What’s a siamang? Endangered newborn at Virginia zoo needs a name - and you can help
An endangered newborn siamang ape is the Virginia Zoo’s latest addition to the family — and now it needs a name.
The newborn is six-weeks old and just learning about its fingers and hands, zoo staff announced. In an effort to raise funds for the zoo’s act of Wildlife Conservation fund, the zoo is holding a name auction that will run through Aug. 19.
“A siamang birth is an important addition to this critically endangered lesser ape,” Zoo executive eirector Greg Bockheim said in a news release. “Watching a baby grow and engage with its family is special for all of us.”
The zoo is asking people to submit gender-neutral names for the baby since it doesn’t know if the small ape is a boy or a girl yet, according to the release. Since the infant is still young, staff hasn’t taken it away from the mother to avoid causing any stress during their bonding, according to the zoo.
The naming auction started on Monday, Aug. 8 and end at 5 p.m. on Aug 19, according to the zoo. The baby’s name must be produced by Aug. 26.
The siamang population has declined by 50% over the past 40 years, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. Much of the population suffered due to illegal pet trade and habitat loss, according to the institute.
Infant apes, like the one just born at the Virginia Zoo, are often sought after as pets in the illegal pet trade community, according to the institute.
The newborn and its parents, Malana and Bali, are visible to visitors in their day room along the Asia Trail of the Tiger, according to the zoo.
The Virginia Zoo is located in Norfolk.
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