Baby chimpanzee born at Colchester Zoological Society (CZS) after 17 years!

In the early hours of Saturday 17th January 2026, the Animal Care Team were delighted to discover female chimpanzee, Kora, had given birth to a healthy baby.

Kora was born at CZS in November 1999 to mum, Billy-Joe. This is Kora’s first offspring and is the first time the Zoo has welcomed a baby chimpanzee since Talia was born back in March 2009. The Animal Care Team are pleased to report that mum and baby are doing well along with dad, Napoleon.

Napoleon arrived from Bioparc Fuengirola, Spain on 2nd April 2025 as part of an EEP (EAZA Ex Situ Programme) breeding recommendation. At the end of April 2025, Napoleon was integrated into the female group and began interacting with the trio. Napoleon is easy to tell apart from the females as he is much larger in size and can often be seen rolling about on the floor.

Chimpanzees are currently listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species and face a number of threats out in the wild, including habitat loss from deforestation as well has being hunted for bushmeat. Therefore, this new arrival is great news for the conservation of these animals.

CZS know that this is a very exciting time and visitors will be keen to see the baby, but they do kindly ask that all visitors remain quiet when visiting Chimpanzee Lookout to allow the new family time to settle. The Zoo will be providing updates on the new arrival via their website and social media channels as they have them.