By Amy McRary ( Contact)

Knoxville News Sentinel
7-week-old chimp trying to sit up
At nearly 2 months old, Knoxville Zoo chimpanzee George is feisty, robust and finding his voice. And he's only got eyes for his mother Daisy.
The 7-week-old is "very alert and aware of his surroundings," Lisa New, zoo director of animal collections for mammals and birds, said Wednesday. Developmentally, George has flipped from his belly to his back and is trying to sit up. When the adult chimps howl, hoot and call to one another, he responds softly.
Daisy gave birth to George on July 19 here in Knoxville. She and his father, Jimbo, came to Knoxville through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan. Daisy arrived in 2005 from the Little Rock, Ark., Zoo. Jimbo came to Knoxville in 2006 from Cleveland, Ohio's Metroparks Zoo.
The Species Survival Plan works with 271 chimps and the 35 North American zoos where they live to keep the species thriving. Part of its work is recommending which animals, like Daisy and Jimbo, reproduce.
The Species Survival Plan steering committee hopes those pairings result in 10 chimp births a year. That hasn't yet happened, says New, the committee vice chairman.
There were four babies 1 year old or younger in zoos before George's birth. He was the first born in 2008; three chimps in other zoos are now pregnant.
George and Daisy live with female apes Debbie and Julie at the zoo's Chimp Ridge habitat. Daisy doesn't like Julie, whom she's often bickered with, to be near her son. And Julie avoids George out of fear of and respect for Daisy, New said. Daisy sometimes allows Debbie, who is her friend, to touch and groom George. Debbie, too, is respectful of mother and child and doesn't infringe too much, New said.
Chimp Ridge is home to five other apes, kept apart from mother and child. Females Bo, Jackie and Binti came to the zoo in April from the Cleveland park. Jimbo, and the other adult male, Lu, have never lived with an infant. Before George is introduced to other chimps, he'll have to be strong enough to hold on to Daisy's fur without tiring. That will help keep him safe in the apes' often physical, loud and fast-moving society. He'll likely be that strong by 3 months, New said.
George is Daisy's third baby, but her first in 20 years. New said Daisy, who sometimes carries George upside down, has always been a somewhat "casual mother."
Sometimes it seems like the 32-year-old needs a few minutes of relief from carrying the baby boy estimated at 6 pounds. So she puts him down and goes foraging. It's not normal mother-chimp behavior, but it's normal Daisy behavior. Little Rock zookeepers say she acted the same with her child there.
Daisy often places George on piled hay or a blanket. If he isn't sleeping, George wants his mama. And he'll squirm, slide and scoot to try to get to her.
She'll leave him when the often-loud, active exhibit is quiet. She gets him quickly if any primate ruckus begins.
"She's always got her eye on him; she's attentive that way," New said. "I think she just gets tired of holding him all the time."
On one occasion Daisy put George down and wandered across an indoor enclosure. He began to struggle to sit up. As he was about to topple, she "bolted over to catch him," New said.
Recently, Daisy left George so often she made keepers nervous.
"The past week we have been a little concerned because she was laying him down a lot and leaving him," New said. So keepers began rewarding Daisy with food treats when she obeyed their requests to get or pick up George.
"As long as he continues to grow and thrive, and she is going to get him when times are upsetting, it's still better for him to be with her than with us - even though she puts him down more than we like," New said.
In coming weeks, George will master sitting up. Soon he'll start crawling. He'll breastfeed until he's 5 years old but will try solid foods when he's about 4 months old. For his first five years, he'll depend on his mother. He'll stay close during the day and nest with her at night. He'll often ride on her back; she'll always defend him.
When he's 5, George will be nearly weaned and he'll want to hang around more with Jimbo and Lu. But New said Daisy will still be primary in his life, perhaps for as long as they are together.
Zoo visitors likely will see George grow to adulthood. The Species Survival Plan recommends that adolescent male chimps be raised with the group into which they're born.
http://www.chimpfamilychronicles.blogspot.com/