Chester Zoo celebrates birth of rare chimpanzee

A rare baby chimpanzee has been born in front of astonished visitors, a zoo has said.

It comes as Chester Zoo released images of the newborn being cradled by its mother Alice after an eight month pregnancy.

The attraction said the birth of the male infant was "vitally important to future of the species".

Mike Jordan, animal and plant director, said the birth had sparked "excitement" within the 22-strong chimpanzee group.

Mr Jordan said: "While Alice and her new baby are certainly centre of attention among the other chimpanzees they're still finding some quiet time to get to know one another and can often be seen cuddled up together.

"What's also great to see is some of the others in the group, especially the younger females, are really intrigued by the new baby and are learning all about motherhood from Alice.

"This is an important learning curve for them and this experience can be really useful for when they hopefully go on to have babies of their own."

He added: "A thriving conservation breeding programme is key to the long-term protection of these animals."

He said the zoo had worked with wildlife authorities, in-country partners and local communities in Africa for nearly 30 years to protect some of the world's rarest wild chimpanzee populations and their forest homes.

"These collective efforts, paired with the conservation breeding programme in zoos, gives us hope that we can create a future where chimpanzees thrive long into the future," he added.

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