Chester Zoo, England, recently celebrated the birth of a Bornean orangutan, offering hope for the endangered species. The orangutan was born on 31 August to parents Sarikei and Willie after an eight-and-a-half pregnancy.
Sarikei’s keepers described her as a ‘great mom,’ spending most of her time ‘cradling her baby closely to bond.’
Borneo’s rainforests have been rampantly cleared for logging, unsustainable oil palm plantations, and agriculture. This habitat loss, conflict with farmers, and illegal hunting have caused orangutan numbers to decline drastically.
IOL reports that primate conservationists and experts say ‘the rare baby is a ‘positive step in the right direction’ for protecting the highly threatened species.
The little addition will become part of a European-wide conservation breeding initiative to bolster the dwindling orangutan population in conservation zoos.
Watch Sarikei with her new baby below:
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