Philadelphia Zoo announced the birth of a white-handed gibbon, an endangered ape species native to Southeast Asia.
Zookeepers said the baby boy - named Eros after the asteroid that orbits Mars - was born just before the keeper staff arrived on Thursday. The baby was born to 35-year-old mom Phoenice and 34-year-old dad Mercury.
Eros has two older siblings at the zoo, a 5-year-old brother, Polaris and a 2-year-old sister, Ophelia.
Phoenice and Mercury have six offspring in total. Their first child, Leo, is now at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio and their other children, Aires and Orion, are at Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Washington.
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“Philadelphia Zoo is proud to have such a strong history with breeding this endangered ape,” Andrew J. Baker Curator of Primates and Small Mammals Michael Stern said in a news release. “Mom and dad have proven to be great parents over the years, and we can’t wait until the baby is a little older and our guests can watch him playing with big brother and sister.”
Zoo officials said the baby's birth is a part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan breeding program to ensure the survival of this species.
White-handed gibbons are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
For more information visit philadelphiazoo.org.
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