This beautiful newborn was fathered by Sibu, Dublin Zoo’s beloved orangutan patriarch, who sadly passed away in February. On the 31st of July, Dublin Zoo’s 19-year-old orangutan, Mujur, gave birth to a healthy male infant. Dublin Zoo has held maternal workshops with the help of 30 breastfeeding mothers to show a pregnant orangutan how to feed her infant.
19-year-old orangutan, Mujur, recently gave birth to a healthy male infant whose father is Sibu, Dublin Zoo’s beloved orangutan patriarch, who sadly passed away in February. Mujur has previously given birth to two infants, 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.
But Mujur did not exhibit the necessary maternal qualities and both infants passed away not long after birth. In preparation for the birth of this newborn, Dublin Zoo has been working with Mujur for months, leaving no stone unturned to give her the best chance possible to develop necessary maternal qualities. They put a call out for volunteers from lactation groups in Dublin and surrounding areas and began a lactation learning process.
Over the past few months, 30 women have been taking turns to breastfeed their infants in front of the pregnant Mujur. Mujur was interested in watching the women feed their babies through the glass, and even mirroring some of their actions. On the 31st of July, Dublin Zoo’s 19-year-old orangutan, Mujur, gave birth to a healthy male infant.
Mujur was also shown videos of other orangutans feeding their babies as part of the learning experience. 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.
These efforts had some success, with Mujur 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. But hand-rearing the infant until independence is not a long-term option at Dublin Zoo, so they plan to have the infant cared for at a specialist institution in the UK which is hugely experienced in hand-raising orangutans, subject to necessary health checks. Monkey World is a 65-acre institution officially designated by the Orangutan European breeding program to raise infants who have been rejected by their mother.
The infant 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.” Join the Irish Independent WhatsApp channel Stay up to date with all the latest news.
