Kansas
Kansas City Zoo welcomes newborn Bornean orangutan
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One resident of the Kansas City Zoo has plenty to celebrate this first Mother’s Day.
Josie the 20-year-old Bornean orangutan gave birth to a son Monday.
The KC Zoo says both Josie and her son are healthy.
“Orangutan infants have long-lasting relationships with their mothers, so Josie will spend the next several years showing the new baby vital orangutan skills like how to build nests, where to find food, how to interact with others, and how to use tools to forage,” the KC Zoo said in a release.
Josie and her infant are currently behind the scenes forming their bond, but are expected to be in their public habitat soon.
The Bornean orangutan is critically endangered, and is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species largely due to deforestation.
The species is native to the island of Borneo. The KC Zoo partnered with APE Malaysia to form the CREATE Project, focused on restoring the habitat of the Kinabatangan rainforest in Borneo.