A rare baby chimpanzee has just been born at Chester Zoo, and there’s no denying he’s really flipping cute.
Conservationists at the UK’s largest charity zoo are quite-rightly celebrating their newest arrival, and have shared some seriously-adorable footage of the new baby bonding with his mother as he makes his way around his new home.
The new male infant arrived to mum Alice in front of astonished zoo visitors following an eight-month pregnancy.
Newly-released images and video of the tiny newborn – who is yet to be given a name, as far as we know – show him being carefully cuddled and cradled by his mum and some of the other female relatives in the zoo’s 21-strong group.
In case you didn’t know, the chimpanzees at Chester Zoo are part of an international conservation breeding programme.
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The breeding programme sees a bunch of different European zoos working together and using the latest scientific technologies to determine the genetic makeup of each chimpanzee, all in a bid to create a safety-net population to help prevent the primates from disappearing altogether.
Human-related activities, such as the illegal wildlife trade and poaching, have severely impacted chimpanzee populations in many parts of Africa, and on top of this, deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and logging has also significantly reduced their natural habitats into smaller and more-fragmented territories.
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A rare baby chimpanzee has just been born at Chester Zoo / Credit: Chester Zoo
Mike Jordan, who is the Animal & Plant Director at Chester Zoo, says a new birth “always sparks some real excitement” within the chimpanzee group.
Giving an insight into the new baby chimpanzee’s first few days on earth, and explaining just what makes his birth so important to the species, Mike said: “While Alice and her new baby are certainly centre of attention among the other chimpanzees, they’re still finding some quiet time to get to know one another and can often be seen cuddled up together.
“What’s also great to see is that some of the others in the group, especially the younger females, are really intrigued by the new baby and are learning all about motherhood from Alice.
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The new arrival has been spending time bonding with his mother, Alice / Credit: Chester Zoo
“This is an important learning curve for them and this experience can be really useful for when they hopefully go on to have babies of their own.
“A thriving conservation breeding programme is key to the long-term protection of these animals.
“For nearly 30 years, our teams have worked on the ground in Uganda, Nigeria, and Gabon in Africa, working hand-in-hand with wildlife authorities, in-country partners, and local communities in an effort protect some of the world’s rarest wild chimpanzee populations and their forest homes.
“These collective efforts, paired with the conservation breeding programme in zoos, gives us hope that we can create a future where chimpanzees thrive long into the future.”
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
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Heartbreaking new figures show 35% of all children in the North West are living in poverty
Emily Sergeant
35% of all children in the North West are currently living in poverty, some heartbreaking new figures have revealed.
Some new research carried out to understand regional levels of child poverty, conducted by Loughborough University for the End Child Poverty Coalition, has sadly revealed over a third (35%) of all children in the North West are living in what is called ‘relative poverty’, after the cost of housing is considered – which is higher than the national average standing at 31%.
Over in the Lancashire authority of Pendle, this figure reaches 45%, making it the second highest rate of all local authorities in the country.
In Greater Manchester, both Oldham and Manchester join Pendle in the list of the 10 council areas with the highest child poverty rates in the UK, as well as Blackburn with Darwen, and Hyndburn, and to make matters worse, the North West features on the list more times than any other region nationwide.
Rusholme was identified as the Manchester area with the highest percentage rating – with more than half (51.3%) of all children there living in poverty.
88% of constituencies across the North West have a quarter of children in poverty.
This could lead to things like families being forced to use food banks, children going without warm clothes in winter, or living in cold or unsafe housing.
As a result of these shocking statistics being revealed, the End Child Poverty Coalition – which represents more than 135 organisations across the UK – is calling on the Government to meet its manifesto commitment to address these high levels of child poverty, not just in the North West but also across the rest of country.
“These figures should demonstrate to Government just how important it is to quickly address this so to prevent another generation of children from growing up in low-income families,” commented Rachel Walters, who is the End Child Poverty Coalition Manager.
“The Government’s strategy to tackle child poverty must invest in children in areas with higher levels of poverty, like the North West.”
Graham Whitham, who is a End Child Poverty Coalition spokesperson and the Chief Executive of Resolve Poverty, added: “No child should go without the things they need to be healthy and happy.
“The Government’s forthcoming national Child Poverty Strategy must demonstrate a clear ambition to ending child poverty in this country, backed by specific targets and immediate investment in social security.”
Featured Image – RawPixel
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Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road to close for annual safety checks this weekend
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road is set to close this weekend while annual safety checks are carried out, it has been confirmed.
As Manchester City Council looks to maintain and improve what is, by far, one of Manchester’s busiest and most-used roads, given the fact it is the main thoroughfare in and out of the city centre, it has been confirmed that Mancunian Way is set to close overnight this weekend for its annual inspection.
Carried out every year, the Council explains that these closures ensure that ‘vital’ safety inspections can be conducted to allow the major road to continue operating as normal.
The overnight closure will take place from 7-8 June.
From 5am on Saturday (7 June), Mancunian Way will be closed in both directions along its entire length, including all slip roads, between the Chester Road roundabout and Fairfield Street, and this will last until 7pm on Sunday (8 June), after which the road will be open to traffic again as normal.
In the meantime while the closures are underway, the Council assures that a signed diversion route will be in place via the north and eastern ring road sections – Trinity Way and Great Ancoats Street – and a local diversion route will be signed via Bridgewater Street, Whitworth Street West, Whitworth Street, and Fairfield Street.
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road Mancunian Way is closing for annual safety checks this weekend / Credit: Pixabay
During this period there will also be a lane closure east/westbound at the Deansgate Interchange between 6:30-9:30am, and the inbound lane of Princess Road (heading towards Manchester) between 6:30am and 11:15am.
As is to be expected with these kinds of tasks, Councillors say they are preparing for a ‘level of disruption’ but are intending to keep it to a minimum.
“The annual inspection of the Mancunian Way is a vital job which ensures that the tens of thousands of daily users of this road can go about their journey in safety,” explained Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment, and Transport.
“We do expect a level of disruption throughout this process so wherever possible we’d advise people to travel via public transport, or plan an alternate route ahead to avoid the work locations.
Emily Sergeant -
7th February 2024 
