Hsiao-Ning was raised at the orang-utan creche at Monkey World in Dorset and has now given birth to a daughter of her own at Rostock Zoo in Germany

Hsiao-Ning, one of the first members of the orang-utan creche at Dorset's Monkey World, has just given birth to a healthy baby girl at her new home in Rostock Zoo, Germany.

Hsiao-Ning, meaning triumphant, was born at Monkey World to Bornean orangutans RoRo and Tuan, but as RoRo had been smuggled from the wild as an infant, and not raised by her mother, she lacked the parenting knowledge to care for her child. Hsiao-Ning had to be hand reared by keepers, before moving into the specially designed orangutan crèche. The crèche allowed Hsiao-Ning to grow up with a female adult, and other youngsters to learn all the social and physical skills she would need in life.

Hsiao-Ning is a Bornean orangutan, which are critically endangered in the wild, and her infant is the first child to be born to a member of the crèche. Her keepers said Hsiao-Ning is proving to be an attentive and caring mother. 

Monkey World director Dr Alison Cronin said: “The European Crèche for Orphan Orang-utans started at Monkey World in 2005 and since then we have provided a home to nine orphaned orang-utans from seven different countries. Hsiao-Ning has proved to be an excellent mother and we are hopeful that all the other “girls” in the Orang-utan Crèche, such as our most recent arrival Mimi from Moscow Zoo, will also go on to be good mothers.”