Media Alert
January 23, 2015
Contact: Matt Reinartz
matt.reinartz@stpaul.gov
651.487.8294 (o)
651.248.9836 (c) 

Como Zoo Launches Naming Contest For Baby Orangutan

Winning name will be unveiled at a Baby Shower Weekend February 14-16

After giving birth via Caesarean section on January 7, 2015, Como Zoo’s baby Sumatran orangutan is back at Como after spending a short time at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center. She is now bonding and resting comfortably in the arms of her mother, Markisa. Now she just needs a name.

Como Zoo has selected three names for the baby of mother Markisa, and father Jambu. Each name has its own special meaning, and Como invites the public to vote for their favorite. The three potential names are:

Aanjay (pronounced On-jay) meaning unconquerable

Cinta (pronounced Chin-tah) meaning love

Kemala (pronounced Key-mala) meaning magic stone

Como Zoo is asking the public to vote for the name with their pennies. Starting today, the public is encouraged to vote online by donating money as a way of voting for their favorite of these three names. Voting can be done by visiting https://www.givemn.org/organization/Como-Friends

People may also vote in person at the Como Park Zoo & Conservatory Visitor Center.

The public is invited to a Baby Shower, February 14-16 where the winning name, the one with largest amount of monetary donations, will be revealed the afternoon of February 16. The President’s Day weekend will be filled with family fun activities, crafts, games, special zoo keeper talks, and opportunities to meet some of Como’s furry and feathered animal ambassadors.

The baby orangutan was discharged from the ICU unit at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center on January 9^th. The reintroduction process of baby and mother began by first using scents, then sight and then touch. On January 14, keepers passed the baby off to mom and her natural maternal instincts were immediately apparent, they bonded, and nursing was confirmed. They are still off exhibit to continue the bonding process.

"Markisa is an excellent and experienced mother," said Como Zoo primate keeper Megan Elder, who also serves as the International Studbook Keeper for the World Association of Zoos & Aquariums (WAZA) and the Vice-Chair for the North America Orangutan SSP. "She is carrying the infant, facilitating nursing, essentially doing everything right."

Prior to the birth, Markisa's caretakers had conditioned her to allow voluntary ultrasound examinations by the Como Zoo veterinarians and staff; these examinations allowed the team to proactively monitor the health and development of the baby during gestation. Markisa and her baby continue to be monitored closely by a team of zoo keepers and veterinarians.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) governs a Species Survival Plan (SSP) for endangered species in captivity in the United States. The AZA and the Orangutan SSP recommended the birth as part of its role in creating a sustainable managed population for this critically endangered species.

About 200 orangutans are currently on exhibit in zoos throughout the U.S. Their native populations, found only on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, have dwindled due to commercial logging, the expansion of palm oil plantations, hunting and poaching –all of which put the species under the threat of extinction.