A SURPRISE Christmas gift arrived in Chester Zoo in the form of a tiny Sumatran orangutan.

Born to mum Emma after an eight-and-a-half-month pregnancy, the first moments of the sumatran orangutan clinging tightly to its mum was caught on camera by the zoo.

The baby is major success story for the international breeding programme for the highly threatened species.

Sumatran orangutans are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), fewer than 6,500 estimated to be left in the wild.

Chester Zoo’s deputy curator of mammals Nick Davis said: “It is very early days, but the baby looks very healthy and is bonding well with mum in these precious first few hours.

"It is wonderful to have a tiny new infant in our family of stunning Sumatran orangutans.

“It’s now important that this fantastic new arrival helps draw some much needed attention to the species.

"The Sumatran orangutan is under enormous pressure in the wild and, without urgent conservation work, it could tragically become the first great ape lost forever.

"We can’t allow that to happen.”

Sumatran orangutans are among the many species being pushed to the brink of extinction in South East Asia by, hunting, forest clearance and the planting of oil palm plantations, which are wiping out huge areas of rainforest.

Mike Jordan, collections director said: “Sumatran and Bornean orangutans are, sadly, at an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild as pressures grow on their fragile forest habitat.

"A successful and well managed conservation breeding programme may be critical to safeguarding the species in the future.

“Conservation is critical and we are right now fighting for these amazing animals in South East Asia – helping field workers in Borneo to restore depleted forests and supporting education work in schools and communities where the species occur.

“People can do their bit too.

"When shopping in the supermarket check labels to make sure products only contain sustainable palm oil.

"It sounds like a small thing but it can make a big, big difference.”