Zoo's baby chimpanzee to be sent elsewhere after mother's rejection

A central Queensland zoo will send a baby chimpanzee elsewhere after a failed reunion with its mother.Female chimp Sile gave birth to Cassie at the Rockhampton Zoo in June, but dropped the baby when it was hours old, breaking its leg.Zookeepers then had to care for Cassie round the clock as they tried to mimic all interactions as closely as they could to typical chimpanzee behaviour.Keepers have had to work around the clock caring for Cassie, trying to mimic interactions with chimp behaviour. (ABC Capricornia: Katrina Beavan)After healing, staff attempted to re-introduce Cassie to mother Sile as well as another female adult in the troop, Mary.But it was unsuccessful, with both females showing aggression towards Cassie, who was left with bruising and bite marks.At the time the zoo said it would discuss possible next steps with experts in the field.Cassie had positive reactions to the troop through mesh screens before the unsuccessful reunion. (Supplied: Rockhampton Regional Council)In a social media video posted on Thursday morning, primate team leader Jo Thrower said Cassie had healed well from the interactions."From this we've had a lot of discussions within our team and with specialists from around Australasia and Europe," Ms Thrower said."We've concluded that Cassie needs to find a new troop to go to and become a part of."Ms Thrower said it was very important for the young chimp's development to be around others of its kind as soon as possible."Staying in human care she's going to grow up believing she's a human, which will only cause bigger issues down the line when she does eventually go in with chimps," she said."The sooner we can get this done the better."She conceded that the Rockhampton community already "loved" Cassie and would like to see the chimp grow up locally."But we need to do what's best for her welfare, and to put her back in with our troop she's only going to get hurt."Rockhampton Zoo curator Blair Chapman nursing baby Cassie, who is receiving 24/7 care from keepers. (Supplied: Rockhampton Regional Council)Where to next?Ms Thrower said Cassie's development was going well and the chimp was hitting all the appropriate milestones.The zoo did not confirm which facility Cassie would be sent to as it was "still working through options" and would update the community as soon as the final decision was made.Cassie is the offspring of 19-year-old alpha female Sile and the troop’s alpha male, Alon. (Supplied: Rockhampton Regional Council)The zoo is owned and funded by the Rockhampton Regional Council which has not yet responded to the ABC about the costs incurred with hand-rearing Cassie.The young chimp was named after chimpanzee Cassius, a resident at the Rockhampton Zoo for almost 40 years, and a local woman named Cassie who donated colostrum during the initial weeks after the primate's birth.Cassie will leave behind a seven-chimp troop with four males aged from six to 30 years old and three females aged between eight and 23.