Best name for an adorable baby orangutan: Rudy, Roux or Maymuun?
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Zoo is asking fans of endangered orangutans to help name the baby Sumatran orangutan born on Christmas Eve 2021.
The baby has been cared for around the clock at Audubon Zoo for a few days after birth because Menari, a first-time mother, was not producing enough milk. The long red-haired great apes are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
People can choose the names Rudy, Roux or Maymuun in a poll on the zoo’s webpage, according to a Wednesday press release.
Rudy is both Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and underdog Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, whose hard work brought him to Notre Dame and its soccer field for a game in 1975.
Roux is French for reddish brown, like the color of an orangutan’s long fur, and for the cooked mixture of flour and oil or butter used to thicken gumbo and other Louisiana dishes.
On the island of Sumatra, Maymuun means lucky, blessed or prosperous, depending on the zoo.
“We pronounce it May-MOON,” zoo spokeswoman Annie Matherne wrote.
The baby’s two half-sisters are named Bulan, which means moon, and Madu, which means honey. All three were sired by Jambi, who came in 2018 from Hannover Zoo, Germany.
Threats to the Sumatran species include hunting and destruction of the Indonesian island‘s forests and peat swamps where they spend almost all of their time in the trees.
To help the baby develop his grip strength and endurance, the keepers go through what they affectionately call “baby boot camp,” primate curator Liz Wilson said in comments emailed by a zoo spokesperson.
That includes lifting him up and down while he clings to the fingers of a keeper and putting him face down in the hay, Wilson said. It also involves exercise by the keepers while the baby is holding a fur vest. Sessions may include a keeper bending, turning, brisk walking, and climbing on ropes, swings, and other orangutan equipment.
Menari also receives daily training on maternal behaviors, including breastfeeding, and how to act if staff need to continue bottle-feeding the baby after their meeting. Unlike gorilla training, it doesn’t use a doll, Matherne said.