Dublin Zoo enlists help of breastfeeding mothers to encourage female orangutan bond with her newborn

Mujur delivered a baby orangutan, as yet unnamed, on July 31st at the zoo after her pregnancy had initially taken staff by surprise.

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Mujur had previously given birth to two other infants, but she seemed to lack a maternal instinct and staff at the zoo had also been unable to get her to latch on for breastfeeding.

Mr McClure said they decided to bring in midwife and lactation specialist Lizzie Reeves, a midwife employed on the breastfeeding team at the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin.

Ms Reeves organised for 30 breastfeeding mothers to work in rosters prior to the birth of the baby orangutan for an hour or two each morning. The hope was that they could teach Mujur how to get her baby to latch on as apes are highly intelligent and “mirror behaviour”.

Ms Reeves said she didn’t hesitate to help when the call came in from the zoo and instantly had a group of 30 women volunteering to take part.

She said the keepers closed off the orangutan house every morning for the mothers.

“We had a maximum of four women a day. The chairs were all set up and there was safety glass between Mujur and the women who were breastfeeding,” she said.

“A lot of women said: ‘Look, an orangutan doesn’t wear a T-shirt.’ So they whipped off their T-shirts and theirs bras so Mujur could literally see everything.

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It was looking promising but Mr McClure said that unfortunately when Mujur gave birth she didn’t manage to breastfeed.

“She was doing fantastic. She had the baby in the right place but she just didn’t get there. It was a matter of positioning and she just didn’t have it, unfortunately.