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[Josh Greenman <josh.greenman AT gmail.com>]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/4314584/Baby-chimpanzee-flies-to-Germany-on-commercial-jet.html

Baby chimpanzee flies to Germany on commercial jet

Wrapped in a white cotton cloth, three-month-old bonobo Bili sat
amongst other bemused passengers on the flight to Frankfurt.

The tiny ape who was rejected by his birth mother Maringa at Twycross
Zoo flew nearly five hundred miles to meet its new foster family.

Bili was carried on to the plane in a soft cotton security blanket he
had been nursed in since birth.

He was left to enjoy the in-flight entertainment as he snuggled into
the arms of his new German Keeper, who had flown to the UK a few days
previously.

Kim Riley at Twycross Zoo said: "We were so excited when we found out
Bili had a foster family to go to.

"We've never had any of our animals travel on board an aircraft
before- but he is just like a little baby.

"The keeper from Frankfurt Zoo had bonded with him over the past few
days and Bili had started stretching his arms out to him for cuddles
before they left."

Staff at Twycross took on the role of surrogate parents after Bili was
rejected by its mother in October.

Dedicated keepers worked round the clock to keep the animal alive-
feeding him bottles of baby milk every two hours.

Staff were concerned that the ape would never be able to return to a
bonobo group if it was hand reared.

When Frankfurt Zoo said they had a female bonobo trained in fostering-
staff at Twycross jumped at the chance to give Bili the best chance of
survival.

Bili will go into its own enclosure in Frankfurt and faces thirty days
in quarantine when it arrives.

The other bonobos will be able to see and hear little Bili while he
gets used to his new surroundings.

He will be cared for by a female bonobo who has been specially trained
using a puppet.

Bonobos are only found in the wild in one country; The Democratic
Republic of Congo- where there are estimated to be less than 10,000
left.

They are an endangered species, due both to habitat loss and hunting
for bushmeat.