Philadelphia Zoo introduces Jambi, the first Sumatran orangutan born there in 15 years

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Zoo hosted a gender reveal for a primate Wednesday morning.

Zoo staff introduced Jambi to members of the media today, marking the first public appearance for the Sumatran orangutan and miracle baby.

Born in June to 31-year-old female Tua and 28-year-old male Sugi, Jambi is the first Sumatran orangutan to be born at the zoo in 15 years, which the staff told The Inquirer was a "major conservation win." He's named after a popular port city in Sumatra, the largest island in Indonesia.

The Sumatran orangutan is critically endangered with just over 14,000 species left on the island, according to data kept by the World Wildlife Fund. There, the primates spend their time high up in the treetops, keeping to themselves and eating lots of fruits, leaves, and tree bark.

Jambi mostly kept close to his mother Tua during Wednesday's showing, sitting on her lap while zookeepers left him a cake. He did not touch it.

That's normal, said Michael Stern, the curator of primates and small mammals at the Philadelphia Zoo: Orangutans have long childhoods, nursing until they're about five years old and hanging tight to their moms until they're seven or eight.

"It's going to be a long time before he's doing anything independently ... for at least the first six, eight months you're never going to see him more than an arm's length away from mom," said Stern. "Tua is an excellent mom."

Like in nature, Sugi is being kept away from the duo Jambi and Tua while they bond, but the trio will be reunited when the time is right, Stern said.

The Philadelphia Zoo was the first zoo to successfully breed orangutans, popping out 20 since the first baby arrived in 1928. The last was born in 2009 — Jambi's older sister Batu, who is about to have a baby of her own at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.

Jambi's birth is an additional blessing. This was an at-risk pregnancy for Tua, said Stern, because she has a chronic respiratory disease. She now has to use a nebulizer twice a day.

"We are just thrilled to have the baby with us," Stern said.