North American Orangutan Population

Menari (Audubon Zoo) is expecting twins!

Critically endangered Sumatran Orangutan at Audubon Zoo expecting twins

The zoo announced Thursday that Menari, its Sumatran orangutan, is expecting twins after successfully breeding with Jambi, the Zoo’s male orangutan.

 

This is excellent news I was hoping Sekali would be pregnant

 

Great news that 3 baby Orangutans are on the way, 6 or 7 years down the line they should all be hitting breeding age which will be great for the population.

 

Yep, its great news to have 3 babies on the way! However, they most definitely wont be hitting breeding age that early. Female orangs are supposed to be bred for the first time around 14 according to AZA guidelines, and for males it will usually take another year or two for them to hit full sexual maturity.

Anyways, I'm just hoping both Menari's babies will be born healthy and she will be able to take care of both her babies and neither will have to be hand-raised. Apparently, Menari herself was hand-raised so I'm a little less optimistic but she has watched her mom and Reese both raise their babies recently so hopefully she has learned a thing or two from that!

 

A female infant named Isadora was born at Gulf Breeze Zoo on September 11th, 2021 to mom Indah and dad Louie. The press release did not mention whether they are Sumatran or Bornean orangutans so I’m assuming they are hybrids since Gulf Breeze isn’t AZA anyway.

Gulf Breeze Zoo Gives Thanks for New Baby Orangutan

 

The dam is pure Bornean, sire is a hybrid

 

That is unfortunate. They could’ve gotten a pure Bornean male and then bred.

 

Bruno the hybrid orangutan at the Los Angeles Zoo passed away https://mobile.twitter.com/lazoo/status/1466809711840436224

 

That is very sad.
Bruno was the last hybrid orangutan at Los Angeles. The rest of them are all Borneans.

 

0.1 Melati, a 50 year old hybrid, sadly passed away earlier today while recovering from a surgical procedure at the Woodland Park Zoo.

Zoo loses oldest orangutan, We will miss you sweet Melati

 

The San Diego Zoo has announced that male Sumatran Orangutan Satu has passed away, writing on their social media: "The much-loved ape was under veterinary care for serious illness, with initial findings upon post mortem evaluation to be suggestive of cancer. He recovered well from a recent medical exam; but later collapsed and heroic efforts to resuscitate Satu were unsuccessful."

 

That is horrible news. Satu was supposed to breed with Indah. I'm curious to see what male they bring to San Diego to breed.

 

Very sad news indeed. The good news is that I've heard rumors that Indah is already pregnant with a baby due in the next few months.

 

Toto, a 29-year-old male hybrid orangutan, passed away on December 8, 2021, at the Chapultepec Zoo.

Toto, an orangutan that inhabited the Chapultepec Zoo, died

 

0.1 Menari, the Sumatran orangutan pregnant with twins, gave birth to a healthy, male infant on December 24, 2021, at the Audubon Zoo. Sadly, the second infant was deceased prior to birth. 1.0 Jambi (Sumatran), at the Audubon Zoo, is the sire.

Critically Endangered Orangutan Gives Birth at Audubon Zoo | Audubon Nature Institute

 

"Indah" gave birth to a healthy male infant named "Kaja" on January 4th. "Indah" experienced some complications after the birth and although she looks to be recovering, keepers are still keeping a close eye on both mom and baby. Fingers crossed everything goes well and baby "Kaja" will meet his big sister "Aisha" and auntie "Karen" soon!

San Diego Zoo Celebrates the Birth of a Critically Endangered Sumatran Orangutan Infant

 

It appears that Satu was able to get Indah pregnant before passing. Wonderful news!

 

Hadiah and Goyang have welcomed their second infant together! The little one was born on February 6th and the zoo is now home to a troop of 10 Bornean orangutans. The sex is unknown for now but the baby is healthy and has begun making public appearances. Tampa has been a breeding giant for orangs in recent years with 5 infants born in the last 6-7 years! I wonder if they still keep all 10 of them together as a troop since there’s so many of them now and orangs generally don’t do well in large troops like gorillas and chimps do.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CaH3Xo9so_2/?utm_medium=copy_link

 

Huh, very interesting news! However I’m quite curious if this was an intentional breeding recommendation from the SSP, or a case of a contraceptive failure or Tampa simply breeding despite not having a breeding rec.

Their breeding group consists of what are currently some of the most genetically overrepresented animals in the North American population, and as of this October, there were not any breeding recommendations issued by the SSP for them. Either way, fingers crossed all goes well for the new mother and son and they continue to thrive!

 

The surviving male infant has been named Roux:

The wait is over! This Sumatran orangutan at the Audubon Zoo now has a name | WNTZ - cenlanow.com

Roux! A word that means ‘reddish brown’ in French, much like the baby’s fur.