A chimpanzee born at Dublin Zoo recovering from illness pays a visit to The Late Late Show.
Jamie was born at Dublin Zoo to mother Judy. When the chimpanzee was just three weeks old, he became ill and required treatment four times a day. He had to be removed from the care of his mother and placed in an incubator. Director of Dublin Zoo Peter Wilson explains that Judy did not want to give up her baby having strong maternal instincts.
After several weeks in the incubator and treatment with an antibiotic, Jamie is now perfectly healthy. He is now being looked after by the keepers at the zoo and is fed the same powdered milk that is given to human babies.
At birth, Jamie weighed just 960 grammes and is now around one and a half kilos.
He'll be brought up with the keepers in the zoo until such time as he's old enough to join the group.
Peter Wilson explains that ideally, they would like to return Jamie to Judy but there is no way she would ever accept him back. The bond between mother and baby has been broken. Judy would see Jamie as a stranger and a threat and kill him. Jamie will not be on show at the zoo until Easter.
Dublin Zoo is facing financial challenges and a fund has been established to support its future. Peter Wilson appeals to the public to donate one pound to the zoo fund.
This episode of The Late Late Show was broadcast on 16 February 1990. The presenter is Gay Byrne.
