British Chimpanzee bullied in German Zoo has finally made friends

British chimpanzee Bili Bonobo who was seen being bullied by chimpanzees in Frankfurt zoo is reportedly at peace with his fellow chimps now. The chimp became the center of public attention when a video of his struggle with the bully chimpanzees got viral. Over 3,70,000 people signed a petition demanding the bullied British ape be allowed to return to the UK after repeated violent attacks by his new German bonobo ape family. The chimp's difficulties began since his birth when his mother Maringa did not really care for him after he was born in October 2008 in Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire. As a result, he was flown to Frankfurt in January 2009. Bili was sent to Wuppertal Zoo on the recommendation of the Specialist Group of the European Zoological Community and the European Conservation Breeding Programme despite the positive change in the state of affairs at the zoo.

Recent footage of the chimp shows that he is able to make friends with his fellow chimps. 

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The reason behind the earlier violence with Bili the chimp

The zoo authorities stated that the reason behind the violence seen earlier was a female chimp Eja, who disliked her. Eja's two sons and other chimps bullied him as Eja was the boss around them which is very normal among chimpanzees. Wuppertal monkey curator Dr. Severun Dressen, stated that they separated the chimps into two separate groups to create peace amongst them. It miraculously worked and now Bili has three close friends two of which are female chimpanzees who are his mates. He was also seen having a crush on another female chimpanzee, cited Dressen. 

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Zoos portray raw nature which is different than laws of humans

A few months ago, zookeepers were receiving death threats after refusing to move Bili. A spokesperson to the zoo said that Bili now looks much more relaxed overall and doesn't seem to show any aggression or pain. Speaking on the entire controversy, Wuppertal Zoo director Dr. Arne Lawrenz said that people have a romanticised idea of nature, which makes them react angrily when confronted with violent episodes. The director said that zoos are needed because they show nature which cannot be harnessed. 

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Zoos need to show people that nature is not all about peace, love, and harmony, and that it's also about rivalry and that the animals are subject to different laws to humans, the zoo director quoted.

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(With inputs from agencies)