Baby bonobo born at Planckendael
The Planckendael Animal Park near Mechelen in Antwerp Province has welcomed a new addition. For the second time this year a new bonobo baby has been born at the park. The birth, on 2 August was a first for Planckendael as never before had an ape given birth of the Animal Park’s ape island.
The baby bonobo’s mother Djanoa crawled into the bushes and built a nest in which she gave birth.
The new baby, a female bonobo, is Djanoa’s third and the 16th bonobo baby to be born at Planckendael.
Planckendael is the keeper of the international genealogical register for bonobos and is the European coordinator of breading programme for the endangered species of ape.
Meanwhile the keepers at the animal park are busy thinking up a name for the new addition that must be a word beginning with S in the African language Lingala.