Then the zoo team in the Borgori Forest was amazed when orangutan lady Rosa proudly showed them her newborn, which she gave birth to during the night, at feeding time. It is the fifth child for the experienced mother, while breeder Kembali has become a daddy for the first time.
At the moment, Rosa is not letting anyone touch the cub, not even brother Sayang (6 years old), who is very interested in the newborn. The experienced mother protects and supports her cub with her big hands. The sex could not be determined yet. "But that's not what matters for now," said zoo director Dr. Miguel Casares, "it's much more important that both are doing well and that the bond between them is strengthening."
An orangutan cub spends its first few months clinging tightly to its mother's belly. Full weaning occurs at about three years of age, and sometimes the cubs nurse longer. "Orangutan cubs stay with their mother until they are eight years old, from whom they learn everything they need to know to survive," explains Casares.
Father Kembali (17 years old) came to Frankfurt from Amneville Zoo in France two years ago. Here he has settled in well with the now six-strong orangutan group. The young animal is his first offspring.
Ina Hartwig, Head of Department for Culture and Science, is delighted about the offspring together with the zoo team: "Orangutans are particularly suitable for demonstrating the importance of species conservation. Frankfurt Zoo is often praised for its excellent keeping of great apes, and the Borgori Forest, which opened in 2008, is one of the most modern facilities in Germany. The fact that breeding of the highly endangered primates also succeeds here on a regular basis is not only a pleasure, but also an important contribution to species conservation."
The Frankfurt Zoological Society (ZGF) has been running a major conservation programme for orangutans in Sumatra (Indonesia) for more than 15 years. Over the years, what started as a small species conservation project has grown into a comprehensive conservation programme. The heart of the ZGF program continues to be the reintroduction of confiscated orangutans into Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in Sumatra. For more information, visit <link https: fzs.org de projekte schutz-von-orangutans-und-lebensraum-auf-sumatra _blank>Https://fzs.org/de/projekte/schutz-von-orangutans-und-lebensraum-auf-sumatra/ on the web.
2017, researchers on the island of Sumatra discovered a new species of orangutan: named the Tapanuli orangutan after the region where it lives, but already considered the most endangered species of great ape due to its low population. The discovery of the new species shows that the world's jungles still hold many surprises
