History was made at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust sanctuary. For the first time ever, an orangutan birth was captured on video. I’m not sure what people thought happened in the wild – that they would reproduce by cell division like amoebas? One orangutan would split and then there would suddenly be two? No… these aren’t like the Rogue Agent Smiths in the “Matrix” movies. Their birth process is a lot like ours… and now we can see it on video.
The first sign that this orangutan birth is going to be different is that there isn’t 800 people in the room with the pregnant mother. She’s not on her back, screaming her head off and trying to rip her mate’s arms off. Instead, she calmly squats and it’s almost like she makes a bowel movement. A baby orangutan, named Kea, comes out instead. It’s an amazing sight to see – and for anyone who is squeamish about this… they obviously have not seen a human birth up close either.
The mother instinctively knows what to do – she clears Kea’s breathing passages and bites off the umbilical cord. Sadly, she did not wear latex gloves to ensure sterility, but hey, these animals give birth in the wild so it’s not like they need hospitals. Mama orangutan starts carrying baby around with her everywhere. It’s a sweet thing to watch and it makes me appreciate mother nature even more.
It does feel bittersweet, though, knowing that this species is endangered. Hopefully, they will be able to bounce back. It feels like a different time from when the bald eagle was in trouble. Man has possibly crossed a threshold and there may be no going back. That would be a shame, since that would mean that a video like this would be the first and last of its kind.
Wasn’t the baby orangutan so cute? What was your favorite moment?
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