Wuxi Zoo welcomes the birth of Little Pearl

Pearl the chimpanzee holds her newly born child at Wuxi Zoo. [Photo/jschina.com.cn]

Wuxi Zoo has successfully bred a female chimpanzee for the first time, as one of the zoo's apes gave birth to a daughter on Oct 7.

The mother chimpanzee's name is Pearl. She became only the third chimp ever to give birth in a zoo in Jiangsu province.

Wuxi Zoo took no chances during the pregnancy, moving Pearl to a separate enclosure immediately after her condition was confirmed.

However, Wuxi's zookeepers still faced a challenge taking care of Pearl over the last few months, as they had no previous experience with chimpanzee pregnancies and could only refer to research in domestic and foreign publications.

The zoo's head keeper, Mr Wang, paid great attention to Pearl, checking her condition regularly and preparing special meals for her throughout the eight-month pregnancy.

In the early stage of the pregnancy, he used one hand to feed Pearl while rubbing her tummy softly with his other hand. This made it easy for the keepers to perform ultrasound scans on her to check on the development of the fetus.

Now, in order to make sure Pearl produces enough milk to nurse her baby, Mr Wang adjusts her food to her taste every day.

Wuxi Zoo also installed monitors in the visiting channel and looked after Pearl 24 hours a day.

The zoo is currently inviting visitors to suggest a name for Pearl's new child.