Mother's Day Surprise at Chester Zoo

At Chester Zoo, 20-year-old Sumatran Orang-utan Emma was celebrating Mother's Day this weekend after the surprise arrival of a baby orang-utan on Friday, when keepers hadn't realised she was pregnant.

As baby organ-utans are naturally small it was not possible for keepers to see that Emma was pregnant and it is believed that she became pregnant shortly after moving into the zoo's new Realm of the Red Ape enclosure.

Curator of Birds and Mammals, Mike Jordan, stated: "Normally orang-utans give birth every six to eight years so this latest arrival has come as a great shock albeit a very welcome one. We certainly weren't expecting Emma to have any young until 2010."

The new arrival was born after a gestation period of eight and a half months and it is not yet known whether it is male or female. The baby will be carried around and cared for by Emma until he or she becomes independent. As Sumatran orang-utans are listed as critically endangered in the wild, the new arrival is great news for the continuation of the species.

The Realm of the Red Ape at Chester Zoo was developed to help with the Zoo's orang-utan breeding programme though keepers were not expecting to see results so soon. Mike Jordan states that the new arrival shows "just how relaxed our orang-utans are in their new home."

The youngster is the third child for parents Emma and Pulah, already proud parents to eleven-year-old Padang and four year old Utara. The Zoo is now home to seven Sumatran orang-utans and four Bornean orang-utans, all at home in the new Realm of the Red Ape enclosure.

To see the Realm of The Red Ape along with the hundreds of other exciting animals at home at the Zoo, book your tickets today, complete with an overnight stay in a nearby hotel, with Chester Zoo Holidays.