Indonesian zoo welcomes endangered orangutan

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Indonesian zoo welcomes endangered orangutan

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Surabaya zoo welcomed birth of endangered, exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape, orangutan.

31 October,2011 05:54 pm

Indonesia s Surabaya zoo welcomed a newborn Bornean orangutan early this month, and is keeping her in observation before showing her to the public.The zoo named the baby Damai, the Bahasa Indonesia word for peace. Damai is the first child of 13-year-old female orangutan Dora, and 15-year old male Acong, and brings the total number of orangutan in Surabaya zoo to 16.The orangutan baby was born in October 8, 2011 at five o clock in the morning. It took one hour for her mother to give birth to the baby. We took her to this nursery because her mother rejected her, said nurse Sukirno Rukin. Like in some zoo nurseries in Indonesia, Rukin is treating Damai like a human baby -- putting him in a shirt and diapers and feeding him with a milk bottle.Damai will be put on public view after approval from the zoo s veterinarian. Orangutans once ranged the region, but the shaggy brown primate s population in Indonesia has been decreasing rapidly as its habitat in Borneo and Sumatra is disrupted by illegal logging, forest fires and illegal pet trade.