All I want is a Mummy
Abandoned at birth, the baby orangutan hoping to find a family in the UK
SHE can’t sit up on her own and she certainly isn’t swinging fearlessly through the trees just yet.
But right now the only thing Rieke the baby orangutan wants is a mum.
She was abandoned at birth six weeks ago when her 11-year- old mother rejected her. Now, like any young orphan, she is looking for a grown-up to adopt her.
In different circumstances, Rieke would be spending her formative months clinging to her mother and learning the ways of an orangutan tribe.
Instead, she has spent all her short life being cared for by humans.
Like any baby, she needs her nappy changing, suckles from a bottle and makes squeaking noises when she wants attention.
She even has a snuggly blanket to comfort her. But it’s no substitute for a mother’s love.
Four keepers at Monkey World in Dorset take it in turns to look after her so she doesn’t get attached to just one of them. But soon she will be introduced to adult orangutans in the hope she can find a family – and someone to ape.
Rieke was moved on Monday to the sanctuary from Berlin Zoo, where she was born on January 12 weighing 4lb. She slept for most of the 17-hour journey, a feat few children could manage without whining: ‘Are we nearly there yet?’
Monkey World, set up in 1987, currently has 250 rescued primates from 20 species… plus one little girl that just wants to be loved.