Baby Kesuma was born at the zoo in December (Picture: Chester Zoo)

Meet Kesuma, the tiny new arrival at Chester Zoo.

Kesuma, whose name means ‘flower’ in Indonesia, is a rare Sumatran orangutan, an endangered species found in the jungles of south east Asia.

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She was born in December to mum Emma, but keepers have only now revealed the name they have chosen for her.

The zoo said Kesuma’s birth was significant for an international breeding programme aimed at boosting numbers of Sumatran orangutans.


Tim Rowlands, curator of mammals at the zoo, said: ‘Emma’s baby girl Kesuma is her fifth youngster and she’s such a good mum.

She already has a close bond with mum Emma (Picture: Chester Zoo)

‘She’s incredibly attentive and it’s wonderful to see her and her latest arrival forging close bonds.



‘She’s an incredibly important arrival for the conservation breeding programme and can hopefully throw a spotlight on the huge pressures that her cousins are facing in the wild.’

Sumatran orangutans are threatened with extinction due to hunting, forest clearance and the planting of oil palm plantations in their natural habitat.

Recent estimates suggest there are just 6,500 remaining in the wild.