Florida Zoo Welcomes Adorable Rare Orangutan Baby To the Family
1010 WINS- A new addition has arrived at Tampa, Florida's Lowry Park Zoo -- and this loving orangutan won't leave her newborn's side. With a population decline of more than 50 percent during the last 60 years, this birth is truly significant for the rare breed.
Dee Dee, the zoo's Bornean orangutan, recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and is doing everything she can to keep the little one safe. Like humans, baby apes are born completely dependent on their mothers, with maternal care continuing for many years.
She's been quite an attentive mom to her five offspring -- her nine-year-old daughter Randee, for example, was still sleeping beside her in her nest. But with the latest arrival, Randee has taken the huge step of moving into her own nest at the zoo.
Randee has also been keeping a keen eye on her mom and new sister, an important process for the adolescent as she learns how to be a mother herself.
Orangutans are at risk of losing their homes due to forest clearcutting, leaving many babies without their mothers which is detrimental as babies cannot survive on their own in the wild. For more information visit LowryParkZoo.com.
-Kayla Jardine/Joe Cingrana