Maury Povich Reveals Paternity Test To Orangutan
Everybody’s favorite administrator of paternity tests, Maury Povich, recently helped the Denver Zoo clear up a pressing mystery. The renowned and meme-friendly daytime talk show host announced the paternity of a baby orangutan. While this unconventional approach was adorable and humorous, it also shed much-appreciated light on the dead-serious conservation status of these primates.
Siska, a four-month-old female Sumatran orangutan born on August 27, was at the center of this unique paternity case. Siska is the first-born offspring of Eirina, a 15-year-old Sumatran orangutan who was transferred from Germany’s Dortmund Zoo to the Denver Zoo in 2016. At the time, Siska’s paternity was an open question and remained so until Maury Povich did his magic.
Only after Eirina—ever the protective mother—permitted the zoo’s animal care team to get close enough could experts collect Siska’s hair sample and test her DNA.
Dramatically declaring that an orangutan named Barani was the father—“Berani, you are the father!”—Povich revealed the DNA results for young Siska, mirroring his iconic TV schtick. In true Maury style, the daytime talk show host yanked the paternity result test from an envelope; the father was identified as a 30-year-old male orangutan.
Perhaps the other paternal candidate rumored to be Siska’s parent, 16-year-old Jaya, felt a wave of relief when Maury Povich announced Berani’s name.
The hilarious and melodramatic reveal was spurred and primarily facilitated by the Denver Zoo’s director of communications, Jake Kubié, who reached out to Povich’s team. The director of communications shared that, like most people, upon hearing the paternity test results, he thought of Maury (we can’t blame him).
Soon, he was in contact with Povich’s former executive producer, who helped organize the memorable collaboration.
Of course, the zoo posted the stupendous video of Povich’s announcement on social media. The post generated understandable amusement and awareness of Maury’s gimmick and the state of orangutan conservation, respectively. For his part, Maury Povich recorded the special message just before attending the Daytime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. At these awards, 84-year-old Povich received a Lifetime Achievement Honor, presented to him by his wife, esteemed journalist Connie Chung.
However light-hearted, the event contributed attention to the plight of Sumatran orangutans, which the International Union classifies for Conservation of Nature as a critically endangered species. Habitat loss, illegal hunting, and the insidious black-market pet trade—made famous by the notorious Netflix reality show Tiger King—account for the marked decline in the Sumatran orangutan population.
When not popularized by Maury Povich, Sumatran orangutans are associated with, and native to, Indonesia’s Sumatra island. They are recognized by their distinctive red fur and profound, impressive intelligence.
One of three orangutan species, Sumatrans are tinier and are more arboreal (spend more time in trees) than their Bornean counterparts. They subsist on a diet of fruit, leaves, bark, and, yes, insects. Predominantly solitary, their complex social structure occasionally involves the formation of loose groups.
As a reminder of the immense importance of conservation efforts for these incredible creatures, the Denver Zoo’s creative collaboration with Maury Povich simultaneously amuses and serves a good cause.
Source: Denver Zoo
