
Audubon Zoo informed this week that the baby Sumatran orangutan born on Christmas Eve 2021 has been officially named “Roux.”
They added that the name was chosen as an homage to New Orleans culture and cuisine “a reddish-brown like the color of an orangutan’s fur ant the thickening base used to make a gumbo.”
While thinking about ideas, they came up with three adorable options, including Rudy, Roux, and Maymuun, and let the public vote on the winner.
“We are grateful for the community for helping us pick a name and extremely overwhelmed by the nearly 10K total votes that were cast”, said the Zoo’s Curator of Primates, Liz Wilson, in a statement.
They also added that Roux is in good health and has continued to gain weight, and has begun visual introduction with the rest of the orangutan group at the Zoo. There’s still no exact date for when visitors will be able to meet the baby orangutan; however, we’re all certainly looking forward to it!
Featured image by Audubon Zoo.