An orangutan from Borneo gave birth at the Blackpool Zoo for the first time in 20 years.
The “very special” arrival is a part of an initiative to use breeding to protect the endangered species.
The birth of the male is “wonderful news” for the zoo and the critically endangered primates, according to Blackpool Zoo director Darren Webster.
He proclaimed that breeding programs were “absolutely vital” to safeguarding the species’ future.
Between 1950 and 2025, the population of Bornean orangutans is predicted to decrease by 86 percent as a result of habitat loss.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the species as critically endangered, putting it at “extremely high” risk of going extinct in the wild.
According to Mr. Dot Webster, one of our resident females, Summer, gave birth to the final baby born here. We have been working hard to start a breeding group to help protect the future of this magnificent species.
The orangutans in Blackpool are a part of the European Endangered Species Programme, and 13-year-old Jingga, who is a first-time mother, moved to Blackpool from her hometown of Barcelona in 2017.
She, Cherie, and Summer, who were all born in Blackpool, moved to the Netherlands’ Apenheul Zoo in 2022 along with the infant’s father, Kawan, who is also 13 years old.
Jingga gave birth at first light on June 14—a Wednesday.
The five individuals live in the Blackpool Zoo’s $1 million Orangutan Outlook facility, which was built specifically for the animals.
The public has been excluded from the orangutan house so that the mother and son can establish a bond.
Visitors are welcome back starting on July 1.