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Busch Gardens welcomes the cutest endangered Bornean orangutan

While the park has yet to name her, it said that the newborn weighed 3.4 pounds and that both mother and baby are in good health.
Busch Gardens welcomes the cutest endangered Bornean orangutan
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Get ready for some cuteness overload!

A precious baby girl, a critically endangered Bornean orangutan, made her grand debut at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay this past Saturday.   

On Monday, the theme park announced that the baby orangutan was born via cesarean section to Luna, their resident Bornean orangutan, whom we estimate to be in her late 20s.

"The delivery process was led by a team of medical and zoological professionals across multiple organizations to ensure that both the mother and her newborn received the highest standard of care," the park said in a press release. "Luna remains in recovery as she recuperates from surgery under 24-hour care at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's state-of-the-art Orangutan house. Once Luna and her newborn are both stabilized, they will be reunited and monitored closely by the park's highly skilled animal care team."

While the park has yet to name her, they did say the little bundle of joy weighed 3.4 pounds, and posted photos of the adorable newcomer on social media, which you can see below:

According to Bush Gardens, the Bornean orangutan ranks as the third-largest species of ape and holds the distinction of being the largest tree-dwelling ape species, and is only found on the island of Borneo.

The species is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with a population of about 104,700 worldwide but declining significantly throughout the years, according to the World Wildlife Fund. And just like any other orangutan, this species can live over 30 years and even up to 50 years, the WWF notes.


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