A Little-Known Breeding Program Is Quietly Creating an Orangutan Baby Boom in the US

A little known breeding program

is quietly creating an orangutan baby boom in the US.

Since the beginning of 2025,

eight orangutan babies have been born in American zoos.

That might not sound like a lot,

but for a critically endangered primate,

it is a staggering figure.

It's also no accident.

The Fort Wayne Zoo in Indiana

and the orangutan species survival plan have created

a meticulous breeding program.

It's built upon decades of research

and it's designed to help ensure the great apes' survival.

We share 90% of our DNA with orangutans,

and the program uses that to its advantage.

The apes that participate in zoos are given human birth

control and prenatal vitamins,

and they're even taught to pee on human pregnancy tests.

Human OB-GYNs are also on call to help with births.

Now, these baby orangutans born in US zoos

won't be released into the wild.

So why does what's happening in the US matter?

Zookeepers liken the new arrivals to ambassadors.

Visitors see them abstract ideas like climate change

and deforestation in far off places become much more real.

That can inspire visitors to take action

and push for stronger conservation efforts abroad.

And orangutans need all the help they can get.

Their rainforest habitat in Borneo and Sumatra

is being raised for palm oil plantations

while babies are sold in the black market as pets.

Some estimates indicate they could go extinct in the wild

within 50 years, while even more dire predictions say

it could be in the next 10 to 20.

Beyond creating hoards of orangutan super fans,

the US Breeding Program is also sharing insights

with conservationists in Borneo and Sumatra

to help wild orangutans have a fighting chance.

Read our full story at wired.com.