NORFOLK — The Virginia Zoo welcomed a new member to its primate residence: a baby Bornean orangutan.
Dara, the 24-year-old mother, gave birth to her baby about 5:45 a.m. June 29, and the zoo said in a statement she already is “displaying strong maternal instincts and nursing the baby.” It is the second orangutan to be born at the zoo.
“Our care team is over the moon with excitement about the new addition to our orangutan family,” Jill Strother, assistant curator of the Virginia Zoo’s Asia section, said in the release. “All our hard work in preparing Dara for the birth with ultrasound and maternal behavior training has been so rewarding. We can’t wait to see this little one flourish.”
Bornean orangutans are the largest arboreal mammals, meaning they live in trees, and are considered critically endangered. Dara and the baby’s father, Solaris, 21, were matched specifically by population managers in accordance with the Orangutan Species Survival Plan. The pair’s first baby died in 2018 to sudden illness, the zoo said, and it is common for orangutans to have four to five babies in their lifetimes.
Dara has been participating in routine maternity training sessions before birth, according to the zoo. She has been trained to present the baby upright to keepers through mesh for visual inspections and supplement feedings, if necessary. Before the baby’s birth, Dara’s care team also conducted ultrasound training sessions with her to monitor the baby’s development.
The zoo reported that Dara and her baby are doing very well.
Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com
