Zoo announces birth of adorable baby orangutan - PennLive

Posted by parceline on

Thursday, May 14, 2020

The Toledo Zoo announced a new addition today.

Baby male orangutan, Fajar, was born in October but only recently reunited with his mom, Leela.

And he is adorable.

According to the zoo in Ohio, Fajar was born to Leela and Bajik, Bornean orangutans who became first-time parents on Oct. 12, 2019.

Right now, Leela and Fajar are together in an off-exhibit area “with dad nearby as they continue to bond. A public debut has not been set.”

Fajar, however, had a bit of a rough start.

According to the zoo, the animal care staff became concerned when shortly after birth, the placenta remained attached.

The zoo reported, “The decision was made to separate mom and baby for a full veterinary examination. Tests revealed Fajar had an infection in the umbilicus. While being treated for the infection, the new offspring was hand-reared by great apes’ staff 24 hours a day.

For approximately 6 months, great apes’ staff had to constantly hold the baby, who in the wild would cling to mom, while also trying to maintain a close bond between mom and baby. Keepers trained daily with both Fajar and Leela in hopes of reuniting them as soon as possible. Leela’s maternal training behaviors were positively reinforced, and using a bottle stick for feeding, the baby was introduced.

At the same time, Fajar was trained to climb, crawl and take a bottle on a stick for feeding through the mesh. While these behaviours are quite advanced for such a young orangutan, they were necessary to ensure proper care and diet. Throughout the process, much time was spent simply allowing Leela and Fajar to bond. When it was determined that both orangutans were ready, one-on-one time was introduced.”

On April 6, mom and baby were reintroduced. After seeing “consistently healthy bonding and proper care,” they were left together overnight.

Because they were doing well, human intervention was discontinued.

Fajar weighs a little over 12 pounds, “has 10 teeth and eats rice cereal mixed with fruits and vegetables, while also starting to sample foods from Leela.”

Suzanne Husband, associate curator of mammals at the zoo, gave credit to the animal care team for the care they provided to Fajar.

“They stepped in and cared for this new baby just like parents. They worked around the clock, stuck to the feeding schedule, changed diapers and even wore him in a baby sling while they worked to ensure proper strength and form for him to hold on just like in the wild. Successfully reuniting mom and baby was always the goal and we could not be prouder of our team and the new orangutan family,” she said.

The Toledo Zoo and Aquarium is currently closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. It is offering Facebook live events, virtual tours and online educational materials.

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