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Female Offspring is Seventh Endangered Orangutan Born at the Zoo

A newborn orangutan was welcomed into the world late afternoon (approximately 4:30 p.m.) Sunday, August 3, at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo.  Although this is the fourth baby for experienced mom “Dee Dee,” it is her first to be born on exhibit.  

“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.  “Josie,” another adult female orangutan, helped to clean the baby up after the birth. 

The zoo’s primate keepers have monitored Dee Dee and the newborn closely since birth.  Dee Dee has been given access to the outdoor exhibit; however, keepers report that she has alternated between her den and outdoors with the infant, resting and nursing.  The new baby has been named “RanDee” in honor of dad, “Rango” and mom Dee Dee.  

Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo is currently home to five Bornean orangutans including dominant male Rango, the oldest living male Bornean orangutan in an AZA-accredited facility, adult female Josie with juvenile daughter “Hadiah,” and Dee Dee with new baby RanDee.  Previous offspring have relocated to other facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) as part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP)
Native to Malaysia and Indonesia, the longhaired red orangutan can be found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.  Orangutan (pronounced oran-gu-tan with no “g” on the end) is a Malay word that means “man of the forest.”  The species is considered endangered in the wild due to habitat destruction and the pet trade. 

Like humans, Bornean orangutans have gestation periods of approximately nine months.  A female becomes sexually mature at age six to seven and may only give birth once every six years.  Babies are born with a thin layer of red hair and cream-colored skin around the face and abdominal region, weighing only about 2-3 pounds. Orangutan offspring are dependent on their mothers for about seven to 10 years, staying close by for comfort long after they are weaned.  The new baby will ride on Dee Dee’s chest and back for the first few years and will nurse for three to five years, on average.  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,” noted Belcher.  “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.”
The Bornean orangutans at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo are one of more than 40 species in the zoo’s SSPs, cooperative breeding and conservation programs managed by AZA to carefully maintain a healthy, self-sustaining captive population.

About Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo
Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2008, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo is a 501(c)(3) cultural organization committed to excellence in education, conservation and research. Named the #1 zoo in America by Child magazine, the Zoo is located at 1101 W. Sligh Avenue in Tampa, one mile west of I-275 (exit 48). The Zoo is open seven days a week, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on select nights during the summer.  Parking is free. The zoo is a nonsmoking facility with smoking allowed only in limited designated areas as marked by visitor information signs.  Visit LowryParkZoo.com or call (813) 935-8552 for more information.
 

A teeny titi monkey, a threatened red-tailed guenon and two shy warthog piglets are the newest residents of Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, delivered just in time to be considered spring offspring.

Two of the zoo’s newest and smallest residents, a pair of titi monkeys (pronounced tee tee), became parents on April 17 to a very small infant, aptly named “Peanut.”  There are nearly 30 different subspecies of titis found throughout South America. This particular subspecies is also known as the White-eared titi, the Bolivian titi or Bolivian Gray titi.

Titi monkeys, weighing only about two pounds as an adult, are diurnal (active during the day) and arboreal (tree-dwelling).  They can easily jump from branch to branch, earning them their German name, “jumping monkey.”  Titi monkeys live in small family groups that consist of parents and their offspring, averaging about three to seven animals.  The zoo’s titis can typically be seen in the trees in their exhibit, sitting or sleeping with their tails entwined.

A baby red-tailed guenon monkey (also known as Schmidt’s spot-nosed guenon) arrived overnight on June 13.  The new mom, “Njano,” and baby, “Stewie,” spent their first days together nursing, resting and bonding inside the guenons den, and are now venturing outside for several hours a day.   

With the new birth, the zoo has a total of seven guenons representing two species, Wolf’s and red-tailed.  The small primates (approximately 6-8 pounds when full grown) were initially found as bushmeat trade orphans in the markets of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  The guenons adjusted very well to their home at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, where they enjoy a large exhibit with climbing structure, ropes and swings to stimulate natural behaviors.  The guenons live together in a social group, as they would in the wild, and spend their days jumping, swinging and foraging for fruits, leaves and insects.  The species is considered threatened and is part of the AZA Species Survival Plan (SSP), a cooperative conservation and breeding program designed to carefully maintain a healthy, self-sustaining captive population.

The zoo’s warthog couple, “Pogo” and “Sybill,” became parents again overnight on June 12.  Mother is currently caring for two piglets whom she has hidden in the den, so zookeepers are keeping their distance to allow for mother-baby bonding.

        Sows isolate to give birth, then stay inside the den nurturing the hairless piglets for the first week.  Piglets normally remain in or near their burrows for 6-7 weeks, after which they follow mother everywhere, filing behind her in a fixed order.  The piglets will begin grazing within 2-3 weeks of leaving the den, continue nursing from 3-6 weeks and are weaned by 6 months. 

About Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo

Celebrating its 20^th anniversary in 2008, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) cultural organization committed to excellence in education, conservation and research. Named the #1 zoo in America by Child magazine, the Zoo is located at 1101 W. Sligh Avenue in Tampa, one mile west of I-275 (exit 48). The Zoo is open 7 days a week, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with extended hours on select nights during the summer.  Parking is free. The zoo is a nonsmoking facility with smoking allowed only in limited designated areas as marked by visitor information signs.  Visit LowryParkZoo.com or call (813) 935-8552 for more information.

Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo is inviting zoogoers to get their feet wet (and a whole lot more) with the new Gator Falls water flume ride and white “albino” alligator exhibit, now open in the Zoo’s Mason M. and Charles P. Lykes Florida Wildlife Center. 

“As we continue to build and diversify the Zoo’s animal collection with new animals like the white alligators, we are also adding new experiences for our guests like the Gator Falls flume ride,” said Lex Salisbury, president and CEO.  “One of the ways we inspire visitors to return to the Zoo is by offering something new and different every year.  We are proud to offer such a wide variety of experiences – 2,200 animals, interactive encounters, rides and water-play areas -- to engage and entertain while guests learn about the natural world.”

Gator Falls will allow guests to enhance their outdoor adventure with a new way to keep cool in the hot summer sun.  In an area designed to resemble a historic “Florida Cracker” trail, the ride begins at ground level and climbs to nearly 30 feet.  Riders will float in a log and explore “Old” Florida with a birds-eye view.  Watch out for falling water as the ride weaves over the boardwalk and ends with a 30-foot drop over the alligator exhibit.   

As visitors near the final drop on Gator Falls, a pair of rare white alligators are making themselves at home in the shade under a giant oak tree.  Albino alligators are American alligators which lack melanin, or pigment, in their skin, creating a milky coloring and cloudy eyes which appear pink.  Unlike their darker counterparts, white gators don’t soak up the Florida sun.  Instead, they will spend their days basking in the shade, near a moat where they live, feed and nest.  The white gator habitat is made possible by Mary Lou and Jim Bailey.

Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo is the only wildlife center in the world where guests can find most of Florida’s endangered native animals.  The Lykes Florida Wildlife Center is home to many native species including Key deer, whooping crane, stingray, sandhill crane, a variety of frogs and toads, gopher tortoise, manatee, river otter, America alligator and crocodile, Florida panther, black bear, red wolf, bald eagle and more. 

The Zoo plans to add a “gateway to the Caribbean” off the Florida boardwalk in the future featuring Neotropical species of animals from Central and South America.

The new albino alligator exhibit and Gator Falls flume ride are two of many exciting opportunities that guests will enjoy as they help to celebrate the Zoo’s 20^th Anniversary in 2008.  Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo gratefully acknowledges the business partners who made the ride possible: The Beck Group for architectural and planning services and Cutler Associates, Inc. as the general contractor.  The ride manufacturer is Skytrans.