Dumadi Updates
Stay up to date on Dumadi the baby orangutan and his adventures in Atlanta. Here are the latest updates, with the most recent news at the top of the list:
Happy Birthday Dumadi!
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Dumadi the orangutan will celebrate his first birthday on October 22 – and even though he’s far away in Atlanta, zoo keepers here in Fort Wayne will spend the day thinking of this very special little ape.
Dumadi’s mother Sayang died just an hour after Dumadi was born in Fort Wayne. Zoo keepers raised him for eight months until he was matched with a surrogate orangutan mother, named Madu, at Zoo Atlanta in June. Keepers in Atlanta regularly send photos and update the Fort Wayne staff on Dumadi’s progress.
“We’re amazed to see how much he’s grown,” says Fort Wayne keeper Angie Baldwin of the photos. “He’s doing great in Atlanta.”
According to Laura Mayo, Assistant Curator of Primates at Zoo Atlanta, Dumadi “plays non-stop” with Bernas, a 5-year-old male orangutan. When the two youngsters are separated for any reason, she says, “they squeak in anticipation of being with each other.” All that playing makes Dumadi so tired that he has a hard time waking up in the morning when keepers arrive at 7:00 a.m.!
From all your friends in Fort Wayne: Happy First Birthday, Dumadi!
Atlanta – July 26, 2007
Dumadi Moves into his Atlanta habitat
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Now 9 months old, Dumadi made his public debut in Atlanta this week when he ventured into the orangutan exhibit for the first time.
Madu, Dumadi’s adoptive mother at Zoo Atlanta, carried Dumadi outside for the first time on July 23. Dumadi seemed a little intimidated at first, but he was soon playing in the grass and making "grass angels."
“Dumadi has proven to be a very independent baby,” notes Zoo Atlanta keeper Lorin Milk. When they go outdoors, Madu tries to keep Dumadi by her side, but he insists on going off to explore on his own—at least for awhile. “As soon as Dumadi realizes that he can't see Madu, or that he is scared for some reason, he will cry and she will immediately go and pick him up,” says Milk. “She really is being a great mother.”
Atlanta newspapers and TV stations were on hand to chronicle Dumadi’s appearance
Atlanta – July 5, 2007
Dumadi Meets His Big Brother
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Dumadi was finally introduced today to his big brother Bernas (who most Atlanta keepers call "Junie" or "Junior"). Junie is a 5-year-old male orangutan who was “adopted” by Madu after his mother did not care for him. After being separated from Madu for two weeks while she bonded with Dumadi, Junie was very happy to be reunited with his surrogate mother AND meet little Dumadi.
Junie loves to play with Dumadi, but like all big
brothers, he sometimes gets a little too rough and Madu has to
intervene. Atlanta keeper Lorin Milk reports that Madu is very
good at "rescuing" Dumadi and keeping Junie in line. “I really think
that in no time Dumadi and Junie will be best buddies!” she says.
Atlanta -- June 30, 2007
Dumadi Meets His New Mom
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After only a week in his new home at Zoo Atlanta, Dumadi met his adoptive mother, Madu. The two were introduced on June 28. At first, Dumadi cried, waiting for a zoo keeper to come pick him up. But after a day or two, Dumadi and Madu were playing with a bed sheet together. Madu placed the sheet over both of their heads, then they rolled on the floor and played. By their second night together, Dumadi slept snuggled up against Madu.
At feeding time, zoo keepers just say “Madu, get the baby!” and she brings Dumadi to the mesh window, where keepers can give Dumadi a bottle.
Atlanta zoo keeper Lorin Milk sends regular updates
on Dumadi’s progress to Fort Wayne keepers. “I am confident that
[Dumadi] will have a great life here,” she writes.
Fort Wayne -- June 19, 2007
Dumadi Heads to Atlanta
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After eight months of waiting, Dumadi, the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo’s baby orangutan, will soon meet his adoptive orangutan mother at Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia.
“While we’re sad to see him go, we know this is the best possible situation for Dumadi,” says Zoo Animal Curator Mark Weldon. “We want him to be raised by orangutans, not by humans.”
Dumadi has been cared for behind the scenes by zoo keepers ever since his mother, Sayang, died suddenly just an hour after giving birth to Dumadi on October 22, 2006. Zoo officials suspect that a blood clot caused Sayang’s death.
Dumadi has thrived under the zoo keepers’ care. “Our zoo keepers have done a tremendous job caring for Dumadi around the clock for eight months,” says Weldon. “Their hard work and professional approach have made this opportunity possible.”
Dumadi will meet Madu, his adoptive mother, almost immediately after his arrival in Atlanta. Madu is a 24-year-old female who successfully fostered another baby orangutan, now five years old. The lifespan of a captive orangutan is about 50 years. “We are thrilled to have an experienced orangutan mother available for Dumadi,” says Weldon. “It’s the best possible scenario for him.”
Zoo officials had been considering Melati, the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo’s adult female orangutan, as a possible adoptive mother for Dumadi. But because Melati, age 22, never had a baby herself, and never interacted with a baby orangutan, she exhibited no strong maternal behavior. In addition, Melati has had chronic respiratory problems most of her life and requires daily breathing treatments. A recent physical exam revealed damage to her lungs, so her health could prevent her from caring for Dumadi properly in the future. “Orangutans have the longest childhood dependency of any animal other than humans,” says Weldon. “Mom actively cares for her baby for six to eight years, and we aren’t sure that Melati’s health will allow that.”
Tengku, Dumadi’s 20-year-old father, was never considered as a candidate to nurture Dumadi. “Male orangutans do not participate in the care of their babies at all,” says Weldon. “The female is completely responsible for child rearing.”
Once in Atlanta, Dumadi will spend two weeks in a nursery, where zoo keepers will get to know him and his personality. He’ll then be introduced to Madu at through wire mesh for about a week. Next, Dumadi and Madu will have complete physical contact. “That’s exactly what Dumadi needs,” says Weldon. “These next few months are critical for his development as an orangutan.”
Helping Dumadi to understand his identity is important because orangutans are an endangered species. Only about 14,000-25,000 orangutans remain in the wilds of Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia, and experts predict that wild orangutans could become extinct within 20 years due to loss of habitat. Orangutan breeding in North American zoos is managed by the Orangutan Species Survival Plan (SSP). The SSP is a cooperative program among zoos to maintain genetic diversity within populations of endangered animals. About 300 Sumatran orangutans live in zoos around the world. Only 15-25 orangutans are born in zoos worldwide each year.
Lori Perkins, Director of Animal Programs at Zoo Atlanta and head of the Orangutan SSP, commended the staff at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo for the time and effort put into raising Dumadi. “[The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo staff] has been fantastic throughout this whole process,” she related by e-mail. “We want to see this end successfully for everyone.”
“The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo is part of a huge zoo community in the United States and around the world,” says Zoo Director Jim Anderson. “We all work together to do what’s best for the animals in our care.”
“I am very proud of our staff for their dedication to this little ape,” Anderson says. “We would all love to keep Dumadi in Fort Wayne, but we need to do what’s best for him.”
| Photo Gallery (click these links to see Dumadi's progress) | ||
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