Question: What world-famous animal was moved to the North Carolina Zoo in 1980?
Answer: On Sept. 25, 1980, Ham the “Astrochimp” arrived at the North Carolina Zoo. In January 1961, Ham became the first chimpanzee in space aboard the Mercury Redstone rocket on a sub-orbital flight, which heralded the launch of America’s first human astronaut, Alan B. Shepard Jr., later that year. Ham spent many years alone at the Washington Zoo but was moved to the North Carolina Zoo in 1980 to live with other chimpanzees there.
Bonus info: “HAM” is an acronym for Hollomen Aero Med, the lab where the famous Astrochimp was trained during the space race.
