Chester Zoo has announced it is celebrating the surprise birth of a critically-endangered Bornean orangutan this week.
The new baby took keepers by surprise as mum Leia – who was born in 1996 – had been given a pregnancy test just months before, which came back negative.
Orangutans are typically pregnant for 259 days (eight and a half months).
Keepers say the new arrival – which arrived on 18th June and has been “tucked away with Mum ever since” – is “bright and alert” and is suckling well from mum, who is incredibly protective of her new baby.
Bornean orangutans are listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as critically endangered in the wild.
ADVERTISEMENT
Threatened by illegal hunting, habitat destruction and the conversion of their forest to palm oil plantations, the species has been pushed to the very brink of existence. Recent estimates suggest as few as 55,000 Bornean orangutans may remain on the island of Borneo in Indonesia and the only place they can be found in the wild.
With this huge decline in the population, the group of orangutans at Chester Zoo are part of a vital international breeding programme, which is working to conserve the species.
ADVERTISEMENT
📢🦧 BABY BORNEAN ORANGUTAN! 🦧📢
Seeing new mum Leia cradle her PRECIOUS new baby is exactly what we need right now… 😍😍😍 pic.twitter.com/2Kd0BmgoaS
Chris Yarwood – a primate keeper at the zoo – said: “The pregnancy tests we had carried out on Leia in the months prior to the birth had actually returned negative results [so] it was therefore a wonderful surprise to arrive one morning to see her protectively cradling a beautiful new arrival.
“Leia enjoys spending lots of time alone with her baby and has so far been quite shy about showing it off. She always keeps it really close to her and so we’ve not yet been able to clearly determine what the gender of the infant is. What we are sure of though is that the baby is bright, alert and suckling well from mum and has developed well over the last couple of months.
“This is Leia’s second baby – she’s a great mum and is doing a fab job once again.
“Chester is one of the few zoos in Europe that cares for both Bornean and Sumatran orangutans. These are critically endangered animals and, importantly, we’ve seen babies from both sub-species born in recent times [so] it just goes to show that, despite all of the uncertainty in the world right now, life is carrying on as normal for the orangutans, which is really uplifting to see.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Chester Zoo
Chester Zoo is working with conservation partners HUTAN in a bid to protect wild orangutans in Borneo.
Conservationists have been carrying out research in the Kinabatangan – home to one of the largest populations of orangutans in the Sabah region of the island – to gain a better understanding of how orangutans are adapting to an increase in oil palm plantations and the new landscapes which they have created.
A team of zoo experts has also helped to create special ‘orangutan bridges’, which are designed to connect pockets of fragmented forest and enable orangutans to safely travel between different areas.
Elsewhere, the zoo is working on environmental education programmes, which teach communities surrounding the forests about how they can help save the species and has also supported local NGO – the Borneo Nature Foundation – in tackling forest fires to help protect the Bornean orangutans’ habitat.
Dr Nick Davis – the zoo’s Deputy Curator of Mammals – said: “Bornean orangutans are the largest arboreal mammals in the world and how fast their numbers are plummeting is frightening.
ADVERTISEMENT
“They are victims of illegal hunting and habitat loss and are highly threatened by the unsustainable oil palm industry, which is having a devastating effect on the forests where they live. These magnificent animals are being pushed to the very edge of existence and it really could be the case that we soon lose them forever.
“It’s absolutely vital therefore that there’s a sustainable population of Bornean orangutans in the world’s progressive zoos [and] every addition to the European endangered species breeding programme is so, so important.”
Chester Zoo
He continued: “There’s still a huge need to tackle the excessive deforestation in Borneo and show people everywhere that they can make a difference to the long-term survival of orangutans.
“We really hope that Leia’s new baby helps to further highlight how simple everyday choices, like choosing products which contain only sustainably sourced palm oil, can have a massive impact on the future of these remarkable animals.”
Chester Zoo is campaigning here in the UK against the use of unsustainable palm oil in everyday household and food items and is working with national governmental organisations and industries using palm oil to adopt Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) practices.
ADVERTISEMENT
It is also raising awareness of the devastating effects unsustainable palm oil has on wildlife.
The best cheese tasting party in the North is BACK at a new Manchester venue
Danny Jones
That’s right, one of the biggest and best cheese tasting nights in the entire land is returning to Greater Manchester at a brand new city centre venue.
Not to be over-the-top, but this isn’t just another experience sampling possibly the greatest foodstuff on Earth, it’s a fully-fledged cheese-lovers’ party.
Some of you may have come across Homage2Fromage before, but for anyone unaware of the Yorkshire-born event, it started out as a monthly cheese tasting club and went on to expand across the dairy-adoring North at large.
Relaunching here in Manchester for 2026, all you lactose-intolerant people better watch, because Home2Fromage is coming back with a vengeance and heading to the Northern Quarter. Here’s how it went down the last time we visited one in Leeds:
Leeds, Sheffield, Harrogate, Manchester and who knows where else next.
Posting up in a relatively recent addition to NQ‘s bar and restaurant scene, The Faraday – a pub on Lever St that replaces the old Seven Sins back in October – it looks set to be an ideal venue for the regular evening series.
Homage2Fromage will be making its Manc return this month, and better still, they’re holding a cheeky little giveaway to sweeten the pot.
As in the deal, we mean – not the inevitable bowls full of olives, chutney, oil and various other dips…
To welcome this celebration of all things cheese coming back to Manchester city centre, they’re giving away a bunch of free tickets: 20 pairs in total.
Worth over £50 a piece for each twin set of tickets, you’d be a fool not to at least throw your hat in the ring for this one.
As you can see, the competition closes this Thursday, 19 February, ahead of the full relaunch party next week (Wed, 25 Feb), and all you have to do to enter is fill out this super quick survey.
It really is as simple as that; a few quick words are all that stand between you and a potential mountain of cheese and more.
You can find all you need to know about the event right HERE, and in case you haven’t popped into The Faraday just yet, see more down below.
It’s still somewhat early days, but we can see ourselves spending a fair bit of time in this up-and-coming Manchester watering hole, especially when there’s cheese nights involved.
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Publicity pictures (supplied)
Trending
Mancs start crowdfunder for Mani mural in honour of late, great, local music legend
Danny Jones
A group of Manchester artists, audiophiles and residents have started a fundraiser to create a new mural in memory of the late, great local music legend, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield.
Following The Stone Roses and Primal Scream bass player’s passing last year, the city and Greater Manchester as a whole have been finding ways to honour the Manc musician ever since.
Be it lining his funeral cortege from his home in Heaton Moor, Stockport, or peers like The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess penning heartfelt tributes, anyone and everyone has found their own way of paying their respects in the months since.
Taking the sustained sentiment even further, local art collective GRIT Studios is now planning to erect a massive mural in his memory.
We’re doing a massive mural for Manchester’s most loved son – Mani. All profits to @maggiesmanc a charity that was close to his heart.
Writing on the fundraising page’s description, GRIT say: “Inspired by Ian Brown’s eulogy to Mani at Manchester Cathedral, a major community crowdfunder is being launched to create a large-scale mural honouring the beloved bassist of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream and to raise funds for Maggie’s Manchester.
“The mural, which will be created in Failsworth, where young Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield grew up, has been initiated by the team at GRIT Studios following an overwhelming outpouring of love from fans across Greater Manchester and beyond.
“Mani’s brother, Greg Mounfield, is supporting this campaign and has facilitated a prominent, large wall space for the mural and chosen the design.
They go on to to explan that the piece “will be painted by the renowned artist Pic.One.Art, whose recent portrait of Noel and Liam Gallagher outside the iconic Sifters Records in Burnage became an instant landmark and received widespread attention.”
Speaking of Brown’s now viral speech, it still remains one of the most touching bits of public observance and shared mourning this city has ever seen – with a healthy little dose of Northern levity, of course.
@the.manc Yesterday, Manchester laid one of the city's greatest music legends, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, to rest at Manchester Cathedral. 🍋 Fellow band member and life-long friend Ian Brown read out a speech as hundreds gathered outside the cathedral to pay their respects to The Stone Roses and Primal Scream bassist. Mani will be missed by many, and we send love to all his family and friends. ❤️ #manchester#mani#ianbrown#thestoneroses#stoneroses♬ original sound – The Manc
“Since Mani passed away in November, countless fans have expressed a desire to see a tribute in the place that shaped him in North Manchester”, they continue.
“GRIT Studios, the not-for-profit art studios organisation, has stepped forward to organise a community-led, crowdfunded project that celebrates Mani’s life, music and spirit.
“It will not only fund the creation of the mural, but all profits will go to Maggie’s Manchester, which was close to Mani and his wife Imelda’s hearts during her cancer treatment and for whom they fundraised.
With a target of £10,000 set and more than £6k already raised in just a matter of days, it looks to be a matter of when, not if, we’ll see Mani immortalised in paint, on brick and with typical Manc grit over in the borough of Oldham.
For anyone who wishes to contribute to the fast-growing Mani mural crowdfunder, you can do so HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
6th October 2020 
