Get to know our chimp troop this World Chimpanzee Day

Edinburgh Zoo’s Budongo Trail is one of the world's most innovative and interactive chimpanzee enclosures. The indoor rooms, or ‘pods’, have different environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and lighting, so each chimp can choose their preferred hangout. The enclosure was specially designed to stimulate the chimps to use and show natural behaviours that would be observed in the wild.

Our chimpanzee troop consists of 15 chimps - Louis, Qafzeh, Liberius, Rene, Paul, Frek, Velu, Lucy, Kilimi, Sophie, Lianne, Heleen, Eva, Edith and little Masindi. They spend a lot of their time in their outdoor area, enjoying the views of Edinburgh and the Pentlands from their treetop nest baskets, and spending time foraging through the huge variety of plant species carefully chosen for them by our wonderful gardens team.

When they aren’t enjoying the outdoor space, they can be found exploring their indoor pods, taking part in virtual reality touch screen research in the specially designed Budongo Research Unit, or just taking time to relax and build relationships.

Edith has a BIG personality and loves to let you know it, that is why I have such a soft spot for her. I don’t think she is particularly fond of any keepers (particularly me) and ensures that we are always kept on our toes when around her, as we should be.

She is an incredibly expressive chimp and often gives keepers and other chimps the side-eye, clearly indicating her complete dismay at whatever is happening around her.

Often confused for being an older chimp, Edith has grey hair on her back and legs, which is just a colouration that was passed down from her mother Eva.

She is often found outside in one of the top nest baskets, watching all the other chimps below her and taking in the interactions developing. Our youngest Masindi loves to spend time with her and Edith has taken on an important auntie role.

When I first started working at Budongo, Lianne and I didn’t get off to the best start. Every time I tried to close a slide, she would appear and prevent me from closing it by either sitting in the slide or putting her hand on it to stop it closing.

As soon as someone else took my place she would move for them and let them close it behind her… It took a bit of work, but I have now passed her test and she will move if I need her too.

Lianne is such an amazing chimp to work with, she has a lovely temperament and doesn’t get involved in any fights in the group, unless she really needs to. Most days you will find her lounging in one of the nest baskets in pod one.

Liberius has recently become alpha in our troop and as such, now has quite a serious demeanour, but he has a sensitive side too.

He’s smart and fair in the way he manages the group and doesn’t abuse his position. His distinctive display style involves huge jumps and a loud clap.

Like a few of the chimps, Liberius loves to play with Masindi when he does have some “time off” from being in charge.

Frek is such a sweetheart. He has a great relationship with so many of the other chimps, especially Velu, which is so interesting to watch develop considering Frek is Velu’s dad.

He is also quite a quirky boy, as he really doesn’t like getting his feet wet or dirty. He will often sit in boxes or use bits of cardboard to avoid this, as well as cleaning a spot before he sits down.

I have a soft spot for Paul because he's a bit of an underdog and not a chimp that many people warm to at first as he can be a bit reserved with keepers.

Once you get to know him though, you can see that he is a key member of the troop, helping to work as a team with Liberius and Qafzeh. He's also very eager to learn and loves getting involved with the training we do to help with animal husbandry and cognitive research tasks.

Masindi, our two-year-old, is definitely a special little chimp to us keepers, as well as the other chimps who adore playing with her.

Having been born at the zoo, we’ve all got to watch her grow and turn into the confident and sassy little girl she is now. It’s been amazing watching her become more independent from her mum, bond with the other chimps and learn about the world around her.

She has a particular fascination with us keepers while we work and her bright personality brings so much joy and energy to the group, making every day working with the chimps more special.

As well as being part of the endangered species breeding programme for western chimps, our wildlife conservation charity supports chimpanzees in the Budongo Forest in Uganda through our work with the Budongo Conservation Field Station (BCFS). The BCFS team monitors the health of wild chimp populations and works with local communities to dissuade hunters from setting bush meat snares.

Find out more about how RZSS is supporting chimps in the wild.

All photos credit to Kate Grounds

Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have helped support RZSS’s vital wildlife conservation and research projects in Scotland and around the world and allowed both Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park to develop new enclosures over their years of support.