NEW ORLEANS — The Audubon Zoo is celebrating the first birthday of Roux, an endangered Sumatran Orangutan that was born at the zoo last year.

“We are thrilled to celebrate Roux’s first birthday. Every birth of an endangered species is one step closer to saving that species,” said Audubon Nature Institute President and CEO Ron Forman. “Seeing Roux with the rest of the orangutans at Audubon is a success story for the species and a tribute to the dedicated professionals who care for him.”

Roux received round-the-clock human care shortly after his birth in order to give him physical skills needed to successfully join his orangutan family.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Sumatran orangutans are considered to be “critically endangered”, meaning they are threatened with extinction in our lifetime. There are fewer than 14,000 living in the wilderness and their numbers continue to decline, primarily due of human-wildlife and the spread of palm oil plantations into their forest habitat.