MELBOURNE Zoo's baby Sumatran orangutan Dewi has made a sleepy first public appearance with mum Miamunah.
One-month-old Dewi clung to her protective mother as they ventured outside for the first time today and spent most of the time dozing as Miamunah wandered languidly around their outdoor enclosure.
Having spent her first month indoors with Miamunah as keepers kept an eye on the pair since birth, Dewi, which means goddess in Indonesian, is already showing signs of intelligence.
"She has been very aware of her surroundings and very bright and alert, we think she's going to be a very intelligent girl," senior keeper Fleur Butcher said.
After her first venture outdoors, she will soon join her father Santan and seven-year-old brother Menyaru as a family.
Dewi is the second baby orangutan to be born at Melbourne Zoo and will be on display for the public sporadically as she grows over the coming months.
..Sumatran orangutans are increasingly endangered in the wild, with their natural habitat shrinking as palm-oil plantations rapidly expand.
video Here
Story credit Here
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
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We were at the zoo a few days before Christmas (so about 1 and 1/2 weeks before this story and we were standing all about on the viewing platform looking for the orangutans... we couldn't see any until the mum climbed up from below and stood before us only a few feet from the glass presenting her baby . She stood there for several minutes until a small crowd gathered and then she wandered off (still up on the raised platform) to the back corner and prepared a little bed with her straw... wow it was amazing to witness and hear about. My daughter (71/2) was where she appeared in front of at first ... she stood in awe as others gathered ... It was like she came up especially to show Brigid, my daughter, her baby and then other people were drawn to the scene. Of course I didn't catch any of it on camera and I myself only saw the last few glimpses before she wandered off to make her bed as I was a late arrival on the scene. We went to the souvenir shop to buy a baby orangutan souvenir and were told that they didn't have any good photos of the baby yet as 'she hadn't presented'... So we truly feel very lucky!!! Our lowly story never made it to the international news but, wow, it was amazing. I just wanted to share it with anyone and everyone anyway. Brigid has always had very lucky and happy zoo experiences.... I wonder if the mummy orangutan 'sensed' my little girls special light presence and decided to come forward to her?
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might I just add to my last story ... Lets keep 'palm oil' out of our diets... It is incredibly bad for us to eat and it destroys the habitats of these beautiful creatures.
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Dear itsrachelt;
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your wonderful story with me and all of the readers here.
Your daughter must have a special aura around her because Apes just know really kind hearted, fearless, innocent people. They do seem to be attracted to them. What a great experience for both you and your daughter. I;m sure your daughter will remember this for the rest of her life. The mum certainly thought she was special enough to get a look at her new baby. She was sharing her happiness with your daughter. That's wonderful!
I believe with the knowledge I have of Apes that Mum actually did bring her baby over for your daughter to see. That just brings tears to my eyes and warmness in my heart.
After having an experieince like that it does change your mind or make you aware of how very special Apes are, and that it is our duty to protect them. Thank you also for posting about Palm oil which is in a lot of things we eat, such as Pizza Huts pizza, the liquid creamora that is flavored and lots of other things. I always make sure that I read ingredients before buying something new. If every one out of 5 people would stop buying products that contain palm oil we could probably get things under control.
xo back to you.