Baby orangutan born at Blackpool Zoo

Summer gave birth to a baby boy in April.

Author: Adam FawcettPublished 11th Jun 2024

A critically endangered orangutan, living at Blackpool Zoo, has become a mum for teh first time.

Summer, who's a Bornean orangutan, gave birth to a baby boy in April.

The zoo says both mum and baby are doing "really well" and living alongside another first time mum and son

Darren Webster, Zoo Director at Blackpool Zoo, said: “After more than 20 years of waiting we are delighted to have had two beautiful Bornean orangutans born in Blackpool in the past 12 months.

“Kawan’s arrival marked a new start after our previous male, Ramon, moved to a group in Germany that was more suited to him for breeding.

“Ramon settled in well in his new family and has now become a father himself, so we are delighted that the move was a huge success for both collections.

“Kawan was selected to form a breeding group at Blackpool Zoo following extensive talks with experts from the European Ex-Situ Programme (EEP) and specialist keepers from the UK and beyond.

The group of five live in Blackpool Zoo’s £1 million Orangutan Outlook facility, which has been specially designed to meet the complicated needs of the magnificent species.

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