Dublin Zoo has a new resident after its 19-year-old orangutan, Mujur, gave birth to an adorable male baby.
Mujur had previously given birth to two babies in 2019 and 2022, but had difficulty breastfeeding and both babies died shortly after birth.
To prepare for the birth of this newborn, Dublin Zoo enlisted the help of 30 nursing mothers who took part in an unusual mothering workshop.
Nora Murphy, a first-time mother from Rathfarnham in Dublin, jumped at the chance to be involved in the project.
“Breastfeeding worked for me, but I know it doesn’t always work for other women. I felt like I was passing the torch (to Mujur),” she said. The Irish Times.
Nora Murphy (pictured), a first-time mother from Rathfarnham in Dublin, jumped at the chance to get involved in the project.
Dublin Zoo has a new resident after its 19-year-old orangutan, Mujur, gave birth to an adorable male baby.
The baby was born on July 31st to a male father, Sibu, who sadly passed away in February.
“Orangutans are a critically endangered species and females typically only give birth to one baby at a time every 3 to 5 years, meaning this birth is hugely significant,” Dublin Zoo said.
‘Sibu’s genetic profile is considered extremely important to the European orangutan breeding programme and the entire team at Dublin Zoo is very happy to see his legacy live on through this breeding.’
With her previous offspring, Mujur did not exhibit the maternal qualities necessary for survival, including breastfeeding and carrying.
“For the first three years of an orangutan’s life, it is completely dependent on its mother for food and transport,” Dublin Zoo said.
‘They cling to their mother as she moves and feed on her breast milk.
‘This means that maternal qualities are absolutely vital to the child’s well-being.’
The baby was born on July 31st to Sibu (pictured), a boy who sadly passed away in February.
While Mujur attempted to feed her baby, unfortunately she was not positioning him correctly for feeding, and zookeepers decided to start bottle-feeding him.
Ahead of the birth of its latest calf, Dublin Zoo has put out a call for volunteers from nursing groups in and around Dublin.
Thirty women signed up and spent time breastfeeding their babies in front of Mujur in the months leading up to birth.
Mujur was “extremely interested” in watching the women, according to Dublin Zoo.
Ms Murphy, who has a 10-month-old daughter, Elodi, explained: “You find yourself rooting for (Mujur).
‘You’re going from being a mother to trying to help an expectant mother.
‘You’d be talking to him and saying, “Look, this is what you need to do.”
“She would just stare at you, really paying attention to what you were doing. She would hand express milk as time went on, which was magical.”
Zookeepers are now caring for the baby, before it is transferred to Monkey World, an ape rescue centre in Dorset.
While Mujur attempted to feed her baby, unfortunately she was not positioning him correctly for feeding and the zookeepers decided to start bottle feeding him.
“As is international best practice, we do not normally intervene in these situations to ensure conditions are as natural as possible,” Dublin Zoo said.
‘However, given the importance of this baby and its genetic profile inherited from its father Sibu, the difficult decision was made to separate the baby from Mujur and start bottle feeding.’
Zookeepers are now caring for the baby, before it is transferred to Monkey World, an ape rescue centre in Dorset.
“The animal care team at Dublin Zoo will continue to care for the baby for a few more weeks before it makes its way to its new home,” the team added.
‘The whole team has already fallen madly in love with him, and it will be hard to say goodbye, however, we are confident that they are sending him to the best possible place for him to continue to develop and thrive.’