The first moments of a baby Sumatran orangutan's life - a critically endangered species - were captured by Chester Zoo in England, hours after the infant's birth.

The youngster was born to mum Emma, the 30-year-old ape's fifth baby, overnight on Sunday at the zoo.

Nick Davis, Chester Zoo's Deputy Curator of Mammals said, "It is very early days, but the baby looks very healthy and is bonding well with mum in these precious first few hours. It is wonderful to have a tiny new infant in our family of stunning Sumatran orangutans."

The baby's name hasn't been settled on yet, as it is too early to determine the gender of newborn orangutan.

Sumatran orangutans are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, with fewer than 6,500 estimated to be left in the wild.

Orangutans have been pushed to the edge of extinction in South East Asia as their rainforest home is destroyed to make way for unsustainable oil palm plantations.