'Bullied' British bonobo finally begins to integrate by finding 'cougar' girlfriend eight years his senior

A British bonobo who has been repeatedly beaten up by German apes at his new home has finally shown signs of integrating after finding himself a cougar girlfriend.

Bili, 10, was pictured clearly integrating with German ape Mahdeblu, who is eight years his senior, as the two had sex.

The happy look on Bili’s face is a world apart from the shocking footage showing him being attacked by the troop of aggressive German great apes at Wuppertal Zoo, Germany.

At a previous encounter Bili even had a part of his ear bitten off by the German troop.

The repeated attacks on Bili made headlines across the world as animal lovers gathered 300,000 signatures calling for him to be sent to the Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre near Bovington in England.

But while it seemed that Bili was not going to integrate into his new troop, the situation is now looking vastly different as besides having sex with Mahdeblu, the British ape is now also close to her five-year-old daughter Akeena, who he was seen hugging tightly.

Bili even has some male camaraderie as the troop’s grandfather Mato, 55, has also accepted him and has reportedly been seen playing with him in the bonobo enclosure.

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A zoo spokesman said: “In the meantime, Bili looks much more relaxed overall. We could no longer observe any aggression against him lately.”

The German zookeepers, who even received death threats for their refusal to move Bili, had always said that the frequent attacks on Bili were natural and they emphasised he could still integrate perfectly in the troop if given time.

Wuppertal Zoo director Dr Arne Lawrenz said that people have a romanticised image of nature which makes them react angrily when confronted with violent episodes.

He said: “This is why there must be zoos, where we can show what nature really looks like.

“That is our mission and that’s why we, as zoos, might be at a crossroads here. For example, in the US there is a tendency to not exhibit bonobos because they are politically incorrect in terms of their sexual behaviour and aggression.

“I believe that zoos need to show people that nature is not all about peace, love and harmony, and that it’s also about rivalry and that the animals are subject to different laws to humans.”

Bili’s difficult life began when his mother Maringa did not really care for him after he was born in October 2008 in Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire, and as a result of not protecting him when he was growing up, he was flown to Frankfurt in January 2009.

He was adopted by loving female chimps in Frankfurt who have experience dealing with unwanted youngsters.

However, despite being happy and well integrated he was sent to Wuppertal Zoo on the recommendation of the Specialist Group of the European Zoological Community and the European Conservation Breeding Programme.