BOOBOO’S BABY

Evening Star, Issue 22032, 18 May 1935, Page 5

BOOBOO’S BABY

Jubilee, the new baby chimpanzee, is the first to be born in the Zoo. Only once before has a chimpanzee been bred in this country, and that was in the Bristol Zoo last summer. Booboo is a well-known Zoo favourite, fof at one time she presided at the famous chimpanzee tea parties. As she began to grow up her temper became rather erratic, and as only tame chimpanzees can allowed to take part in these parties, she had to resign about three years ago. But she is being a model mother, carrying her baby about with her wherever she goes, She will continue to carry it about until it is strong enough to walk. It is a queer-looking infant, about a foot Jong, with a large head thickly covered with black hair Its face is flesh-pink, and so are its prominent ears; its eyes are blue like a human baby’s, and have a wondering expression, while its body is just thinly covered with black hairs. Another inmate of the Monkey House is in the Zoo news. After being a recluse for ten years, an orangutan nicknamed Pongo has suddenly become sociable and decided to be a Zoo pet. The ape is one of a collection of six orang-utans bought by the Zoo in 1925. and at the time of his arrival he was so weakly and malformed that he was not expected to live. From the very first he proved to be a singularly aloof, arid unfriendly animal, and he not only disliked mankind. but was equally intolerant of other creatures. The Zoo had great difficulty in providing him with a companion, "for he refused to live in peace with orang-utans, and not until many unsuccessful attempts had been made to provide him with some other kind of playmate did he eventually cause a sensation by making friends with a tree kangaroo. _ This queer friendship lasted for some time, but when it ended in a fight Pongo made friends with a baboon;

and then in 1930, when a pair of young orang-utans called Joey arid Mary arrived at the Zoo, Pongo consented to share a den with them. He has always been on good terms with Joey and Mary; but although his companions soon became tame enough-to; come out of, their cage. to. play with visitors, Pongo would not, leave the den. , Recently, however, Pongo suddenly changed his mind, and., one day when Joey and Mary left the cage to inter view some callers Pongo walked out. too. Since then _he has made a habit of coming-out with them, and ,he now likes to have his hand held and his whiskers stroked. That Pongo should suddenly become sociable at 13 is extraordinary, for at this age orangutans are as a rule neither trustworthy nor tolerant with. strangers.