KEEPERS at Chester Zoo are celebrating the birth of a critically endangered Bornean orangutan.

The new arrival, first of its kind to be born at the zoo in almost decade, was born at 11.15am on Sunday in front of a handful of visitors.

Mum Sarikei endured an eight-and-a-half month pregnancy while dad Willie gets his first taste of being a dad.

Primate keeper Chris Yarwood said: “Seeing Sarieki holding her tiny baby close is an amazing sight. It has been eight years since we last celebrated the birth of a Bornean orangutan at the zoo but it’s well worth the wait.

“This is Sarikei’s third baby and although it’s very early days, she is so far doing a wonderful job caring for her little one. She’s a great mum.

“It’s also the first youngster that our male Willie has sired. He has a great personality and we’re very hopeful that he will make a great father as he is still young himself and enjoys playing with the other orangutans.”

The baby is a huge boost to a breeding programme which is working to conserve the species which faces an uncertain future in the wild.

Recent estimates show that there could be as few as 55,000 Bornean orangutans left on the island of Borneo in Indonesia.

Threatened by illegal hunting, habitat destruction and conversion of their forest to palm oil plantations the Bornean orangutans have pushed the species to the brink of existence.

The zoo’s curator of mammals, Tim Rowlands, said: “Bornean orangutan numbers are plummeting at a frightening rate. A major threat to the survival of these magnificent creatures is the unsustainable oil palm industry which is having a devastating effect on the forests where they live.

“They are also the victims of habitat loss and illegal hunting.

“Those who are responsible for their decline have pushed them to the very edge of existence – and if the rate of loss continues, they could very well be extinct in the next few decades.

"It’s therefore absolutely vital that we have a sustainable population of Bornean orangutans in zoos and every addition to the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme is so, so important.

“It’s also imperative that we continue to tackle the excessive deforestation in Borneo and show people everywhere that they too can make a difference to the long-term survival of orangutans. Simple everyday choices, such as making sure your product purchases from the supermarket contain only sustainably sourced palm oil, can have a massive impact.”

Sarikei and her new baby can be found in the zoo’s Realm of the Red Ape habitat.