Second orangutan born at Jersey wildlife park

A second Sumatran orangutan has been born at Jersey's Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in two months.

The female, which is yet to be named, arrived on Sunday night at 23:45 BST to its mother, 25-year-old Dana.

The newborn joins Jantho, the first orangutan to be born at the wildlife park in eight years.

Keeper Gordon Hunt has described the birth as "miraculous" as Dana's previous pregnancy in 2009 resulted in a still birth and she nearly perished.

It is Dana's first surviving infant after a still birth in 2009 in which she almost died

The episode left Dana with blocked fallopian tubes but Jersey General Hospital's head obstetrician, Neil MacLachlan performed surgery to enable her to conceive with father 27-year-old Dagu.

Mr Hunt said: "Being present when Dana lost her first baby, and nearly losing Dana herself due to the complications, I am overjoyed to see her healthy with an equally healthy baby.

"To be present when the baby was born was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, made all the more moving given Dana's history.

"We are all so happy for her and will continue to monitor at a respectful distance to make sure she and her little one have every chance to thrive."

The Sumatran orangutan is one of the world's most endangered great apes.

The most recent estimates suggest there are just over 6,500 left in the wild and conservationists said they were under growing threat because large scale destruction of their natural habitat.