San Diego Zoo Celebrates the Birth of a Critically Endangered Sumatran Orangutan
A new year brings new beginnings—and that is especially true for Indah, a 35-year-old female Sumatran orangutan at the San Diego Zoo, who gave birth to her third infant earlier this month. The healthy two-week-old male was born on January 4, and has been named Kaja, after an island in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, that houses rehabilitated orangutans prior to release in the wild. He is the first orangutan born at the Zoo in more than seven years, when Indah gave birth to her daughter Aisha back in 2014.
“To witness the birth of such a majestic critically endangered animal is a remarkable experience and brings us hope for the future,” said Erika Kohler, interim executive director of the San Diego Zoo. “His birth increases the population by one and that is a necessary step in our ongoing efforts to gain a deeper understanding of orangutans so we can conserve the species where they live.”
Although the infant orangutan was deemed healthy, Indah experienced some complications following the birth. Zoo team members reached out to community-based experts for help, including neonatal anesthesiologists and OB-GYN specialists. Indah is recovering, and will be on habitat intermittently. Both her and the infant are being monitored closely by wildlife health and wildlife care specialists.
Category: Animals, Education, Events, Local News, National News, Nonprofit
