A three-part series that follows the difficult transition of an infant orangutan from a Colorado Zoo to his new home at the Milwaukee County Zoo debuted on July 5 in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper, and cast that struggle against the obstacles facing orangutans in the wild.

“Ambassador Mahal: Face of a Dying Species,” was written by Jan Uebelherr, who followed each step of the decision to transfer Mahal, a 10-month old Bornean orangutan, from his home at the overcrowded Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to the zoo in Milwaukee. The transfer was enacted only after Mahal was rejected by his birth-mother.

Uebelherr compared Mahal’s battles to adjust to his new life with those of orangutans in the jungles of Borneo and Sumatra, which are racing towards extinction as rainforests disappear and humans close in. Experts predict that wild orangutans will become extinct in the wild by 2025 unless drastic measures are taken to protect them.

In addition, a children’s storybook, Little Mahal and the Big Search for a Real Mom, has been published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and is available to purchase ($3.95) online.

To read “Ambassador Mahal: Face of a Dying Species,” please go to http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=766448.