Ex-Taipei Zoo gorilla Bao Bao is playing a central role in an international breeding program at his new home Apenheul Primate Park in the Netherlands.
Arriving safe and sound March 19 from Taiwan, the 33-year-old Bao Bao quickly set about settling in and preparing to strengthen the gene pool of the facility’s resident gorillas. He is expected to help lighten the load on 24-year-old Jambo, a major attraction for visitors, and eventually take over as the dominant male.
The decision to send the beloved western lowland gorilla abroad was necessitated by the absence of a female mate and Taipei Zoo’s participation in an endangered species breeding program overseen by Amsterdam-based European Association of Zoos and Aquaria.
Bao Bao has been with Taipei Zoo for 31 years and will be greatly missed, a staffer said, adding that it is comforting to know he is doing good work by helping save gorillas from extinction.
Chou Tai-chu, head of the Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands, said such collaboration is helping expand Taiwan-Netherlands exchanges and raising the country’s profile in the EU member state. “We will also partner with Apenheul on promotions introducing Bao Bao and Taiwan to the public,” he said.
Established in 1971 by Rotterdam photographer Wim Mager, Apenheul is the only facility of its kind in the world where monkeys roam free in forest settings and amongst visitors. Apenheul is a concept combining the Dutch words “apen,” meaning apes or monkeys, and “heul,” meaning refuge or safety zone. (CPY-E)
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