Baby Chimp at Oklahoma Zoo, Separated From Unfit Mom, Can’t Stop Hugging New Troop at Maryland Zoo

(Courtesy of The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore)

Chimp caretaking experts at Oklahoma City Zoo discovered a mother chimpanzee was not caring for her newborn the way she should. They put their heads together and decided to remove the baby chimp from her biological mother. The baby was introduced to a new chimp family further east, at the third-oldest zoo in the United States.

(Courtesy of The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore)

Baby Maisie left her mother, 12-year-old Nia, and arrived at Maryland Zoo in Baltimore in late September 2020. There, the zoo’s Chimp Forest animal care team took charge of her wellbeing and development. They introduced her to a new chimp family, which included Abby, her new monkey foster mom, who already had a stellar track record as a surrogate parent.

Although Maisie was born a healthy chimp at the end of summer that year, the potentially disruptive move raised lingering concerns and uncertainty of how she would adapt to her new family and new environment at the Maryland facility out east.

(Courtesy of The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore)

(Courtesy of The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore)

According to Oklahoma City Zoo primate caretaker Pace Frank, it was not an easy decision to separate Maisie from her biological mom, but it was necessary. “It was quickly apparent that Nia was not adapting to motherhood,” Frank said.

He and other chimp experts cooperated to ensure she found a new, more suitable home, one that offered a nourishing environment for her to develop in healthily.

Before the move, she was hand-reared, at first, and eventually matched with a promising surrogate mom, Abby, at Maryland Zoo.

“After being hand-raised since she arrived, this was a delicate process that took a lot of thought and strategy from our chimp care team,” said staff involved in Maisie’s care in Maryland.

(Courtesy of The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore)

(Courtesy of The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore)

Pam Carter, manager with Maryland Zoo’s Chimp Forest team, commented at the time on the zoo’s website that Maisie was fed every three hours and got sufficient playtime, so as to keep her muscles in shape. She added of Maisie’s developmental program planned by her carers: “We also wear a shirt and blanket that have fringe material sewn on that helps her learn to grip.”

They kept her in the public eye, so that others might follow her journey, through video footage captured and shared on social media.

The baby chimp has adapted very well to her new environment with little trouble, bonding marvelously with her new troop of as many as 15 chimps. Now having a nurturing surrogate mom and circle of playful young monkeys, Maisie is growing normally. Her two closest friends are young chimps Lola and Violet, who play with her at every turn. They can be seen adorably hugging one another.

(Courtesy of The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore)

(Courtesy of The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore)

(Courtesy of The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore)

Thus, Maisie is thriving and is expected to continue doing so.

The Maryland Zoo, as well as other zoos in the country, who are aware of chimpanzees’ endangered status, have acted in a timely, concerted manner to protect the species. Such facilities are proud stewards of the primates, which hail from Africa, where loss of habitat, poaching, and disease have diminished their numbers.

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