Chester Zoo announces birth of rare Sumatran orangutan

Conservationists at Chester Zoo were delighted when a Sumatran orangutan gave birth to an infant male earlier in November.

The currently nameless baby was born to mum Subis, 32, on the afternoon of November 14, and the pair have formed a close bond since.

Chester Zoo says it is the only zoo in mainland Britain that cares for Sumatran orangutans, which are classified as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Hunting, illegal logging and the palm oil industry have all combined to threaten the great ape, with fewer than 14,000 surviving in the wild.

“The arrival of a new baby in the family of Sumatran orangutans is always cause for celebration,” said Mike Jordan, director of animal and plant collections at Chester Zoo.

“Subis is a great mum and she is being really attentive to her new born. The pair are inseparable as they get to know one another.

“The new arrival is especially important to the international breeding programme, which is providing a real lifeline for the species, given that Sumatran orangutans are so highly threatened.

“This new baby helps us to further highlight the mass-scale rainforest destruction that is occurring on the other side of the planet and raise some much needed awareness of the plight of their cousins in the wild.”