Baby orangutan born at Paignton Zoo 'is a girl' 9 May 2013 Last updated at 17:20 Staff at a Devon zoo say they are "99.9% sure" an orangutan born last month is a girl. Mali, a Bornean orangutan, gave birth on 11 April, the first orangutan to do so at Paignton Zoo for 16 years. Keepers had been unable to determine what sex the baby was until now because they wanted to be "hands off" unless it was necessary to intervene while Mali got used to her new role. Mother and baby were continuing to do well, a zoo spokesman said. 'Glimpse' of baby Spokesman Phil Knowling said: "We are pretty sure it's a girl. Bornean orangutans Live in the wild in the tropical canopy of Borneo's forest Survive mainly on fruit Females give birth only once every eight years Slow reproduction rate one reason for fall in population Keepers are 99.9% sure that the baby, now a month old, is female. He said it was hoped visitors would be able to "catch a glimpse" of the baby "over the coming months." The baby girl is the first live offspring for 18-year-old Mali, who had a stillborn baby before she was transferred from Munster Zoo in Germany to Paignton in 2007. She will remain with her mother for several years - possibly up to 10 - before she might have to be moved to another zoo as part of the European Endangered Species Programme. The decline of the Bornean orangutan has been blamed on hunting, the pet trade and destruction of its rainforest habitat. Paignton Zoo said the population in the wild has fallen to an estimated 50,000 - less than the population of Torquay.