There’s a baby orangutan at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo who needs a name

There’s a baby male orangutan at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo who is ready for fans and a name.

Zoo officials announced the baby’s Nov. 5 birth in a news release Tuesday – the newborn’s first day in a zoo exhibit with human spectators.

Zoo guests can help choose the baby’s name through Nov. 30 by purchasing a $1 token at the zoo admission booth, selecting a favorite name, and dropping the token into a voting device at the orangutan exhibit.

Name options:

Kadek, which means “little brother” in Balinese. Zoo officials said it’s a name traditionally given to a second sibling.

Hantu, which means “ghost” in Malay. Zoo officials said Malay folklore often refers to orangutans as “ghosts of the forest.”

Vikal, which means “twilight, evening” in Hindi. The baby orangutan was born in the twilight hours.

The winning name will be announced Dec. 1.

“Further public appearances are up to Mom and weather permitting,” said Alisha Anderson, a zoo spokeswoman. “It needs to be more than 60 degrees and it is ultimately Mom’s choice. The hope is, since he was out once, it will happen more and more!”

The mother of the infant is 29-year-old Siabu. She came to Fresno in 2001 from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.

The father is 34-year-old Busar, who came to Fresno in 1997 from Zoo Atlanta.

Siabu and Busar are also the parents of female Ndari, born Dec. 18, 2010, whose name means “full moon” in Indonesian.

The baby born this month is Busar’s second offspring with Siabu, and third offspring overall. He and 47-year-old female Sara welcomed male Labu on Oct. 31, 2010. His name means “pumpkin” in Indonesian.

This story was originally published November 20, 2018 at 6:17 PM.