Posted: 18 Oct 2009 07:26 AM PDT

KANSAS CITY — A baby orangutan at the Kansas City Zoo is bonding well with an adoptive mother after zoo workers took care of baby Kalijon for months.

The orangutan mother had refused to nurse her new baby, so zookeepers began human intervention to save the youngest member of a highly endangered species.

About 30 staff members and volunteers worked around the clock for five months to nurture the infant. They took shifts wearing a hot, furry shirt on their chest, bottle-fed her and slept with her at night.

The humans even took her along while going to the bathroom.

The effort has paid off because the baby now clings contentedly to a foster orangutan mother.

And zoo workers hope the experience will nurture maternal behavior in future generations of the endangered animals.

While spending time with the orangutan, the helpers didn't have much of a choice in activities. She would knock away books, and watching TV was what most used to pass the time.

"That orangutan has probably watched more movies than any other ape," joked zookeeper Heidi Fisher.

"We're just glad we have a baby," said Randy Wisthoff, director of the Kansas City Zoo.

Orangutans are the only ape found in Southeast Asia, but their forest habitat is fast being cleared for lumber and for palm plantations because palm oil is used extensively in cosmetics and in processed foods from snack chips to chocolate.

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Baby orangutan bonds with foster mother - News-Leader.com

Posted: 18 Oct 2009 01:00 AM PDT

Kansas City -- A baby orangutan at the Kansas City Zoo is bonding well with an adoptive mother after zoo workers took care of baby Kalijon for months.

The orangutan mother had refused to nurse her new baby. So zookeepers began human intervention to save the youngest member of a highly endangered species.

The humans even took her along while going to the bathroom.

The effort has paid off because the baby now clings contentedly to a foster orangutan mother.

And zoo workers hope the experience will nurture maternal behavior in future generations of the endangered animals.

While spending time with the orangutan, the helpers didn't have much of a choice in activities. She would knock away books and watching TV was what most used to pass the time.

"That orangutan has probably watched more movies than any other ape," joked zookeeper Heidi Fisher.

The orangutan's bloodline comes from among the most desirable genetic stock among Borneo orangutans in North America.

"We're just glad we have a baby," said Randy Wisthoff, director of the Kansas City Zoo.

Orangutans are the only ape found in Southeast Asia, but their forest habitat is fast being cleared for lumber and for palm plantations as palm oil is used extensively in cosmetics and in processed foods from snack chips to chocolate.

Orangutans foraging for food often are killed by farmers.

The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation said there are fewer than 60,000 left in the wild, with even fewer Sumatra orangutans.

The Kansas City Zoo workers call their baby Kali, for short. She now is about 8 pounds with big eyes and Bozo-like tufts of red hair that stick out from her head.

The zoo now has seven Borneo orangutans of varying ages. Breeding is controlled by a species survival plan that attempts to maintain a diverse gene pool.

For this birth, a female was sent to Kansas City from the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Neb., to mate with a young male from the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Fla.

Both are rated as highly desirable for their stock.

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