Endangered orangutan gives birth to healthy infant

The male baby born to Menari at the zoo in New Orleans on Christmas Eve (Audubon Zoo/AP)

A critically endangered Sumatran orangutan in New Orleans, in the US, has given birth to a healthy male baby, but his twin brother died in the womb, officials at the Audubon Zoo said.

Twelve-year-old Menari gave birth to the first baby without trouble on Christmas Eve and was mothering it appropriately, but she was having problems after that, according to a news release.