 The zoo first opened to the public on Sunday 26 May 1963; the opening ceremony was performed by Jean Morton, a local television personality, accompanied by her popular children's TV puppet show characters Tingha and Tucker.In 1972 the zoo became a charitable trust and is renowned as a specialist primate centre with a wide variety of primates including all four types of great ape, boasting the UK's only group of bonobo.Twycross Zoo has become known for breeding primates and has recorded first UK births for thirteen different species including the bonobo, siamang, agile gibbon and woolly monkey, contributing to numerous conservation breeding programmes.