment Minister Marta Delgado told reporters the female chimps are in excellent health and have shown great enthusiasm and interest in Lio. She is optimistic the threesome will successfully breed.
"The coupling has been successful. It's not easy. A chimpanzee who has lived alone for many years, or with other companions, now receives two new mates," she said. "It's a complex process which has been monitored carefully by zoo personnel and fortunately they have now become a new family."
The coupling has been closely monitored by veterinarians. Both female chimps have now become romantically attached to the male.
Any births resulting from the mating will be shared between both zoos.
"The first-born will belong to Chapultepec Zoo and the second one will belong to Wameru Zoo and so on. This agreement is valid for five years, but it could last longer. If it's successful and we see there is reproduction of these animals, we'll probably extend it," said the director of the capital-area zoos and wildlife, Jose Bernal Stoopen.
Chimpanzees are genetically the closest living relatives to human beings. They share more than 98 percent of our DNA.
Scientists believe the precursors to chimps and humans split off from a common ancestor about 7 million years ago.
Story and Photo Credit Here
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