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 walks with his surrogate mother
Madu at Zoo Atlanta. Dumadi will celebrate his first birthday on October
22. |
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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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| With his adoptive mother, Madu, looking on,
Dumadi explores his outdoor habitat at Zoo Atlanta |
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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 has a new big brother to play with in
Atlanta. |
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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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| Dumadi has bonded with his adoptive mother,
Madu. |
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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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| Dumadi will soon meet his adoptive mother in
Atlanta, Georgia. |
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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.”
Dumadi videos!
Choose the file size best suited to your connection speed. |
Dial-Up
(2.4 MB file) |
Broadband
(21 MB file) |
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Please Note: This video is
silent. Windows Media Player 6.4 or higher is required
to view the file. |
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Photo Gallery (click these
links to see Dumadi's progress) |
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