'Surprise' orangutan born at Chester Zoo after negative pregnancy tests

A Bornean orangutan has been born "by surprise" at a zoo, months after its mother's pregnancy tests all came back negative.

Chester Zoo keeper Chris Yarwood said the ape's "wonderful" arrival had come after multiple tests on its mother Leia failed to spot the pregnancy.

He added that though the baby was born in June, Leia had kept it mostly hidden from keepers since its birth.

As a result, keepers were still unsure of the sex of the newborn, he said.

Bornean orangutans are critically endangered in the wild, with an estimated 55,000 left on the Asian island.

Mr Yarwood said the arrival of the "bright and alert" ape showed 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".

The new arrival is Leia's second baby conceived as part of a breeding programme at the zoo.

The zoo has previously said that such programmes may be in jeopardy because of funding issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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