Bonobo ape born at Twycross Zoo

The baby bonobo, born to 19-year-old Cheka, is yet to be named or sexed

A rare bonobo has been born at the only zoo in the UK to successfully breed them.

The baby ape, which is yet to be named or sexed, was born at Twycross Zoo to 19-year-old female Cheka.

Bonobos, which share 98% of their DNA with humans, are endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The Leicestershire zoo said captive breeding programmes are tricky because of the apes' "promiscuous" nature.

Cheka already has a daughter, nine-year-old female Gemena, who lives at Leipzig Zoo in Germany, and a son, Winton, five. They were born as part of a European Endangered Species Programme.

Twycross Zoo's captive breeding programme is closely monitored because of the great apes' promiscuous behaviour

Dr Charlotte Macdonald, from the zoo, said bonobos use sex as a "powerful communication tool" to establish social hierarchies and remove tension from aggressive situations.

"With so much promiscuous behaviour going on they need to be carefully managed to keep their genetic lines healthy," she said.

Like chimpanzees, bonobos share 98% of human DNA

The zoo is a part of a UN initiative to ensure the long-term survival of chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, and orang-utans and their habitats in Africa and Asia.

Bonobos, which are often mistaken for chimpanzees, are poached for their bush meat and threatened by commercial logging and expansive agriculture in their native Congo, the zoo said.

The great apes, which are as closely related to humans as chimpanzees, were recently found to be communicating with one another in the wild in ways previously thought to be uniquely human.