Rare Baby Orangutan Born at Lowry Park Zoo

TAMPA, FL — The engendered Bornean orangutan population grew by one just in time for Christmas.

Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo announced the arrival of its newest baby boy on Tuesday. The little guy was born at 9 a.m. Dec. 21 to 30-year-old Josie.

Although Josie is an experienced mother with three babies to her credit before this one, her newest son’s birth was anything but easy, zoo officials say. The little boy was born breach, the zoo reported in a media release.

“Josie did an amazing job with the delivery under difficult circumstances, and she cleared the baby’s airway herself immediately after birth,” Dr. Ray Ball, director of medical sciences, said in the release. “Along with our team, Josie’s 10-year-old daughter, Hadiah, observed the entire labor and delivery, which will be a very important experience for her when she becomes a mother.”

The zoo has a group of six orangutans in all, including the baby’s father, Goyang. The baby has been named GoJo in honor of both of his parents. Other orangutans in the group include an adult female Dee Dee and her juvenile daughter RanDee.

GoJo, who weighs an estimated 2 to 3 pounds, spends his days with his mom. New orangutan babies ride on their mothers’ chests and backs for the first few years while nursing on average for three to five years. The critters are dependent on their mothers for an estimated seven years, the zoo reported.

Lowry Park Zoo participates in the Bornean Orangutan Species Survival program. Bornean orangutans are native to Indonesia and Malaysia. Considered endangered, the creatures have suffered critical habitat loss in Southeast Asia with an estimated decline of 50 percent of their normal range over the past 60 years.

To find out more about seeing Josie and GoJo, visit Lowry Park Zoo online.

Photo courtesy of Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo