Zakayo the legendary chimpanzee whose story dates back to 10th/06/1964 when he was rescued from the Semliki National park by a good samaritan who kept him as a pet but eventually handed him over to the Entebbe Zoo. At the time Zakayo being surrendered in 1976 to authorities at the Entebbe zoo present-day Uganda wildlife Conservation Education Center in Entebbe. While at the center, Zakayo held the office of the Alpha Male from 1976 till 2011 when he relinquished power to Matooke whose term of office as Alpha male was short-lived after being toppled by his junior Aluma.
Zakayo even as an ordinary member of the chimpanzee community at UWEC maintained high levels of self-respect typical of a senior like him and often helped make the animal keepers work of the integration of newly introduced chimpanzee at the Center seem very simple. He gave direction to both the junior and his Alpha Leaders that continued to look up to him with a lot of respect for his seniority in age. In 2018, Zakayo passed on at the age of 54. He is believed to have succumbed to Chronic Gastroenteritis – a condition of persistent vomiting and diarrhea caused by either viral or bacterial infection.
