Human-raised chimp sent to Kenya to learn how to live with other apes beaten to death by fellow chimpanzees
Baran, 4, had been raised by humans in Iran before she was moved to Kenya to learn to live with other chimpanzees
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Your support makes all the difference.A chimpanzee that had been raised by humans died last week after it was killed by other chimpanzees in a sanctuary in Kenya where it was being slowly integrated.
On 17 December the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya announced in a statement on Facebook that the female chimpanzee named Baran, 4, had died just months after it was brought to the sanctuary to be integrated with other chimpanzees.
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The sanctuary said that Baran had undergone a successful 90-day quarantine period as stipulated by the Director of Veterinary Services and enforced by Kenya Wildlife Services.
She had been moved to the main chimpanzee house where she was in the process of being integrated with the other chimpanzees.
Since the integration was still in a primary phase, Baran could see the other chimpanzees from a distance, but had no physical contact to ensure that the animals familiarise themselves with each other.
This is essential to form a bond is formed to enable the next stage of integration, the sanctuary said in the Facebook post.
Baran got into a physical fight with other chimpanzees after she broke the safety latch to the separation area adjacent to the other chimpanzees.
The physical altercation between Baran and the other chimpanzees took place in the separation area which had a small section in the wall with grills between them.
“The caregivers quickly intervened to stop the aggression, however, within the short space of time, Baran had already suffered severe injuries and required urgent medical intervention,” the sanctuary said.
“Despite the efforts to save her life, she eventually succumbed due to the injuries.”
In July Baran had been brought to the sanctuary from the Eram Zoo in Iran. Born premature, she was raised by veterinarians of the Eram Zoo after her mother rejected her.
It was decided that she would be nursed by the veterinarians until she was healthy and her parents could take her back, reported The Daily Beast.
When Baran’s health improved, she was taken to her parents who rejected her again because they had been separated for too long.
Veterinarians decided that since introducing her to her own troop was no longer an option, Baran was directed to the Kenyan chimp sanctuary which has specialists with extensive experience in reintroducing chimps into family groups.
The sanctuary said that over the years it had integrated 22 chimpanzees successfully with other chimpanzees.
“We take this situation very seriously and shall ensure procedures and protocols are further strengthened,” it said.
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