MADISON, Wis. — The Henry Vilas Zoo introduced the newest member of its orangutan family Tuesday.
A new baby Bornean orangutan, who was born earlier this month, made its public debut. Zookeepers do not yet know the gender of the baby and have not named it yet.
This is the second baby for mother Chelsea. Her firstborn, a male named Bob, was born in 2006 and now lives at the Oregon Zoo. The baby’s father Datu is on exhibit at Henry Vilas Zoo and will be introduced to his child once Chelsea is comfortable navigating her habitat while carrying the newborn.
Zoo staff shared some facts about orangutans. The infant apes are very small, usually only about three pounds at birth, and are completely dependent on their mother for the early years of life. They have the longest “childhoods” in the animal kingdom, staying with their mother for seven to eight years.
Orangutan mothers only give birth every five to eight years and tend to only have one baby at a time. During her lifetime, a female orangutan will only have two to three children. Orangutan pregnancies can be detected with an over-the-counter pregnancy test, just like humans.
That’s not the only thing the orange-haired animals share with us. Orangutans and humans are considered one of the five species of great apes, along with gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos.
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
