• The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Orangutan Species Survival Plan (SSP) recommended the birth equally office of its role in creating a sustainable managed population for this critically endangered species.

    "Merah is an excellent and experienced mother," said Stephanie Braccini, Ph.D., Saint Louis Zoo Zoological Manager, Swell Apes. "She is carrying the infant, facilitating nursing, essentially doing everything right."

    Prior to the birth, Merah's caretakers had conditioned her to allow voluntary ultrasound examinations past the Saint Louis Zoo veterinarians; these examinations immune the squad to proactively monitor the health and evolution of the baby during gestation. Merah and her infant continue to be monitored closely by a team of caretakers, veterinarians and a nutritionist.

  • This is the fifth baby for Merah, the grandmother of two and the great-grandmother of one. She was built-in in the Netherlands and became a first-time mother in 1982 to Badut, now deceased. Merah came to St. Louis from the Miami Metro Zoo, where in 1984 she became a female parent to Talu, now deceased. Her third infant was "Sugriwa," a male, born at the Saint Louis Zoo in 1995. Sugriwa is now living at the Philadelphia Zoo. Rubih (RUBE-ee), 10, who was as well born at the Saint Louis Zoo, lives with her mother, Cinta and some other male orangutan, Robert B. The gestation menstruum for an orangutan is between eight and nine months.

    The orangutan family can be located in either their indoor habitat in Jungle of the Apes or in their outdoor habitat at Delicate Forest.

  • "Merah" (pronounced MEER-ah), a 45-yr-old Sumatran orangutan, gave birth at about 8:30 p.m., Sun, December 14, 2014, at Jungle of the Apes at the Saint Louis Zoo.

    Mother and baby are doing well. The baby is a female. The begetter is Cinta (Chin-TA), 10, who came to St. Louis in 2012 from the San Diego Zoo. Since the get-go 30 days are the almost important for mother and baby bonding, it may be a month or longer before the baby is available for public viewing.

  • At almost a month sometime, the babe met the media on Jan 13 for her get-go photo op! See story on KSDK NewsChannel v and stltoday.com. Visitors can stop past Delicate Forest daily to run across her betwixt naps, mom snuggles and nursing. Her visiting schedule will vary.

  • Visitors were asked to bring in shower gifts for the orangutan family. Zookeepers were very touched by the generosity of St. Louisans. Thanks!

    We received:

    • 29 sheets, 57 towels, 35 blankets
    • 12 Kong toys, 17 dvds
    • 14 cups and bowls
    • 4 giant Lego sets
    • i stretchy domestic dog toy
    • 1 costly orangutan, ane plush bunny
    • 1 trash can
    • 1200 paper tiffin bags, 86 big grocery bags

    Many of these items are used in the day-to-day care of our orangutans to provide extra condolement and enrichment. Some items may be shared with the proud chimpanzee and gorilla cousins. If you would like to contribute, see the wish list below.

    • Heavy fleece blankets, sheets, towels
    • Paper lunch bags or newspaper grocery bags
    • DVDs – cartoons/nature shows
    • Kong toys
    • Gift cards: Otto Environmental, Amazon, Target, Walmart, Petco, PetSmart
    • Strong plastic cups and bowls
    • Jumbo Lego blocks

  • A full of 67,698 votes were submitted through multiple channels for the Zoo'south Name the Baby Orangutan poll, which ran from Jan. vi-16, 2015. On Mon, Jan. 19, the winning name "Ginger" was unveiled by the orangutan family at a baby shower with animal enrichment activities at Jungle of the Apes.

    The Zoo'due south Great Ape care team chose a few potential female names — Marigold, Lucy, Cranberry and Ginger — and invited the public to vote for their favorites.

    Ginger won with 29,734 votes (43.9 percent) of the full votes cast at the Zoo'southward website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, or through ballots submitted at the Zoo's North Archway Welcome Desk and postcards mailed directly to the Zoo.

    Runner-upward Lucy received 22,895 votes (33.8 percent); Marigold received nine,918 votes (14.7 percent); and Cranberry received 5,151 votes (7.6 percentage).

  • Both orangutan species, one endemic to Borneo, the other owned to Sumatra, are highly endangered due to an alarming rate of habitat loss. A global demand for palm oil has resulted in widespread deforestation and subsequent drastic declines in the number of orangutans that survive in the wild.

    The Zoo'southward WildCare Plant supports Hutan, a grassroots nonprofit system working to build innovative approaches to conserve orangutan and other wild animals populations in the forests of Sabah. In 1998, Hutan set up the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme, which has long conducted high quality research and conservation activities in Sabah, one of two Malaysian states on the island of Kalimantan.

    Run into what y'all can do to help orangutans.

  • Orangutans are in trouble in the wild. Their woods homes are beingness destroyed to brand way for palm oil plantations. Palm oil plantations are responsible for the clearing of hundreds of thousands of acres of orangutan habitat.Learn more about palm oil, its result on orangutans, and how yous tin assist.

  • Proceeds from our Zoo Parents adoption program become to the care and feeding of the animals. Adopt an orangutan.