Animal rights activists from Borneo report a remarkable friendship between great apes: a female orangutan named “Du” adopted her best friend “Melata”’s baby after she disappeared. The female also protected the baby monkey from male counterparts.
“It was absolutely new to me that an orangutan would take care of someone else’s baby as if it were her own,” says babysitter Mama Eva, who works for the foundation and monitors the offspring at the sanctuary.
The backstory: “Du” was illegally brought from Borneo to Thailand as a newborn and returned to her home country in 2006 along with 47 other orangutans. She could not be rehabilitated at the BOS Nyaru Menteng shelter because she was too old but still “fit and smart”. But she was allowed to move to a pre-poaching island. There she gave birth to two daughters and a son.
“Melata”, who, like “Du”, had once been rescued from Thailand, had previously lost several children and had become friends with “Du”. After ‘Dumel’ was born, ‘Melata’ was last seen in February 2023. You took responsibility for “Dumel”. When the baby was threatened by male orangutans, she made sure he was safe.
“Heartwarming act”
“The thought that Du, who had an unbreakable friendship with Melata since their first meeting, took her daughter Dumel in her arms out of love for her lost friend, is heartwarming,” said nanny Eva. The small family was temporarily returned to the shelter to support “Du”.
Source: Krone
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