Oregon Zoo's 3-Week-Old Baby Orangutan Named For 'Flaming Locks'

PORTLAND, OR — If you're walking through the Oregon Zoo these days, there' s a good chance that you'll hear Dolly Parton signing maybe her most famous song. Again and again.

That's because the keepers in the primate area have been playing "Jolene" on repeat to honor the zoo's news arrival.

Three weeks ago, one of their orangutans, Kitra, gave birth. The keepers waited a little to do a thorough check up on the baby and they have confirmed that it's a girl.

"Once we confirmed she was girl, our keeper team knew right away what they wanted to call her," said Kate Gilmore, who oversees the primate area.

Welcome to Portland, Jolene.

Gilmore said the inspiration came from lines in the song.

"Your beauty is beyond compare/ with flaming locks of auburn hair."

The zoo said that as the weather has been getting nicer, Kitra and and Jolene have been spending more time in the outside habitat area, and visitors should be able to catch a glimpse of them. That is, Gilmore added, if Kitra is in the mood.

"Kitra can decide whether she and Jolene are up for a trip outside or if they'd rather have some privacy," Gilmore said. "As Jolene gets older and more curious, we expect them to be outside more and more."

Jolene is the first child for Kitra, a 20-year-old who was moved to the Oregon Zoo from Metroparks Zoo in Cleveland in 2015. Jolene's dad, Bob, arrived in Portland in 2014 from the Greenville Zoo in South Carolina.

Orangutans are endangered species, and the Oregon Zoo said that the pairing of Bob and Kitra was based on the recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan for Orangutans.