Young orangutan born in Prague zoo, first after 42 years

Prague, Feb 3 (CTK) - - A young orangutan, one of the Earth's most endangered animals, was born in the Prague zoo Sunday, 42 years after the previous orangutan arrival, the zoo's spokesman Michal Stastny told CTK.

The orangutan mother, 24-year-old Mawar, gave birth to her offspring in the Indonesian Jungle pavilion, in a nest she made of wooden wool.

She went to show the young to her attendant, who thus had a chance of checking it. Its sex remains unknown for the moment, however.

"Mawar has given birth to her third young, which seems to be healthy. The young orangutan is one of the zoo's most significant arrivals in the past years," the zoo director Miroslav Bobek said.

Mawar's previous son also lives in the Prague zoo where he arrived along with his mother in late 2011.

The new offspring's father is 14-year-old Padang.

The breeding of orangutans in zoos is crucial for the survival of the species. Only about 7300 orangutans live in the wild now and their numbers continue to decline due to poaching and the devastation of their habitats, Stastny said.