Chandigarh chimp fails to do the trick

NEW DELHI: Delhi zoo’s last big effort to usher in a bundle of joy in the chimpanzee enclosure is yet to bear any fruit. Over three months have passed but the new female chimpanzee, which was procured from Chandigarh’s Chhatbir zoo in December last year, has not been able to help the ageing couple — Rustam and Ruby — to procreate.
Delhi zoo director B S Bonal said: "It’s really surprising that they haven’t procreated so far.Rustam and Ruby have been together since they were very small. So may be that’s why they were not attracted to each other. With the Chandigarh chimp’s arrival, we were sincerely hoping that things would work. But it seems, they are simply not getting the desired stimulant."
According to zoo veterinarian N Panneer Selvam, there is a particular ‘heat period’ when an animal is ready for mating.
"But in this new chimp’s case, so far that period has not arrived. This may happen due to many factors like climatic adjustments, biological changes, old age, etc,"he said.
In fact, Delhi zoo had waited very long for the stork to visit the chimps. Only last year, before the new chimp was procured from Chandigarh, the zoo authorities tried to provide the couple with a more naturalistic environment. Their enclosure was upgraded and elaborately ‘furnished’ for them to frolic and loosen up. The 5,000-sq m area was provided with chopped tree trunks to serve as settees, logs placed all around the landscape doubled as their love seats and a ramp-cum-platform to laze around in the winter sun. "Besides, they were given a regular dose of vitamins and other tonic to increase their stamina. But evidently, all efforts had failed to show any positive results,"said Bonal.
According to zoo officials, the ‘Chandigarh attraction’ was procured under the Breeding Loan Scheme among zoos wherein the first offspring would have to be handed over to the Chhatbir zoo.