Name chimp, preserve sanctuary

The first reality TV chimpanzee, whose birth was watched by hundreds of thousands of web users, is going to be named by his fans.

His mother Nina, a nine-year-old chimpanzee saved from poachers in South Sudan, gave birth to him at the Jane Goodall Chimp Eden Sanctuary in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, last month.

As the sanctuary has limited space reserved only for rescued chimps, chimpanzees are given contraceptive implants to prevent them from falling pregnant.

Two months after Nina received her implant, she fell pregnant anyway. She was kept in quarantine as pregnant chimpanzees stay alone in the wild, according to sanctuary manager David Devo Oosthuizen.

The sanctuary decided to put up a live webcam in her quarantine home to capture the birth.

Up to 600000 social media followers tuned in from all over the worldon www.chimpeden.com.

Despite fears that Nina would reject her baby, she started suckling him immediately.

Those who wish to choose a name need to donate any amount to the foundation. Details can be found on chimpeden.co.za

The suggested names are:

• Jabulani, meaning 'be happy';
• Busha refers to youth;
• Thabu, which means happy;
• Roots, a tribute to the Jane Goodall Institute community education programme, called Roots & Shoots;
• Rusty, a tribute to the man who helped with the rescue of Nina;
• Bruce, a tribute to the chimp who was sick and died during the rescue mission for Nina and other infants; and
• Pasa, a tribute to the Pan Africa Sanctuary Alliance, of which the Jane Goodall Institute is a member.