Endangered baby siamang born at the Louisville Zoo

(EDITORS ADVISORY:  Call prior to footage coverage to ensure the siamang family is on exhibit. Photos are attached.  *Our other recent babies are also on exhibit and available for photo opportunities— the baby pygmy hippo, bongo baby and three maned wolf pups!)

A male siamang was born at the Louisville Zoo Feb. 20. Named Zoli by the Zoo keepers, he weighed about 8 ounces. This is the first offspring for Ziggy, 15, and Sue Ann, 9.

“Sue Ann is a great first-time mother, and Ziggy can often be seen grooming and caring for the baby,” said Jane Anne Franklin, Louisville Zoo training and Islands supervisor.

Because of rainforest destruction, siamangs—a tree-dwelling ape native to Southeast Asia—are on the endangered species list. There are only 120 in zoos nationwide, and now three at the Louisville Zoo. The Zoo received a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan (SSP) last year to breed Ziggy and Sue Ann. SSP is a cooperative breeding and conservation program among zoos, and the cornerstone of efforts to assist endangered species.

After Sue Ann initially failed to produce a baby, Louisville Zoo Veterinary Associate Dr. Zoli Gyimesi worked hard to assess her reproductive potential. Islands staff were able to collect daily urine samples for several months to allow for reproductive hormone monitoring. In addition, with the help of a local physician specializing in gynecology, an ultrasound exam was performed to evaluate Sue Ann’s reproductive tract.

“Anatomically, Sue Ann looked normal and healthy, however her estrus (reproductive) cycle was irregular,” Gyimesi said. Before the veterinary team proceeded with any more exams, Sue Ann became pregnant.

“We are fortunate and pleased to finally have a baby siamang,” Gyimesi said.

Franklin and her team felt Gyimesi was instrumental in helping Sue Ann become pregnant. “So, we named the baby after him,” she said.

For the first three to four months of life, baby Zoli will cling to his mother’s belly. After a year, his father will take care of him. Zoli will nurse for up to 24 months and remain with the family group for five to seven years.

The siamangs are located in the Louisville Zoo’s Islands Exhibit, the world’s first multi-species rotational exhibit which encourages visitors to explore the concept of islands as ecological treasures. The rotational concept provides several species of animals access to four habitat areas on a random schedule. In keeping with the concept, baby Zoli and his mom may be in any of the habitats on a given day.

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The Louisville Zoo is the state zoo of Kentucky and a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Our collections, which include botanical gardens, are accredited by the American Association of Museums (AAM) and by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which is building North America’s largest wildlife conservation movement by engaging and inspiring over 143 million visitors and their communities to care about and take action to help protect wildlife."

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QUICK SIAMANG FACTS

• Siamangs mate for life

• Sexual maturity is reached by age 8 or 9

• Gestation is around 230 days

• Siamangs are the top trapeze artists of the animal world. They leap with confidence across formidable gaps between branches, launching themselves 30-50 feet, using their hands as hooks. This mode of locomotion is called brachiation. While their arms are used for travel, their feet are used to carry objects. When walking, siamangs will hold their arms above their heads for balance.

• Siamangs sing so loudly that it can be heard for up to three miles. To produce this loud call, siamangs have a hairless, reddish-brown or gray throat pouch which acts as a resonator to enhance the carrying of their call. When not in use, the pouch is hidden under their long, shaggy, jet-black fur. When inflated, the pouch is about the size of a siamang’s head, and amplifies its hooting and barking to ear-splitting levels. Usually involving the adult pair, the male and female sing different but coordinated parts; songs have a definite beginning, middle and end. Each elaborate duet begins slowly, then accelerates in speed. A song lasts about 18 seconds and is repeated for about 15 minutes. They use their high pitched sounds to establish their territory, making sure that other groups of siamangs do not trespass on their home ground. These sounds are also used for inter-group communication and for the location of a mate for breeding purposes. At dawn and sundown, they make the forest resound with their prolonged hoots. 

• For more information, visit http://www.louisvillezoo.org/collection/animals/MammalFS/Siamang.pdf