Monkey World welcomes new arrival at Europe’s official orang-utan creche

Little Kiwi has arrived from Spain after being rejected by her mother

The Orang-utan creche at Monkey World has welcomed another new arrival.

Female Bornean orang-utan Kiwi was born at Rio Safari Elche, in Spain in December but was sadly rejected by her mother shortly after her birth.

The zoo made efforts to reintroduce her to the mother, and also attempted to see if another female orang-utan would adopt her. Unfortunately, these attempts were unsuccessful so they were forced to hand-rear to save the young female’s life, while her move to Monkey World could be arranged.

Monkey World’s Team Leader of Orang-utans, Donna Phillips, travelled to meet Kiwi in Spain and spent a week getting to know her, before travelling back to the UK on board P&O ferries with the Director of Rio Safari Elche and Kiwi’s carer, Anabel Ibanez, to make the transition smooth & stress free for the endangered youngster.

P&O ferries kindly sponsored the youngster’s sea journey, and provided first class service for the VIP- Very Important Primate- ensuring she and the transport team had the First Class deck with privacy so the care team could concentrate on Kiwi’s wellbeing throughout the trip.

Jack Steer, Director of Port Operations at P&O Ferries said:

“We were delighted to help Monkey World bring Kiwi the baby orang-utan safely to her new home in the UK. It is not every day we have an orang-utan on-board and it was a special day for our P&O Liberté crew who greeted Kiwi and arranged a quiet place for her to stay as she sailed across the English Channel.”

Monkey World is home to Europe’s official orang-utan crèche, where orphaned or rejected orang-utans can grow up with other youngsters, under the care of an orang-utan foster mother, and learn all the skills vital to survival, and – potentially – future child-rearing of their own. The nursery is currently home to four other young orang-utans born in zoos in Hungary, Germany and the UK, who were also unable to be reared by their own mothers. At Monkey World they are now cared for by the crèche foster mother Oshine, a Bornean orang-utan who was rescued from the illegal pet trade in South Africa in 2010.

Now, the keepers will have double trouble with two youngsters to care for before they join the nursery full-time, as on the 15th October Monkey World welcomed three-month-old male orang-utan, Sibu, from Dublin Zoo after his mother was unable to feed him.

Kiwi, weighing a little over 5kg, and at a few months older than Sibu, has begun spending time within the nursery during the day, to watch the older orang-utans but she still needs milk feeds in the evening as well as comfort, so Kiwi & Sibu spend evenings and mornings together with the specialist Monkey World care team.

On arrival at the park and over the weekend, Kiwi met young Sibu- and both were interested in each other. Kiwi is a confident individual with strong opinions on when and where she should be fed, and where she should sleep! Young Sibu will have some catching up to do to impress his new adopted older sister!

Monkey World Director, Dr Alison Cronin MBE, has been caring for the pair and said:

“The orang-utan nursery at Monkey World provides specialist care and facilities for orphan orang-utans. It is so important that the babies grow up with others of their own kind rather than with people so that they mature into health and well-adjusted adults.

“With the addition of Kiwi and Sibu, Monkey World has cared for 13 orphans from seven countries over the years. It is hard work caring for two needy orphans but it means the kids will be able to grow up together under the watchful eyes of their older brothers and sisters and adopted mother.

“It is quite an international crowd at the orang-utan nursery and while it is very sad that they are not being cared for by their mothers, all of us from Spain to Ireland to Dorset are doing everything possible to give these gorgeous babies families of their own kind”

Monkey World has every faith these young, endangered orang-utans will thrive in the nursery together, enjoying years of playing, climbing and learning from their adopted siblings and mother.

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