ByteVibes

The question gripped the Denver Zoo for months: Who was the father of the baby orangutan Siska? Was it 30-year-old Berani or 16-year-old Jaya?

When the paternity results finally came in, the zoo turned to the one man who has been known for delivering this kind of news to men who aren’t exactly sure if they want to be dads. Only Maury Povich could reveal who was the orangutan’s father.

“This is really important,” said Povich, who was dressed in a tuxedo before accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys. Then, he opened the envelope and changed Siska’s life forever.

“When it comes to the orangutan — 4-month-old Siska — Berani …

“ … you are the father!”

The reveal was met by cheers from the Denver Zoo staff and delight from Berani, who was seen swinging on the ropes after Povich’s announcement.

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“Berani is the father!” the staff yelled in glee.

Fresh off receiving the Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Honor, Maury Povich is here to help us announce the paternity results for Siska, our four-month-old Sumatran orangutan! Is Siska's father thirty-year-old Berani or 16-year-old Jaya? Watch the video for the big reveal! 🧡 pic.twitter.com/jyh1Mp0Y7C

The announcement came together after zoo staff went roughly four months unsure about Siska’s paternity. The idea came from Denver Zoo spokesman Jake Kubie, who told The Washington Post that he was admittedly “more of a Maury Povich fan than I thought I was.”

“The first thing that popped into my mind was, ‘You are the father!’” Kubie said on Thursday, referring to how the daytime talk-show host would reveal the results of paternity tests on his show. “It was kind of a joke at first, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if Maury did this?’”

Kubie added, “I was surprised and delighted that he did this for us.” A spokesperson for Povich did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Baby Siska is part of a collective breeding effort to increase the population of Sumatran orangutans, a critically endangered species that has only about 9,200 left in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Orangutans are endangered as a result of several factors, including logging, forest fires and timber clearing for agriculture and human settlements, according to the zoo. They are also hunted and killed for bush meat, and many are captured for the international pet trade.

Jaya was brought to the Denver Zoo to be a potential mating partner for Eirina, Kubie said. Over the past year, the staff started seeing mating and courtship behavior from Jaya and Berani, who had been a father before, toward Eirina. Then, the zoo realized last spring that there would be a new addition to the orangutan family.

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“To everyone’s delight, she did get pregnant, but no one who knew the father was the whole time,” Kubie said.

When Siska was born in August, there was a delay in figuring out the father because the zoo had been unable to get a hair sample from the baby, Kubie said. Zoo staff also had to be careful not to interfere with the mother and the baby during their bonding time.

After the zoo eventually got a hair sample of Siska, it was brought to a lab to be compared with those from Jaya and Berani. The curator for the primates department told Kubie that Berani, not Jaya, was the father — and it got Kubie thinking about what it would look like if a certain daytime talk-show host announced the DNA results.

In a career spanning decades, Povich — whose own father was Washington Post sports columnist Shirley Povich — is perhaps best known for his time as the host of “Maury,” with episodes that resolved paternity claims through the host saying either “You are the father!” or “You are not the father!” While critics questioned Maury Povich for delving into trash TV, the paternity segments are part of the host’s legacy, with millions watching compilation videos on YouTube and the bit being famously spoofed on “South Park” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “Maury” ended in 2022 after 31 years.

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When he was recently asked how he reacts when people on the street request that he deliver his famous line to them, Povich, 84, said he doesn’t mind.

“They’re gonna remember, ‘you are the father, you are not the father,’” he told Entertainment Tonight. “That’s what they’re gonna remember.”

With this in mind, Kubie engaged in what he referred to as “light online stalking” and found a LinkedIn profile for Povich’s former executive producer. Kubie had to shoot his shot.

“This might be an unorthodox idea — or maybe you get hit up for this stuff all the time — but I was wondering if you would be open to helping us out by having Maury reveal the paternity results as only he can,” Kubie wrote in a note he shared with The Post.

Soon, Kubie said he was copied on an email with Povich’s assistant.

“She asked Maury if he would do it and he was game,” Kubie said. “I love that he was wearing a tuxedo.”

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He added, “The fact that he was willing to be a good sport and dedicate time and energy to this meant a lot to us.”

While zoo staff were pulling for Jaya to be a first-time father, everyone was excited about Berani since he has a good track record, Kubie said. When Berani’s mate, Nias, died suddenly from heart complications, Berani stepped into an expanded role for their daughter, Cerah.

“Father orangutans are not known to be very involved to raising their offspring, so it was an exceptional thing that he did that,” Kubie said.

As for Jaya, it’s unclear when he might have another opportunity to mate now that it was confirmed that he’s not the father, Kubie said.

“I would think his chances are on hold for a little while,” Kubie said. “I don’t think we’ll be calling Maury for a follow-up for quite a while.”

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