Consultant gynaecologist Neil Maclachlan has clocked up a career first – delivering an orang-utan.
Because humans and apes are very similar anatomically Jersey Zoo asked the consultant, who works at nearby Jersey General Hospital, if he would help with the difficult birth.
And bouncing baby boy Jaya – meaning ‘important or famous’ in Sumatran – was born weighing a healthy 4lbs (1.86kg)
…caesarean sections on great apes are very rare and this is only the second time that the procedure has been carried out in Jersey – the last time was 14 years ago.
Mr Maclachlan, a consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician, said he had been delighted to help – the birth had been an exciting break from his routine human births.
"We do C-sections at the zoo ourselves as well, but you want to give your animals the best chance you can and if you can get someone to operate on them who does this every day then that is what you do."
Mr Lopez said that mum and baby ape were now doing fine.
"She is the perfect mother and she has had lots of experience," he said.
Baby Jaya is now doing well
"After she had first had the operation she looked at the baby as if to say that is nice, but do take it away and then when the pain went she grabbed him and suckled him she has a very strong maternal instinct.
"Just two or three days after the operation she was up and about."
Only about 7,000 of this species survive and some experts are predicting that they will become extinct in the wild within just five years.
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