Adelaide Zoo Orangutan Unexpectedly Pregnant
Zookeepers at the Adelaide Zoo were cautiously thrilled to announce their 34-year-old Sumatran Orangutan Karta’s pregnancy Thursday … despite the fact she’s been on carefully monitored birth control. Karta is due mid-January.
“This wasn’t a planned pregnancy,” senior primate keeper Jodie Ellen explained in the zoo’s press release, “but nature intervened and we’ve proceeded with the pregnancy because Sumatran Orangutans are critically endangered in the wild and it is important we breed this species before they disappear from the planet forever.”
The zoo warns while they’re optimistic “Karta will have a successful pregnancy, it’s something we believe she greatly deserves,” they’ve also helped Karta through six unsuccessful pregnancies in as many years - it’s unclear why each of her babies died shortly after birth, but Karta and her sister (who lives at the Denver Zoo) both have an unspecified anatomy issue that makes breastfeeding difficult, which scientists believe may be a contributing factor.
In preparation, the zoo installed new cameras to increase visibility at the time of birth and will have an urgent care team in place who will work with Karta 24 hours a day to help her supplement feeding.
According to the press release, there are believed to be only 7,000 Sumatran and Bornean orangutans left in the wild, and that number is rapidly declining year to year.
Had originally planned to make a monkey business joke, it doesn’t feel appropriate anymore. Sending Karta all the good energy and health she deserves.
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