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New baby orangutan Stella makes her debut at Busch Gardens

Stella and Luna Busch Gardens
Posted at 8:13 AM, Jun 21, 2024

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — After arriving in the world in April, a new baby orangutan has made her long-awaited debut to the public at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

The park announced that Stella, a critically endangered Bornean orangutan, will be out with her mother, Luna, and father, Madju, in the Bornean orangutan habitat starting this week.

Busch Gardens Stella and Luna

Stella was delivered via c-section just a little over three months ago by a team of medical and zoological professionals. She weighed 3.4 pounds at the time of her birth.

Luna was introduced to her baby the following morning, and Stella's name was chosen by an online vote in May. Nearly 30,000 votes were cast for the winning name.

According to Busch Gardens, Bornean orangutans are solitary by nature, unlike other great apes, which may be related to their need for large quantities of fruit. They also travel mostly by brachiating through trees, which is swinging from one branch to another using their arms.

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