Critically Endangered Baby Orangutan Born at Audubon Zoo

Despite the worldwide pandemic creating havoc across the world, there are still some things that remind us that life goes on. Births and deaths are still everyday occurrences to be honored and celebrated and are a sign that some things in 2021 have not changed.

And a small reminder of that is a miraculous birth that happened at the world-famous Audubon Zoo in New Orleans over the weekend. According to NOLA.com, a 12-year-old Sumatran orangutan named Reese gave birth to an infant on February 28. The Audubon Institute released a statement that indicated the birth was earlier than expected and was the successful result of breeding with a male named Jambi. Audubon's curator of primates Liz Wilson told NOLA.com "It just goes to show that, despite all of the uncertainty in the world, currently, life is carrying on as normal for our orangutans. It's really uplifting to see."

The next 48 hours are extremely critical for the new addition, and the Audubon veterinary and primate teams have been working diligently with the first-time mother to ensure that things go smoothly as far as nursing her baby goes. There are less than 14,000 Sumatran orangutans left in the world, mainly due to human/wildlife interaction. Read more about the critically endangered species on NOLA.com