'You are the father!': Maury Povich declares paternity results for Denver Zoo orangutan
LEFT: Siska and her mother Eiriana, RIGHT: Father Berani (Credit: Denver Zoo/Animal Care Specialist Christa K.)
DENVER - The Denver Zoo decided to have a little fun with the results of which orangutan was the father of its new baby primate, turning to the paternity announcement guru himself: Maury Povich.
Just as Povich would do on his long-running show, the former daytime talk show host pulled the purported DNA results for the 4-month-old female orangutan named Siska out of an envelope.
"Fresh off receiving the Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Honor, Maury Povich is here to help us announce the paternity results for Siska, our four-month-old Sumatran orangutan!," the Denver Zoo wrote on social media earlier this week. "Is Siska's father thirty-year-old Berani or 16-year-old Jaya?"
In the video, Povich declares, "Berani. You are the father!"
Siska was born on Aug. 27 and is the first baby for Eirina, a 15-year-old Sumatran orangutan, who came to the Denver Zoo from Germany’s Dortmund Zoo in 2016, according to the Associated Press.
Sumatran orangutans are one of the three species of orangutans and are listed as critically endangered by World Wildlife.
(Credit: Denver Zoo)
Siska's father remained a mystery because the zoo's animal care team had to wait a few months before Eirina was comfortable allowing them to get close enough to get a hair sample from Siska to compare her DNA against 30-year-old Berani and 16-year-old Jaya.
RELATED: Study: Chimpanzees recognize photos of friends they haven't seen for decades
"Everyone was incredibly friendly and enthusiastic about the idea, and I can’t express enough gratitude to Maury for dedicating a bit of his time and energy to supporting Denver Zoo — especially on such a big day for him personally," Jake Kubié, a spokesperson for the zoo, said.
This story was reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed.