Pongo, the orangutan baby of the Atlanta Zoo became one year old on the 10th of January. Nowadays he’s playing happily with his mother in their cage, but this hasn’t always been like this.
Pongo was born in early 2013, but his birth didn’t happen in a traditional way: because of complications, a caesarean section had to be performed on his mother. While Blaze was recovering after the surgery, the zoo caregivers and volunteers took care of the baby. Pongo was introduced to his mother when she got better.
Given the circumstances – a first time mother living in captivity who had recently had a caesarian – it is not surprising that it took time for Blaze to accept the little one. For example, it took a whole two months until she reached out for him. The caretakers never gave up: they organized frequent get-together sessions for the mother and the baby until the bonding finally took place. By March, Blaze was ready to accept her baby. Since then, Pongo not only grows well, but he behaves and looks more and more like an orangutan.