Le Bonheur team puts their heart into caring for Memphis Zoo bonobos
When the Memphis Zoo’s veterinary team needed a better look at the hearts of their bonobos, they turned to the cardiology experts at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital’s Heart Institute.
For the past 20 years, the zoo has been home to a troop of bonobos, an endangered species of great apes native to the Democratic Republic of Congo and known for their peaceful matriarchal societies.
However, the troop’s growing size and changing social dynamics now require a habitat that will offer them more space and varied social interactions. Accordingly, the Memphis Zoo has begun the process of relocating its bonobo troop to other zoos, including the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.
Topics
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital The Heart Institute Memphis Zoo Veterinarian Subscriber Only2025 is almost over. Now is the time to support your trusted local news source.
Will you help us reach more Memphians with quality, in-depth local news? Make a fully tax-deductible donation or other contribution to The Daily Memphian, a 501(c)3 nonprofit news organization, today.
Thank you for keeping up with what’s happening in Memphis. Thank you for investing in our community’s trusted local news source.
Aisling Mäki
Aisling Mäki covers health care, banking and finance, technology and professions. After launching her career in news two decades ago, she worked in public relations for almost a decade before returning to journalism in 2022.
As a health care reporter, she’s collaborated with The Carter Center, earned awards from the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists and won a 2024 Tennessee Press Association first-place prize for her series on discrepancies in Shelby County life expectancy by ZIP code.
Comments
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.