Blair Drummond Safari Park in Stirlingshire is hoping to start a new chimpanzee breeding programme 23 years after its last arrivals.
Chippy and his half-sister Rosie, both 23 years old, have had blood samples taken to find out if they are part of a rare group. They were anaesthetised in the procedure at the park and their blood will be sent to Denmark for DNA analysis.
Park manager Gary Gilmour said hair samples were taken from the chimps last year to check their DNA but it did not give an accurate reading. He said: "It did indicate that our chimps could be a sub species of western chimpanzees - pan troglodytes verus.
"They are quite rare, with not many in zoos in Europe. We gave the chimpanzees a general anaesthetic and took a blood sample for the DNA test, which is analysed at Copenhagen zoo in Denmark. It also gave us an opportunity to give them a full health check when they were still under the anaesthetic.
"This is the first time these two have been anaesthetised."
Mr Gilmour said the tests were being undertaken because the park wanted to bring in a female to breed with Chippy after the area for chimps was expanded during the last few years. Chippy and Rosie were both born at the park. He said: "We want to start a new breeding programme at the park.
"If it turns out that they are western chimpanzees, pan troglodytes verus, it would be very important from a conservation and breeding point of view.
"With around 30,000 left in the wild and with deforestation in their habitat and chimps being killed for bush meat and also taken for the pet trade, numbers are still decreasing, so we have to have stable groups in captivity for the future."
Specialist wildlife vet Simon Girling worked alongside safari park vet Colin Scott during the procedure on the chimps on Monday, which lasted an hour and a half. The safari park has three chimps, including 50-year-old Blossom, Chippy's mother, who was not anaesthetised due to her age.
The chimps live on a large wooded island on a lake at the park and visitors can go around it on a boat. A house linked to the island by a bridge can also house up to 12 of the animals.
Mr Gilmour said: "Western chimpanzees are classed as endangered on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Chimpanzees are the closest living animals to humans and share 99% of our DNA."
The park has more than 200 animals and is open daily to the end of October.
