DENVER — The paternity of an adorable four-month-old baby orangutan named Siska born at the Denver Zoo has been a mystery since the she was born in August.
The zoo chose none other than Maury Povich, the infamous TV personality who's famous for delivering the results of paternity tests on his daytime talk show "Maury," with the line, "You are NOT the father."
Maury made the big reveal Tuesday in a video posted on the Denver Zoo's X page. Siska's father was torn between Berani, 30, or 16-year-old Jaya.
"Berani, you are the father," the host announced in an endearing video that included sounds of applause and cheers from the zoo staff.
According to Jake Kubie, a spokesperson for the Denver Zoo, Povich was not paid for his time.
"We reached out to producers and his executive assistant and they were thrilled and excited, they were very generous with his time and it was kind that he helped us out," Kubie said, "He just did it to be nice and help us."
But as much as Kubie would like to believe that Povich would wear the tux for the recording, it turns out that Povich was just hours away from being honored with a Lifetime Achievement award from the Daytime Emmys.
"I see he’s in the news, and saw an interview of him on the red carpet and it sounds like he is ready to step away from the 'You are the father"' segments and put those behind him," Kubie said, "But he was happy to do it one last time for us."
With all the technology that exists today to find out everything from sex to paternity, many might be wondering why the father of the baby was a mystery.
According to the zoo, there were two potential mates as the Species Survival Plan recommended two breeding mates for the mother.
"This was a very important birth for the specie's survival – there were two mates at a time, we saw breeding activity with both of the males and mom was together and spent time around both males, Berani and Jaya," Kubie said.
Berani is baby Siska's father. He is also the father of the teen, Cerah, who was born in 2018. Kubie said that once the baby was born, they do everything they can to not interfere with the mom and baby bonding.
"So, we took a hair sample from the baby and that took a couple of months to get sample from baby Siska," he said.
The results of the test were a surprise to everyone, Kubie said. "The keepers primate animal caretakers were making some bets, I'm sure."
The baby Sumatran orangutan was named “Siska” in honor of Dr. Fransiska Sulistyo, a renowned orangutan veterinary, conservationist and researcher.
Siska was born on Aug. 27. After her birth, the zoo reported that she and her mom Eirina were thriving in their great apes habitat in Primate Panorama. The zoo found out Eirina was pregnant in the spring and pregnancy lasts about 8.5 months which is very similar to humans Kubie said.
Siska is Eirina’s first baby after receiving a breeding recommendation as part of the Sumatran Orangutan Species Survival Plan and provides an invaluable boost to the critically endangered species.
Eirina came to Denver Zoo from Germany’s Dortmund Zoo in 2016 and enjoys spending time with the zoo’s other female orangutans, including Hesty, 13, and Cerah, 5.
The zoo announced her pregnancy in April, and her pregnancy made national news after it shared her Animal Care team’s innovative cure for Eirina’s morning sickness—the same tea that animal care specialist Cindy Cossaboon drank when she was pregnant with her daughter.
Previous reporting from Janet Oravetz is included in this story.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Latest from 9NEWS