There will be no shortage of excitement at Taronga Zoo these school holidays following the birth of a male Chimpanzee in Taronga’s renowned Chimpanzee group.

 “Experienced mother, Shiba gave birth to a healthy baby in August and the youngster is quite vocal when not dozing in its mother’s arms and appears very healthy,” said primate supervisor, Lou Grossfeldt.

 Keen-eyed visitors may spot the baby’s head or hands and feet occasionally poking out from Shiba’s embrace. As he grows and gets more active, there’ll be more opportunities to see the youngster.

 As well, Tree Kangaroo joey, Nupela, is a year old, senior female, Frala has joined Silverback, Kibali at Gorilla Forest and 12 new Squirrel Monkeys are dashing about the trees of Amazonia.

 Nupela is the first Goodfellow’s Tree Kangaroo joey born at Taronga in over 20 years, and is very active and inquisitive, busily exploring the treetops near the Zoo’s Main Entrance alongside mother, Kwikila.

 Nearby at Taronga’s Amazonia exhibit, sharp-eyed visitors may spot 12 female Squirrel Monkeys bouncing through the trees. They recently joined Taronga’s resident male, Chico, in the renovated exhibit.

At  Taronga’s Gorilla Forest Exhibit, Frala has settled in well with young silverback, Kibali, and females M’beli and Johari at the Gorilla Forest exhibit.

The second week of the school holidays will see the start of the inaugural Taronga Bird Festival, with daily bird talks, tours and shows. Keen young twitchers (as bird watchers are known) can also take part in the kids Twitchathon to spot different birds at the Zoo.

A herd of animatronic dinosaurs will also roar into Taronga October 31 to amaze visitors and tell how to help modern wildlife avoid the dinosaurs’ fate.

Of course there’s plenty more to discover at the Zoo, with animal encounters, and over 20 shows and talks daily. Taronga is open every day of the year. For more information visit www.taronga.org.au