The birth of a baby orangutan at Belgium's Pairi Daiza animal park has brought renewed hope for animal conservationists. 

Orangutans are a critically endangered species due to deforestation in their natural habitats. Sumatran orangutan has been added to the International Union of Conservation of Nature red list, a critical indicator of the health of the world's biodiversity, due to their population decline. 

Named Mathai, the male orangutan was found in the arms of his mother by the staff at the park.

Amandine Lucas, who works at the zoo said, "he is a beautiful baby orangutan of about 1.5 kilos, a totally normal weight for a baby orangutan.

"He's doing great, he's drinking very well, mom is very, very protective with him and it's going really great."

Currently, there are only around 14,600 Sumatran orangutans remaining in the wild.