SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ginger's the new black at the Sacramento Zoo after a critically endangered Sumatran orangutan was born — the first orangutan birth at the Sacramento Zoo since 1981.
The Sacramento Zoo announced Indah, their 19-year-old Sumatran orangutan, gave birth to a healthy baby May 1.
According to the Sacramento Zoo, only 79 Sumatran orangutans are in human care in the United States, and with populations of wild orangutans quickly declining, every birth is a monumental success for the species.
The zoo says Indah came to the capital city's zoo in 2017 as a planned mate for a male orangutan, Makan, as part of a Species Survival Plan recommendation.
The zoo prepared Indah for a potential birth by working with her for several years on a variety of conditioning behaviors that would allow staff to assist with the future infant.
This included bringing a faux "baby," a stuffed orangutan, to the mesh for bottle feeding, placing the “infant” gently in a box and moving away and presenting her nipple to the faux “baby.”
After the birth, zookeepers and a team of veterinarians began around-the-clock observations to ensure everything was going smoothly with the mother and infant.
The Sacramento Zoo says Indah was having difficulty nursing, and the team made the decision to intervene in order to provide the infant with additional care all while keeping the infant in constant view of his mother.
The zoo says the goal is to eventually reintroduce the pair but they're unsure when this will happen.
As of now, the infant and mother remain behind the scenes and are not currently visible to the public but they are doing well, the Sacramento Zoo says.