AN ORANGUTAN born and reared at Monkey World has become a mother.

Hsiao-Ning, one of the first members of the rescue centre’s orangutan crèche, has given birth to a baby girl at Rostock Zoo in Germany.

Hsiao-Ning had to be hand-reared by keepers before moving into the specially-designed crèche. It allowed her to grow up with a female adult, and other youngsters, to learn all the social and physical skills she would need in life. In 2012, as an adult, she moved to Rostock Zoo to be with a young male of her own age.

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 orangutan crèche, such as our most recent arrival Mimi from Moscow Zoo, will also go on to be good mothers.”