2-week-old Bornean orangutan makes public debut in Chicago

(FOX 11) - She doesn’t have a name yet, but she has the heart of just about everyone who visits Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo’s Orangutan habitat.  The 2-week old female Bornean orangutan born at the zoo December 20th made her debut to the public today.  Mother, Sophia, seems unfazed, as the baby cradled on to her underarm (it is her sixth baby, so she is used to this, it seems!).

VIDEO:

The birth is significant to the zoo population, and raises awareness of the dire situation for orangutans in the wild, according to the Senior VP of Animal Programs at CZS. The population in the wild has declined more than 60% between 1950 and 2010, with a further 22% decrease projected through 2025.

Critical is the fact that baby orangutans stay with their mothers longer than any other mammal, it may nurse from mom for five years and stay close to her for eight!!! This baby will actually cling to Sophia, pretty much non-stop for the next ten months.  If you are near Chicago, you can visit the extended family (Kekasih, 8-year-old sister, and Kecil, 3, who was adopted into the primate family last May).

If you are not there, please enjoy our photos and video…and check out the Chicago Zoological Society Facebook page:  @Brookfieldzoo  for more updates!

Enjoy!

Christina Gonzalez

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