The ape began to breastfeed her own baby less than 24 hours later.
The zoo — located in Moseley, Virginia — said Zoe had trouble nursing her first baby, Taavi, which resulted in the animal being hand-raised by humans and with a bottle. When she delivered her second baby in December, the zoo asked Turner for help.
“With my bra down, I was very exaggerated when I put him on so that she could see that the baby goes here. The whole time I was talking to her and pointing at her, pointing at the baby, pointing at her breasts. And when Caleb was latched I was showing it to her, making sure that she saw the important part,” Whitlee continued. “The whole time she just kept watching me curiously.”
“She doesn’t see tiny humans up close much, so I think she was curious to see Caleb,” Turner said. “She was so observant, and [orangutans] are so humanlike. She was looking me in the eye as I was talking and looking at Caleb and just holding her baby next to her.”
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