Endangered orangutan born through assisted reproduction

CONNECTICUT (WABC) -- After decades of trial and error by major universities and zoological institutions, a small nonprofit conservation center in Connecticut has successfully developed a program using assisted reproduction to aid in the plight of wild orangutans facing extinction.

On May 20, 2014, Maggie, a 22-year-old orangutan at LEO Zoological Conservation Center gave birth to a baby male orangutan, and both mother and baby are healthy and doing well.

The breakthrough completes the first step of center's Wild Cycling Program, which began two years ago.

Wild cycling, first coined by center founder and director Marcella Leone, aims for the eventual recycling of genes in and out of zoological institutions and wild populations in order to expand genetic diversity.

The center invited Dr. Mark Leondires, of Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut, a leader in the fertility field and treatment of infertility in humans, to aid in the program. Dr. Leondires, veterinarians and staff monitored the female orangutans to track ovulation and menstruation cycles to determine the least invasive treatment plan with the best chance of success, while staff developed a training and conditioning standard based on their natural habits.

Together, they performed natural cycle intrauterine insemination (IUI) with sperm collected from a male orangutan. This single round of treatment successfully resulted in pregnancy.

This scientific advancement comes at a critical time, as the orangutan population has decreased by 50 percent over the past 60 years. Many experts estimate that orangutans will be extinct in their natural habitat in the next 25 years.

"We are proud to contribute to the continued existence of this gentle, intelligent species through the success of our ongoing Wild Cycling Program," Leone said. "The science here could redefine the ways conservationists and scientists approach wildlife preservation in the future."

Both Maggie and baby are doing very well after a short labor in her favorite yellow wheelbarrow, which she continues to make sleeping nests in every night. Maggie's baby has been a precious addition that is not only doted on by his mother but also by the other five orangutans at the center.

As the Wild Cycling Program continues to progress, officials say second pregnant, soon-to-be first-time orangutan mother will be spending her days alongside Maggie and her new baby in order to learn the necessary parenting skills.

LEO Zoological Conservation Center needs help naming the new baby. Visit LEOzoo.org/namethebaby to submit your suggestion. We are accepting recommendations until 12:00pm EST on June 30, 2014.