Crazy week at Aalborg Zoo: New orangutan baby was in danger

Wednesday morning last week, zookeepers were met with a long-awaited and emotional sight in the orangutan enclosure at Aalborg Zoo:

The orangutan Ruti had given birth to a tiny baby, still wet and lying in the grass with the placenta beside it. A new life – and the beginning of some of the most nerve-wracking and touching days at the zoo.

Quickly grew concerned

Although Ruti immediately showed care and curiosity for her baby, she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.

She tried to comfort it by putting her tongue and a finger in its mouth, but she didn’t manage to place the baby on her breast, and the little one cried.

“At first, we were relieved to see that the baby was alive. But we quickly grew concerned.”

Ruti seemed loving and attentive, but she didn’t understand what her baby needed. It was heartbreaking to witness.

“We couldn’t intervene directly but had to hope she would figure it out herself. I haven’t felt emotions like that since the births of my own children,” says Kenneth Madsen, the zookeeper responsible for primates at Aalborg Zoo.

In the wild, young orangutans often learn motherhood by observing their own mothers. But Ruti, who arrived at Aalborg Zoo in 2022, hasn’t had any role models to mirror, as she didn’t witness her own mother raising a baby during her upbringing.

Unconventional methods

After a couple of days filled with anxiety, despair, and hope, the zookeepers decided to try unconventional measures.

Without a shirt and using an orangutan plush toy from the zoo shop, Trine, another primate keeper, demonstrated how breastfeeding works in front of Ruti.

Kenneth also tried this approach, but it didn’t have the desired effect.

Later that Thursday, the zookeepers found a female guest with a newborn baby, whom they persuaded to breastfeed in front of Ruti. All in the hope that Ruti would finally crack the code on how to help her baby, who by then was growing increasingly weak.

And then, suddenly, it happened.

“It was a moment we’ll never forget. She put the baby to her breast, and it began to nurse. You could almost feel the relief spread throughout the entire zoo,” says Kenneth Madsen.

Since then, the baby has been nursing, sleeping, and snuggling closely with its mother. Ruti is lovingly caring for the little one, and the two appear to be doing very well. Already now, visitors might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them as they bond and slowly find their rhythm together.

And all of Aalborg Zoo is filled with relief and joy. The staff can finally breathe again and enjoy the motherhood now unfolding in the heart of the zoo.

International Breeding Program
Ruti is part of an international breeding program, where she was matched with the male orangutan Pal, who arrived at Aalborg Zoo just a few days after Ruti.

Despite good conditions, it’s far from guaranteed that orangutans in zoos will bond as a pair — and even less so that they’ll have offspring. But Ruti and Pal certainly did, according to Aalborg Zoo.

“That’s what makes this so significant. It says everything about their well-being that we’ve seen natural mating — and that they’ve succeeded in creating a baby together. It’s a major victory for both the animals and the long-term conservation work with the species,” explains Kenneth Madsen.