On Monday, December 6th, Melbourne Zoo's Sumatran Orangutan Maimunah gave birth to a female baby. Keepers were on hand to observe the birth and remained on duty to watch over Maimunah and her baby. Zoo Director Kevin Tanner said, 'We would like to put this birth into a larger perspective: about 50 individuals of this endangered species die every week in South-east Asia due to the rapid expansion of palm oil plantations. ‘We hope the community will support our campaign calling for change to food labeling laws, so that when manufacturers use palm oil that will be shown on the label. ‘It's encouraging to know that our supermarket choices can make a difference to Orangutan survival in the wild.  For how to help, please see Don't Palm Us Off.

Photo and video credits: Melbourne Zoo