A chimpanzee was transferred from the Dallas Zoo to the Los Angeles Zoo on the morning of January 12. While staff members are sad to see Mshindi go, the 7-year-old chimp’s move is the first step of many the two institutions will take to assist in the growth of the endangered species.
Mshindi’s transfer to Los Angeles came to be through the chimpanzee species survival plan implemented by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which accredits both the Dallas and the Los Angeles Zoos.
Once every two years, zoos accredited by the association meet to create a breeding and transfer plan. The plans are designed around the genetics of the animals and the needs of each facility.
For 2021, the LA Zoo’s plan is to bring more male chimps to its troop to foster long-term breeding options. Acquiring Mshindi is one way to fill this need.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Candace Sclimenti, curator of mammals at the LA Zoo and a member of the chimpanzee’s species survival plan committee, said that the zoo’s last infant chimpanzee was born seven years ago. “With attrition and elderly individuals passing away … I’m looking at the longevity of our troop,” Sclimenti said.
Per The Dallas Morning News, staff at the Dallas Zoo are also seeking to grow their troop. Letting Mshindi go is a step towards that, as he would have made it difficult to go through with their plan.
Mshindi’s mother, Ramonda, is the only female chimpanzee at the Dallas Zoo available for breeding. During the females’ cycle, the zoo officials had to try to group the males and females separately, or they would have to perform a vasectomy on Mshindi, The Dallas Morning News reports.
“A group has to be put together so that they can all breed together, or else you have to use birth control or some other method,” mammal curator at the Dallas Zoo, Keith Zdrojewski, said.
Officials at the Dallas Zoo hope that Mshindi’s transfer will lead to breeding opportunities and make way for the troop to receive a transfer of more chimpanzees.
Mshindi is currently placed in quarantine, where he will be for a month before joining his new troop.