Kansas City Zoo welcomes a baby orangutan
This baby already has a full head of orange hair.
A male orangutan born May 23 at the Kansas City Zoo is being tenderly cared for by its mother, the zoo announced Wednesday. The birth brings the zoo’s population of Bornean orangutans, an endangered species, to seven.
The mother is an orangutan named Josie, who was born at the Kansas City Zoo 14 years ago this month.
The baby, as yet unnamed, “is cozying up and tucked in close to Josie’s chest,” the zoo said in its announcement. That’s a relief to zookeepers. An orangutan born here in 2009 was rejected by its mother and had to be cared for by humans around the clock for five months.
The mother, baby and two other females are allowed access to a 3,400-square-foot outdoor exhibit, but zoo officials said the new mom may prefer to remain indoors.
A chimpanzee was born earlier this spring at the zoo and a gorilla was born one year ago.
The zoo is now on summer hours, opening at 8 a.m.
Matt Campbell: 816-234-4902, @MattCampbellKC
This story was originally published June 8, 2016 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Kansas City Zoo welcomes a baby orangutan."