Tuah is a 5 month old baby orangutan at the Hogle Zoo in Utah, USA. He is really tiny at just 14 inches tall and 5 kgs. Tuah was only a few weeks old when his mother died. This posed a big problem for the zoo keepers as baby orangutans spend most of their time on trees clinging onto their mothers. A baby orangutan instinctively clings to his mother's fur. This happens while the mother builds nests and scavenges for food. Tuah couldn't be swaddled and put in a crib like a human baby.
He needed to hang onto someone, even while sleeping.
That’s when a zoo employee came up with a brilliant idea and used specialized sewing machines and old fleece jackets to make a vest with strips that simulate an orangutan's fur. The animal keepers took turns wearing the vest and crawling in hay. Meanwhile, Tuah held tight to their chests, developing his muscle strength. However, Tuah can't cling to humans forever. That's why his sister Acara who is 10 years old, was trained to look after baby Tuah.
For this, they first taught Acara to be gentle. Then they gave her a stuffed animal. The idea was to teach her how to pick the baby up, hold it and flip it over. The two were introduced when Tuah was 3 months old. For the last month, they have lived together full time.
Acara has adjusted to child-rearing and will retrieve Tuah for animal keepers and carry him between exhibits. She also helps Tuah navigate the ropes and stops him from tripping on toys.
*Image Credit: thespectrum.com
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