It's a Girl! Zookeepers Determine Gender of Rare Baby Sumatran Orangutan

Break out the pink ruffles, because it’s a girl!

After zookeepers at the Chester Zoo confirmed the rare baby Sumatran orangutan was a girl, they named the newborn Kesuma, which means "flower" in Indonesian.

Kesuma, born in mid-December, is continuing to strengthen her bond with her mom, 30-year-old Emma.

“Emma’s baby girl Kesuma is her fifth youngster and she’s such a good mum,” the zoo’s curator of mammals, Tim Rowlands, said in a statement. “She’s incredibly attentive and it’s wonderful to see her and her latest arrival forging close bonds.”

Researchers say orangutans like Kesuma are the most endangered species of apes and her birth marked a significant contribution to repopulating the Sumatran orangutan.

The species continues to be pushed to the brink of extinction in the wild due to habitat loss and an increasing demand of oil.

“She’s an incredibly important arrival for the conservation breeding program and can hopefully throw a spotlight on the huge pressures that her cousins are facing in the wild," Rowlands said.

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