2023-12-23 16:51:00
(CNN) — Five words from famed daytime talk show host Maury Povich helped Denver Zoo employees solve the months-long mystery of which orangutan fathered calf Siska: “Berani, you’re the father!” .
Last spring, when the pregnancy of Sumatran orangutan Eirina, Siska’s mother, was confirmed, zoo employees were unsure who the father was, according to Denver Zoo integrated communications director Jake Kubié.
They knew there were two possibilities: 16-year-old Jaya, an orangutan who was transferred to the Denver Zoo as Eirina’s companion in 2019; or Berani, 30 years old.
“After Siska was born on August 27, 2023, our Animal Health and Care teams were very careful not to interfere with Eirina and Siska’s bonding time and had to wait a few months before being able to obtain a hair sample from Siska. Siska to be able to compare his DNA with samples from Berani and Jaya,” Kubié told CNN in an email.
It also noted that the zoo’s animal care specialists had previously observed courtship and mating activity between Eirina and Berani, both members of a critically endangered species.
According to the Denver Zoo, about 9,200 orangutans remain in the wild. Jaya was brought to the zoo as part of a Sumatran orangutan species survival plan.
A DNA test finally revealed the results, and Kubié said he could think of only one person who could make the big announcement: the longest-running daytime talk show host in television history.
The 84-year-old former host has become known as the king of paternity test results after such revelations became a common segment of his show “Maury,” which ended in 2022 after 31 seasons.
“That led me to wonder if Maury could help us with the announcement,” Kubié said.
So, he contacted Povich’s former executive producer, who put the zoo in touch with Povich’s executive assistant, according to Kubié.
Kubié says he wrote in an initial email to Povich’s team: “This might be an unorthodox idea, or maybe you get asked these things all the time, but I was wondering if you would be willing to help us if we invited Maury to reveal the results.” of fatherhood as only he can do.
Povich’s assistant confirmed that the former talk show host was willing to make the big announcement.
The zoo received the video of Povich making the big reveal on Dec. 15, just before accepting a special honor that same night, Kubié said.
“Fresh off receiving the Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Honor, Maury Povich is here to help us announce the paternity results for Siska, our 4-month-old Sumatran orangutan!” the Denver Zoo posted on X on Dec. 19, alongside to the video in which Povich appears wearing a tuxedo while holding a yellow 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! Is Siska’s father thirty-year-old Berani or 16-year-old Jaya? Watch the video for the big reveal! pic.twitter.com/jyh1Mp0Y7C
— Denver Zoo (@DenverZoo) December 19, 2023
“About 4-month-old orangutan Siska, Berani: you’re the father!” Povich announced in the clip, which then shows the zoo team applauding the news.
“Maury and his team were wonderful to work with and we cannot express our gratitude enough for sharing some of his time and energy to support us, especially on such an important day for him personally,” Kubié said.
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