BERLIN (AP) — A paternity test on a baby orangutan has come back with a surprising result.
Basel Zoo in northwestern Switzerland said Thursday that the test shows 5-month-old Padma wasn't fathered by the male in her enclosure.
Keepers routinely take DNA samples from newborn orangutans because the endangered great apes are part of a breeding program.
Researchers at Basel University's forensic laboratory compared Padma's DNA to that of Budi, a 14-year-old male living in the same enclosure as her mother, Maja.
They found it didn't match Budi's DNA. Instead, it matched that of 18-year-old orangutan Vendel, who lives in the next enclosure.
It appears that for Maja and Vendel, the zoo's dominant male, the dividing fence was no obstacle to some monkey business.
Read the Top 8
Sign up for the Top 8, a roundup of the day's top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday.
