Mandai Wildlife Reserve welcomes critically endangered orang utan baby

“Miri has been calm, attentive and protective, keeping her baby close as they gradually settle back into their familiar surroundings,” Ms Chua added.

In a video posted by Mandai on social media, the auburn-haired baby, a female, can be seen clinging onto Miri as she swings and climbs around the orang utan enclosure at Orangutan Island – a free-ranging exhibit for the tree-dwelling mammals.

The orang utan, seemingly a favourite of social media darling Punch, the Japanese macaque, is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This means the animals are at extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

There are three known species of orang utan: the Sumatran, Bornean and Tapanuli. The main threats to them include deforestation and hunting.

There are around 104,700 Bornean orang utan and some 14,600 Sumatran orang utan in the wild, based on estimates by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The population of Tapanuli orang utan, which has been described as the world’s rarest ape, numbers only around 800.

The orang utan – which translates to “person of the forest” in Malay – is the largest tree-dwelling mammal.

Female orang utans give birth only once every eight years, the longest time period of any animal, according to the National Geographic. The babies then stay with their mother for around six to seven years while learning how to survive.

The animals can live for up to 60 years under human care.

The orang utan infant joins other recent births at Mandai. A Sunda pangolin, also a critically endangered species, was born on March 1. Two capybaras were born on Jan 4, although one did not survive.

In a statement on March 19 announcing the birth of the “pango pup”, Mandai said a female pangolin is expected to give birth in the coming months.

Visitors can find out more at Singapore Zoo’s website.