Baby Orangutan Gets a New Mom!

 

After eight months of waiting, Dumadi, the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo’s baby orangutan, will meet his adoptive orangutan mother this week 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 will soon meet his adoptive mother in Atlanta, Georgia.

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 is scheduled to leave Fort Wayne on Wednesday.  He’ll 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.”

 

Zoo Atlanta houses ten orangutans, comprising the largest orangutan group in the country.

 

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.”

 

The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo is northeast Indiana’s top tourist attraction, drawing 500,000 visitors each year.  The zoo is completely self-supporting and receives no tax funding for operations.  The zoo was named one of the “Top Ten Zoos for Kids” by Child magazine and was voted “Fort Wayne’s Best Attribute.”

 

The zoo is open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through October 14.  Admission is $8.00 for adults, $5.00 for children age 2-14, and $7.00 for seniors over age 60.  Babies age 1 and under and Zoo Society Members are admitted free.