It’s been a day of celebration at Monarto Safari Park as Chimpanzee, Lani, marked her 21st birthday.
The whole troop were pant-hooting with excitement as they shared in a birthday party filled with enrichment treats from their keepers.
Senior Keeper of Primates, Laura Hanley, said the Chimpanzees enjoyed brightly-wrapped gifts created by the Behaviour and Environmental Enrichment of Zoo Animals (BEEZA) team filled with dried fruit and vegetables, pellets and nuts.
“Who doesn’t love a 21st birthday party? Today we pulled out all the stops for a very special Chimpanzee, Lani! She is an amazing aunt to the younger members of the troop,” Laura said.
“While the troop’s newest mum, Hannah, is caring for her little one, Happy, Lani will often take Hannah’s daughter four-year-old Hope out on to the exhibit and keep a watch over her.
“The birthday girl also has a playful side to her personality and can often be seen in games of chase and tickle with Zola and Hope.
“She is well known for sitting on the side of the waterfall in the Monarto Chimpanzee habitat – this stems from her earlier days at Taronga Zoo where the waterfall was the prime position and the highest ranked family would sit next to it.”
The party-vibes will continue at Adelaide Zoo this weekend, as the zoo marks 140 years since the gates first opened to the public.
On Saturday 27 May, the zoo will come alive with the wildest party of the year with lots of fun and furry activities for families to enjoy.
Throughout the day guests will be treated to special keeper talks and animal enrichment, a time capsule unearthing and planting, free face painting, lucky dips, door prizes and a guest appearance by Mr and Mrs Minchin, the original directors of the zoo!
“As a conservation charity our 140 years means we have racked up over 51,000 days of connecting people with nature and saving species from extinction,” Director of Adelaide Zoo, Dr Phil Ainsley, said.
“We’re calling on our community to turn out in their droves on Saturday 27th May to share the fun and celebrate. This is the last weekend to bring the kids for free, so make the most of it!”
“Our 140th birthday year has so far seen Adelaide Zoo awarded the gold in the National Tourism Awards, extended our relaxed zoo hours, saw the arrival of the first ever black and white Colobus born at the zoo, hand-reared a giraffe calf, released native Red-tailed Phascogales species back to the wild and enjoyed a record-laying year for Little Penguin and it’s only May!
“Let’s hope there are more achievements to make this 140th year even more memorable.”
This weekend is also visitors’ last chance to bring kids under 14 years in free as part of the birthday celebrations throughout May – so why not come along and join in the party!
For more information about Adelaide Zoo’s 140th birthday, please visit adelaidezoo.com.au.
