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Baby Orangutan Joins Lowry Park Nursery

Tribune photo by JULIE BUSCH

Dee Dee and RanDee relax in their Lowry Park Zoo home.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 7, 2008

TAMPA - Lowry Park Zoo is a prime spot for a new primate.

A female orangutan was born late Sunday afternoon. Mother and daughter are doing well.

A gaggle of newborns came this summer, including a couple of primates and a warthog.

Dee Dee, the mom of the newest arrival, has birthed four offspring over her life, so she's experienced at motherhood. Her newborn, named RanDee, is the first to be born while on exhibit, zoo officials said.

"As a fourth-time mom, Dee Dee was clearly at ease with this birth, delivering quickly in her own way and time, which for her was outdoors," said Angela Belcher, assistant curator of primates in a news release issued today announcing the birth. Josie, another adult female orangutan, helped to clean the baby up after the birth.

The zoo's primate handlers are keeping a close eye on Dee Dee and the newborn. She is free to go from the outdoor exhibit into her den, and goes back and forth, occasionally showing off the newborn to zoo patrons.

The baby is named after her father, Rango, and her mom.

The zoo is now home to five Bornean orangutans.

Natives of Malaysia and Indonesia, the longhaired red orangutan can be found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Orangutan is a Malay word that means "man of the forest," zoo officials said. The species is considered endangered in the wild due to habitat destruction and the pet trade.

Zoo officials said that Bornean orangutans have gestation periods of about nine months. A female becomes sexually mature at 6 years of age and may give birth once every six years.

The babies typically are born with a thin layer of red hair and cream-colored skin around the face and abdominal region, weighing only 2-3 pounds. The offspring are dependent on their mothers for up to 10 years. The new baby will ride on Dee Dee's chest and back for the first few years and probably will nurse for up to five years. She will grow to be approximately 70-80 pounds. As one of the world's largest primates, the orangutan is second only to the gorilla in size.

"Dee Dee is a great mom, and very experienced," Belcher said. "Although he won't help much with the infant at this stage, we are fortunate that Rango is a good father -- very patient and tolerant of offspring."

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