BERLIN (AP) — A paternity test on a baby orangutan has come back with a surprising result.
Basel Zoo in northwestern Switzerland said Thursday the test showed 5-month-old Padma wasn’t fathered by the male in her enclosure.
Keepers routinely take DNA samples from newborn orangutans because the endangered great apes are part of a breeding program.
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Researchers at Basel University’s forensic laboratory compared Padma’s DNA to that of Budi, a 14-year-old male living in the same enclosure as the baby’s mother, Maja.
They found it didn’t match Budi’s DNA. Instead, it matched 18-year-old orangutan Vendel, who lives in the next enclosure.
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It appears that for Maja and Vendel, the dominant male at Basel Zoo, the dividing fence was no obstacle to some monkey business.
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Basel Zoo: https://www.zoobasel.ch/en/aktuell/index.php
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