Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
DENVER — Our cousin had a baby! Which cousin, you ask? Well ... she's a distant cousin ...
One of Denver Zoo's Sumatran orangutans, Eirina, gave birth to a sweet baby girl, Siska, in August. The species, with whom humans share 97% of their DNA, is a critically endangered species, meaning it has an extremely high risk of extinction.
The zoo, however, didn't know who the new baby's father was — it could have been 16-year-old Jaya or 30-year-old Berani.
After giving mom and baby time to bond, the zoo decided it was time to do a paternity test, but they wanted to add a little flair to the reveal — and called Maury Povich, who you might recognize from his 31-year-long talk show, "Maury."
The Denver Zoo has six Sumatran orangutans, all of which are part of the Sumatran Orangutan Species Survival Plan, which seeks to maintain care of orangutans in human care in North America.
The zoo has a baby registry for Siska and Eirina to receive any support they need.
For more information on Sumatran orangutans, visit Denver Zoo's website.