Indianapolis Zoo welcomes new member

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Zoo announced Friday that it is welcoming a new member to the family: Mara the Chimpanzee.

The Indianapolis Zoo was asked by the Department of Justice if it could provide home for Mara, who was lonely at a zoo in Puerto Rico. Mara is 31 years old and hasn’t been with a companion for a long time. Chimpanzees are highly social animals that need interaction with other apes to thrive.

Mara will be a part of a chimpanzee community in the Indianapolis Zoo.

Mara will spend her first month in a large private space for quarantine. After 30 days has passed, she will be slowly introduced to the other five chimpanzees at the zoo

The Indianapolis Zoo will move it’s community of chimpanzees into the newly built international Chimpanzee Complex this November. The Complex will not be open to the public until Memorial Day weekend 2024.