News Update – New Chimps for Bloem Zoo
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Click here to download the PDF for News Update 28 Jan 2013
Bloemfontein Zoo recently became the new home for two chimpanzees, filling the void left by the (in)famous ‘Charlie the smoking Chimp’ since his death in 2010.
The couple, Louis and Megan, are former residents of Tygerberg Zoo in Cape Town which recently closed.
The Tygerberg Zoo had a number of chimps, which were relocated to a new sanctuary outside of Paarl, but Louis & Megan didn’t settle in well with the others.
There were also problems with their introduction into the new surroundings, which has not been the case with their new home.
Louis and Megan have settled in well to the enclosure in the Bloemfontein Zoo, and are already starting to attract visitors; who had missed the primates’ antics.
Louis is approximately 26 years of age, and was hand-raised by Mr & Mrs Spence of the Tygerberg Zoo. Megan is from the National Zoo in Pretoria, and is 15 years old. The chimps have been together before, and have even had a baby together. Charlie, now 5 years old,is still at the new facility outside Paarl.
Unlike previous chimps in the zoo, these are young animals who move around, climb around, and are generally more active.