Wingham Wildlife Park near Canterbury announces pair of Bornean orangutans are expecting a baby this summer

A Kent animal park is to see the birth of a baby orangutan this summer.

Wingham Wildlife Park has announced female Awan is about three-and-a-half months pregnant.

The orangutan moved to the Rushden Road site, between Canterbury and Sandwich, last year and quickly became besotted with male, Jin, who arrived from Dorset's Monkey World in 2019.

A statement released by Wingham Wildlife Park read: "A very special moment is unfolding - one of our orangutans is expecting.

"This incredible journey isn’t just exciting for us, but it’s also a powerful reminder of the challenges orangutans face in the wild.

"With populations declining due to habitat loss and deforestation, every birth is a step toward securing the future of this critically endangered species.

"We did promise 2025 was going to be our best year yet and we will not disappoint."

Keepers also care for Bornean orangutans Molly and Belayan at the park.

Orangutans can weigh up to 200lbs and be more than one metre in height.

The omnivores are also the heaviest tree-dwelling animal and can live up to 50 years old.

But all three sub-species - Bornean, Sumatran, and Tapanuli orangutans - are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), there were more than 230,000 a century ago compared to about 110,000 today.

Reasons for their sharp population decline include loss of habitat, poaching and extreme weather conditions such as wildfires in their native south east Asia rainforests.