Mothers Unite To Show Orangutan How To Feed Her Baby

A breastfeeding mother unite with an rangutan, showing her how to feed her baby. Dublin zoo held a special maternal workshop with the help of 30 breastfeeding mothers to show a pregnant orangutan how to feed her baby. The 19-year-old orangutan, Mujur, recently gave birth to a male infant whose father is Sibu, Dublin Zoo’s beloved orangutan patriarch. He died in February this year.

This is the third child of Mujur. She has previously given birth in in 2019 and 2022. For the first three years of an orangutan infant’s life, they are completely dependent on their mother for food and transportation, like human beings. However, Mujur did not portrayed the necessary maternal qualities and both infants passed away not long after birth.

Preparing for the birth of the new baby, Dublin Zoo has been working with Mujur for months. The zoo left no stones unturned in giving her the best chance possible to develop the adequate maternal qualities.

The authorities put a call out for volunteers from lactation groups in Dublin and surrounding areas and began a lactation learning process. Over the span of past few months, 30 women have been taking turns to breastfeed their infants in front of the pregnant Mujur.

Reportedly, Mujur was interested in watching the women feed their babies through the glass, and even mirroring some of their actions. She was also shown videos of other orangutans feeding their babies.

The efforts appear to have a little positive result, as Mujur started showing good maternal care towards the infant after the birth, however she was not putting him in the right position for feeding so the infant and mother were separated so bottle feeding could begin.

The orangutans are a critically endangered species, with females typically only giving birth every three to five years, to one infant at a time. Sibu’s genetic profile is considered to be extremely important for the Orangutan European breeding program, said media report.
Dublin zoo do not find hand-rearing the infant until independence as a long-term option. Therefore, they plan to have the infant cared for at a specialist institution in the UK which is hugely experienced in hand-raising orangutans.

The baby will continue to be cared for by the Dublin Zoo animal care team for another few weeks, before making the trip to his new home.
Dublin Zoo said: “The whole team has already fallen hopelessly in love with him, and it will be difficult to say goodbye, however we are confident that he is being sent to the best possible place for him to continue to develop and thrive.

(With inputs from agencies)