PHILADELPHIA ZOO NAMES SUMATRAN ORANGUTAN BABY AND ANNOUNCES SPECIAL PECO ORANGUTAN BABY-NAMING WEEKEND

Philadelphia, PA – The Philadelphia Zoo’s Sumatran orangutan, born on October 2, has a name! Philadelphia Zoo and PECO sponsored a naming contest for the baby on the Zoo’s website – philadelphiazoo.org. The names to be voted on were Batu (islands off the coast of Sumatra), Kadoa (small gift) and Anoano (blessing). After 3400 votes were calculated, Batu was the winning name.

In honor of Batu’s naming, PECO has sponsored an Orangutan Baby Naming Weekend at the Zoo on December 5 and 6 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Visit Batu and her parents all weekend long and participate in card making, games, crafts and more. There will be a special orangutan giveaway on Saturday & Sunday starting at 11:00 a.m. for the first 200 zoo visitors each day.

Batu was born to 17 year old female Tua, who came to the Philadelphia Zoo from Zoo Atlanta, and male Sugi, 13, who was born at the Saint Louis Zoo. Adult orangutans can weigh as much as 250 pounds (males), but weigh just 3-4 pounds at birth. The newborn is the first orangutan born in PECO Primate Reserve, but continues the Zoo’s long and successful history, which dates back to the 1920’s when the Zoo was the first in the U.S. to breed orangutans.

Orangutans are endangered in the wild on both Sumatra and Borneo. The newborn will be an ambassador for its wild cousins – helping the Zoo highlight the challenges facing these apes. The Philadelphia Zoo supports wild orangutans directly through its Footprints Program, by partnering with the Kinabatangan Forest Restoration Project to plant new habitat for orangutans in Borneo. To make a donation to Footprints or to ADOPT an orangutan, log on to philadelphiazoo.org.

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