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TAMPA, Fla. — A rare female Bornean orangutan was born at a Florida zoo on Saturday.
In a news release, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay said the baby primate, which weighed 3.4 pounds at birth, was delivered by cesarean section. The infant was born to the Tampa theme park’s resident Bornean orangutan, Luna, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
“It’s a girl!” Busch Gardens wrote in a social media post on Sunday, sharing several photographs of the newborn drinking from a bottle and snuggling with a toy, according to the Miami Herald. The baby’s name was not revealed.
“Luna is currently recovering from surgery at the orangutan house and was introduced to the baby this morning,” Busch Gardens wrote on social media. “Once they are both stabilized, they will be reunited, and monitored closely by our vet team and animal care specialists.”
Luna remains in recovery and is under 24-hour care, the Times reported.
The infant’s father is Madju, and Luna has known him for about a decade, according to the Herald.
During Luna’s pregnancy, the theme park said she was getting ultrasounds and was having her health checked regularly, the Times reported.
An adult female orangutan can weigh up to 120 pounds, according to the Herald. It is found exclusively on the island of Borneo and is the world’s third-largest species of ape. It is also the largest tree-dwelling species, or arboreal.
Bornean orangutans are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
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