THE most comprehensive project to release chimpanzees into the wild has recorded a world first. One of the males has now successfully reproduced.
DNA analysis of hair from the infant 鈥� born to released female Choupette 鈥� showed that the father is a released male called Mekoutou. Ben么it Goossens鈥檚 team at Cardiff University in Wales will report the success story in a future issue of Primates.
Mekoutou is one of 36 animals released into Conkouati-Douli National Park in the Republic of Congo between 1996 and 2001. He was originally brought to the project in 1991 when he was less than a year old. His mother is thought to have been killed by poachers. 鈥淗e was in a really bad state,鈥� says Goossens.
Advertisement
Since his release, Mekoutou has continued to have a hard time, requiring veterinary attention twice after being beaten up by other males. Becoming a father is a remarkable achievement, say the researchers, because unlike females, released males do not normally assimilate into wild groups.