This Week In Adorable News…
On Monday night at 8:52 p.m., the cutest thing in D.C.’s recent history happened.
Batang, a 19-year-old Bornean orangutan at the Smithsonian National Zoo, gave birth to a little bundle of joy. Just look at him. Try not to squeal at his tiny face.
It’s literally impossible. Nice try, though.
Batang’s baby boy is the first Bornean orangutan born at the zoo in 25 years. Bornean orangutans are critically endangered, which means that this birth is particularly significant.
“Each and every birth of a critically endangered species is significant, but it is all the more exciting and this is a historic moment for our Smithsonian’s National Zoo,” primate curator Meredith Bastian said in a statement from the zoo.
The zoo is hopeful that the baby will survive, but for now, mother and child are hidden away in the closed Great Ape House. If he does well, the zoo will open the Ape House to the public in the future.
“I look forward to watching the infant experience everything for the first time—especially meeting the other orangutans and going outside for the first time with Batang,” Bastian said in the statement.
While we wait patiently, hoping that the baby does well, we can’t help but wonder what the zoo might name him. When the baby pandas were born, First Lady Michelle Obama and first lady of China Peng Liyuan named one Bei Bei, which roughly translates to “precious treasure.” If naming the baby gets into the wrong hands, we might have another Boaty McBoatface situation on our hands.
So, FamousDC readers… what would you name the little orangutan? Let us know on Twitter. If you say Harambe, we will block you. Happy naming!