Twycross Zoo's Bonobo Billi Takes His International Flight

By Kim Riley 

Twycross, UK - A baby chimp sent plane passengers bananas as as he boarded a flight to meet his new foster mum.

Three-month-old bonobo Bili sat amongst other bemused passengers on the flight from Birmingham to Frankfurt.

Wrapped in a white cotton cloth Bili could have been mistaken for a baby as he clutched on to his keeper.
 
The tiny ape who was rejected by his birth mother Maringa at Twycross Zoo flew nearly five hundred miles to meet his new foster family on Wednesday.
 
Bili was carried on to the plane in a soft cotton security blanket he had been nursed in since birth.
 
He was left to enjoy the in-flight entertainment as he snuggled into the arms of his new German Keeper, who had flown to the UK a few days previously.
 
Kim Riley at Twycross Zoo said: "We were so excited when we found out Bili had a foster family to go to.
 
"We've never had any of our animals travel on board an aircraft before- but he is just like a little baby.
 
"The keeper from Frankfurt Zoo had bonded with him over the past few days and Bili had started stretching his arms out to him for cuddles before they left."
 
Staff at Twycross took on the role of surrogate parents after Bili was rejected by his mum in October.
 
Dedicated keepers worked round the clock to keep the teeny chimp alive- feeding him bottles of baby milk every two hours.
 
Staff fell in love with the little ape- who weighed just 1.6 Kilos when born, but feared he would never be able to return to a bonobo group if he was hand reared.
 
When Frankfurt Zoo said they had a female bonobo trained in fostering- staff at Twycross jumped at the chance to give Bili the best chance of survival.
 
Kim explained: "When he was born his mum just wasn't interested in him. It sometimes happens with first time mums that they just don't know what to do with the baby.
 
"We kept hoping that they would bond, but after two or three days Bili was cold and hungry and so we had to pull him out of the enclosure.
 
"All the keepers love him and were sad to see him go, but we all know going to Germany will give him the best chance in life."
 
Bili will go into his own enclosure in Frankfurt and faces thirty days in quarantine when he arrives.
 
The other bonobos will be able to see and hear little Bili while he gets used to his new surroundings.
 
He will be cared for by a female bonobo who has been specially trained using a puppet.
 
Kim added: "His new mum at Frankfurt has already reared two other bonobo babies so she is well experienced.
 
"She will carry him around, keep him warm and look after him and then bring him to the keepers when he needs feeding."
 
The bonobos at Twycross Zoo are the only ones in the UK and part of an international breeding programme.
 
They are humankind's closest relatives, along with chimpanzees- sharing over 99 per cent of the same genetic make-up.
 
Bonobos are only found in the wild in one country; The Democratic Republic of Congo- where there are estimated to be less than 10,000 left.
 
They are an endangered species, due both to habitat loss and hunting for bushmeat.
 
Bonobos are known for their loving nature and in the wild they live in large groups where harmonious coexistence is the norm.
 
They eat a variety of foods, including fruits, nuts, seeds, sprouts, vegetation, and mushrooms. They also eat small mammals, insect larvae, earthworms, honey, eggs, and soil.
 
Unlike chimpanzees who form hunting parties to capture monkeys, bonobos do not aggressively hunt mammals.