Many moms can relate to breastfeeding struggles, because it’s hard stuff—and that goes for all mothers, the human kind and primate. When an orangutan at the Metro Richmond Zoo delivered her baby, she too was struggling. Until the zookeepers came up with a genius (and beautiful) plan to teach the orangutan breastfeeding.
According to the zoo, the first baby delivered by 14-year-old orangutan Zoe had been hand-raised, so when she delivered her second baby, she needed a little help with breastfeeding. The zoo’s veterinarian contacted Whitlee Turner—a zookeeper and newborn mom herself—to ask if she would breastfeed her own baby in front of Zoe. The hope was that Zoe would learn by example.
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Turner agreed and she and her son Caleb were welcomed inside the orangutan’s indoor enclosure soon after the birth of Zoe’s unnamed baby boy.
“I just had my breastfeeding bra on, and I was able to show [Zoe] everything with zero modesty,” Turner explained. “I wanted her to be able to see the whole process because orangutans don’t wear shirts. I wanted her to be able to see my breasts and see Caleb and be able to see him rooting and looking for it and the latch. The whole time she just kept watching me curiously. She didn’t immediately breastfeed her baby, but she was definitely watching the whole time.”
After that, Zoe nursed her baby for the first time less than 24 hours later!
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Lead zookeeper Jessica Gring even helped keep the learning process going by wearing a stuffed animal around her neck, similar to how a baby orangutan would cling to its mother.
“I was able to grab some biscuits on the ground and pretend like I was eating them while I was holding the baby,” Gring said. “I was able to show Zoe and spread the stuffed animal’s legs a little bit and hold them up to the front so Zoe would see and check it out. After he was born, Zoe immediately came over and did the exact same thing and showed me and let me look at his feet and his body.”
The Metro Richmond Zoo says that Zoe and her baby are both healthy and bonding well. How sweet is that?
A version of this story was originally published on April 3, 2023. It has been updated.
