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DNA testing shows Zac and Jinga are not Bonobos
After months of furious debate and speculation we have definitively established that neither Zac nor Jinga are pygmy chimps, or Bonobos.
DNA testing has proved them to be Pan troglodytes (to be exact, they both belong to the
Pan troglodytes troglodytes sub-species of
Pan troglodytes!).
The chimps were rescued as part of a group of five from Angola in late November 2006. 17-year old Zac had been chained to a tree outside a nightclub for most of his life. His chain had last been unlocked nine years ago, and the key had long since disappeared. Jinga had lived in a cage at a liquor factory. When the group arrived at Chimpanzee Eden, it was suspected that these two may be Bonobos.
“The only definitive way to know was to take blood samples and do DNA testing,” says sanctuary manager, Phillip Cronje. “Testing for Bonobos has never been done in South Africa before, so we were gearing up to go through the rigmarole of paperwork, including securing CITES permits, to send blood samples to a laboratory in Holland.”
The University of Pretoria became involved, however, and with the help of the Dutch laboratory, was able to do the testing locally.
“So with the kind help of volunteer vet, Dr Stephen van der Spuy, who took the blood samples for us, and Dr Cindy Harper of the University of Pretoria who did the genetics work, we were able to establish that Zac and Jinga were not Bonobos,” says Phillip.
“Had they been, we would have been faced with hard decisions about what was best for them. Luckily, they can now be integrated with our other chimps with no fear of inter-species breeding.”
Just an aside – when Dr Jane Goodall visited the Sanctuary in June, she took one look at Zac and Jinga and pronounced them definitely not Bonobos!
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