World's First Video of Sumatran Orangutan Giving Birth

Dana cleaning her daughter moments after giving birth. Photo from BBC News.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have the world's first video of a Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) giving birth. Why have we not have any videos of them giving birth? Well, Sumatran orangutans give birth at night (pitch black) and also high above the forest canopy. So, that's probably why. 

So we have the mother, Dana, who is a 25 year old Sumatran orangutan from Jersey's Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (this Jersey is in the UK, not US). Dana suffered complications in her previous pregnancy in 2009 and resulted in a stillborn. These complications left her with blocked fallopian tubes, making her infertile. However, experts from Jersey General Hospital’s head obstetrician intervened in 2012 to help Dana conceive and a little help from the 27 year-old male, Dagu. On June 9th, Dana give birth to a female infant which was named KeaJaiban (you see, "KeaJaiban" is Indonesian for "miracle"). The birth of KeaJaiban (or Kea for short) was indeed miraculous, owing mostly to the surgery to unblocked Dana's fallopian tubes.

The video below might be not safe for work (NSFW) and I thoroughly recommend that you don't watch this after or before a meal. But then if you are like me, this will not phase you. 

 

 World's  first video of a Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) giving birth. Video from YouTube.

Age at first birth for female Sumatran orangutans is about 15 years old. Interbirth intervals are about 8 to 9 years old while gestation period is between 7.5 to 8.5 months. Sumatran orangutan gestation period is very close to those of human females. (Singleton et al., 2008)

Orangutan birth is relatively quick (as are most primates). The baby comes out of the birth canal and immediately held on by the mother. A few licks on the baby to make sure that the baby is alright, the mother then clears the baby's airway. The baby then starts to cry and scream (like a human baby). The mother then ingests the placenta (placentophagy) and bites off the umbilical cord. Placentophagy is very common in mammals, even in humans. I think the most amazing (and coolest) part of the video is when Dana brought her baby and presented her to the staff!

References:

Singleton, I., Wich, S.A. & Griffiths, M. 2008. Pongo abelii. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 10 August 2013.

Second orangutan born at Jersey wildlife park on BBC News

Never-before-seen footage of orangutan birth in Refugees Of The Lost Rain Forest on BBC One

Jersey orangutan baby named 'KeaJaiban' on BBC News

Apes Walking Upright: That's Just How They Roll (or Walk).

Orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees do it. Bonobos seem to love doing it. Apparently gibbons do it really well. Indeed, bipedalism is not unique to humans and is quite common among apes. Apes are known to walk upright once in awhile, although bonobos seem to do it more frequently than other apes. Bipedalism is just one of the natural repertoire of ape locomotion.

(From left to right) Upright Apes Brigade: Gibbon, Orangutan, Gorilla, Chimpanzee and Bonobo. Click photo for larger image.

Upright Gorilla Goes Viral: 

Ambam the gorilla. Photo from Dailymail.

Currently going viral on the internet is a video of Ambam, a Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) that was filmed walking upright in his enclosure. This 21 year-old, 485 lb. ape currently resides at Port Lympne wild animal park in Kent, England.

If you have not heard of Ambam or caught on to this internet sensation, you can read about him on :
Ambam, the swaggering silverback gorilla who walks around his pen on two legs (DailyMail)
Yes, he can walk. But just how close IS he to being human? (DailyMail)
Walk like a man: Gorilla strolls on hind legs (MSNBC).

It is not uncommon to see a gorilla walk upright but what's unique about Ambam is that he seems to walk upright quite frequently and good at it too. Bipedal locomotion is common in gorillas but they spend most of their time knuckle-walking. Ambam's upright gait and locomotion is definitely not an upright display to intimidate. Instead, it is most probably in response to curiosity and foraging in his enclosure. One of his keeper, Phil Ridges said:

"We think he might use it to get a height advantage to look over the wall when keepers come to feed him and standing up can also help him in looking for food generally in his enclosure as it gives him a better vantage point." Ridges added that Ambam could also carry more food if his hands were freed from walking and it also meant "he doesn't get his hands wet when it is raining."

It seems that the penchant for bipedalism runs deep in Ambam's family. His father, sister and half-sister (same father) prefer to walk upright and stand the same way as Ambam.

Ambam standing upright. Photo from Dailymail.

Is this a novel behavior in response to being in captivity? Is his skeletal and muscular structure (and in some sense his father, sister and half-sister) different than other gorillas? I think it would be interesting to see a behavioral study and an ethogram on Ambam's choice of locomotion. What are the percentage (or time spent) of him walking upright compared to knuckle-walking. Will his offspring be a fan of bipedality as well?

The Other Upright Ape:
While Ambam seem to prefer walking upright once in awhile, there is another ape that came before him who is a habitual biped. This ape is a chimpanzee named Oliver.

Oliver was a media (and science) sensation in the 60s and 70s for his preferred upright locomotion, having 47 chromosomes and a less prognathic face compared to other chimpanzees. Humans have 46 chromosomes while chimpanzees have 48 chromosomes. It was thought that Oliver is a "missing link" between chimpanzees and humans, thus nicknamed the "humanzee". While Oliver is not the missing link (Ely et al.,1998), he is truly a habitual biped.

The 52 year-old Oliver currently resides at Primarily Primates, a sanctuary in San Antonio, Texas. Below is a really good video of Oliver from his early years to his retirement. Seeing what happened to Oliver, I hope that they will not parade Ambam around like a freak of nature.

UPDATE: Oliver passed away on June 2nd 2012 at Primarily Primates. Read more here.

Reference:
Ely, J.J. Leland, M. Martino, M. Swett, W. Moore, C.M. 1998. Technical note: Chromosomal and mtDNA analysis of Oliver. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 105(3) 395-403. DOI: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/28165/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Baby Sumatran Orangutan Born in Philadelphia Zoo

While Ardipithecus ramidus was all abuzz in the paleontology, physical anthropology, primatology and science blogosphere yesterday, the folks at Philadelphia Zoo were keeping themselves busy for another addition to their PECO Primate Reserve.

 Sugi, the proud father. Flickr photo from Kevin Burkett.

A baby was born to the zoo's resident Sumatran orangutan family (Pongo abelii), Tua (16 years old) and Sugi (13 years old), on Oct 2nd at around 8am. This is the first orangutan baby born at PECO Primate Reserve since it was opened in 1999 and also the first offspring for both Tua and Sugi. No words yet whether the baby is a boy or a girl.

According to Philadelphia Zoo's press release, both mother and baby appear to be doing well. The first 48 hours are crucial for the baby so zoo staff and veterinarians are closely monitoring both Tua and her baby. They do not know when Tua and her baby will make their debut at the PECO Primate Reserve.

Congratulations Tua and Sugi! See you soon.