ROYAL OAK, Mich., August 17, 2007 – Two chimpanzees have joined the Great Apes of Harambee at the Detroit Zoo.  Nyani, a 16-year-old female, and Kiri, a 17-year-old male, joined the Zoo from the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wis.  The pair’s arrival expands the Detroit Zoo’s chimpanzee population to 10, including three males and seven females. 

The chimpanzees’ transfer to the Detroit Zoo was recommended by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Chimpanzee Species Survival Plan (SSP), a cooperative-management program in which the Zoo participates.  The current population of chimpanzees in AZA-accredited North American Zoos numbers around 280.

“We are delighted to welcome Nyani and Kiri to the Great Apes of Harambee.  We are committed to the care and cooperative management of endangered species such as chimpanzees, and are excited about their arrival and integration with our chimpanzees,” said Scott Carter, Director of Conservation and Animal Welfare.

Completed in the late 1980s, the Great Apes of Harambee is a four-acre hilly habitat featuring large outdoor areas and spacious, airy dayrooms.  In addition to the 10 chimpanzees, the habitat houses five Western lowland gorillas, two mandrills and two Diana monkeys, and is designed to replicate the native African land of these magnificent primates. 

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo.  Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak.  The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October – with extended hours until 8 p.m. Wednesdays during July and August – and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March.  Admission is $11.00 for adults 13 to 61, $9.00 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7.00 for children ages 2 to 12; children under 2 are free.  For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org.  The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March, and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks.  For more information, call (313) 852-4056. 

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