Ayaan, Singapore Zoo's first orangutan born through artificial insemination, makes his public debut on Thursday (May 21) at the zoo's orangutan exhibit.The male Sumatran orangutan was delivered by Caesarean section on March 18, after his mother, Chomel, developed placenta praevia, a condition in which the placenta sits over the birth canal.Mandai Wildlife Group believes the case is the first documented instance globally of an orangutan birth involving placenta praevia in which both mother and infant survived.It is also the first successful artificial insemination (AI) birth of an orangutan at the Singapore Zoo, and the first Caesarean section the group has performed on the species.Ayaan, whose name means «blessing» in Arabic, was symbolically adopted by SMRT Corporation on May 20 at a ceremony held at the orangutan exhibit.Years-long effort to save a genetic lineThe road to his birth began in 2018.His father Charlie, a 48-year-old Sumatran orangutan, carries a genetic profile that is unrepresented in the managed population of the species. Read more