The father of the baby is believed to be Fouaf, the group's dominant male, or another chimp called Jeje. Of these, three are aged over 60, while the youngest is an eight-year-old male.įanle, aged in her 30s, is the last fertile female. "Everyone, young and old, men and women, erupted in joy-the atmosphere was incredible."īossou is part of the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, a UNESCO-listed site located on the borders with Ivory Coast and Liberia that rises above the surrounding savannah.īut seven died of influenza in 2003, and others passed away in the following years, leaving just three adult males and four adult females before the latest birth. The villagers were jubilant when they heard about the birth, Soumah said. The animals live in the wild but share the territory and its resources with the locals, who protect the chimps, believing them to be the reincarnation of their ancestors. The Bossou apes have a unique relationship with the village population.
"Three days ago we were able to confirm the (baby's) sex using binoculars, because they were in the trees at the time-it's a female." "There's no doubt about it," he said by phone. Guides last week spotted the group's last fertile female, Fanle, clutching a tiny baby on her belly, Soumah told AFP. The tribe is dying off and cannot be replenished by neighbouring chimp communities because forest destruction has left it isolated.īut after years of sad decline, there has been good news, said Aly Gaspard Soumah, director of the Bossou Environmental Research Institute.
#Baby chimpanzee crack#
They include the use of a stone hammer and anvil to crack open nuts-the most sophisticated act ever observed of humanity's genetically closest relative.īut the number of chimps at Bossou has slumped to single figures. Scientists have trekked to the remote location for decades to study the chimps' remarkable use of tools. The tiny community of apes lives in a forest around the village of Bossou, in the far southeastern corner of the country.
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