The baby orangutan born last week at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo has died.
Zoo officials announced the death of the baby male Thursday evening, saying a necropsy, or animal autopsy, will be performed to determine the cause of death.
Tara, the 28-year-old mother was an attentive and excellent mother and grieves his death along with the rest of the Animal Care Team, according to a release.
The August 16 birth of this orangutan was important to the Sumatran orangutans, which are labeled as critically endangered. Only a handful of other orangutans have been born in North American zoos this year.
Tengku, the only male orangutan in the exhibit at 37-years-old, is the father of the new baby. The breeding was recommended by the Orangutan Species Survival Plan, which seeks to maintain genetic diversity in populations of endangered animals.
This was the third orangutan birth at the zoo and the second male.
Tara will not be a part of the exhibit while she grieves the death of her baby.
