A rare baby chimpanzee has been born at Chester Zoo. His mother Alice gave birth to the male baby in front of surprised zoo visitors on December 29 after an eight-month pregnancy. Newly released footage shows the newborn chimpanzee holding on tightly to his mum as other female relatives in the 21-strong group stand nearby. The new arrival comes as part of Chester zoo's conservation breeding programme which works in tandem with European zoos to preserve the primate population endangered by the illegal wildlife trade, deforestation and poaching in parts of Africa.