California zoo announces birth of white-handed gibbon baby

June 1 (UPI) -- The Oakland Zoo in California announced the birth of a baby white-handed gibbon, which was hailed as a milestone for the zoo's conservation efforts.

The zoo announced parents Mei and Rainier welcomed a baby Sunday evening, and the mother has been "demonstrating excellent maternal care by cradling and nursing her newborn baby."

Mei and Rainier were paired by the zoo in the hopes they would breed as part of the Gibbon Species Survival Plan, which aims to keep the gibbon population sustainable, healthy and genetically diverse.

"This is our first gibbon birth at the Oakland Zoo, and our Animal Care staff has done tremendous work researching and preparing for every possibility. We are delighted that our gibbon family is doing so well," Colleen Kinzley, the zoo's vice president of Animal Care and Conservation, said in a news release.