Sad news from Woodland Park Zoo (WPZ). On Thursday, November 21, zookeepers learned that the zoo’s pregnant orangutan, Batu (bah-too), had lost her baby after carrying the fetus nearly to term.
The pregnancy was a first for the 15-year-old Sumatran orangutan and would have marked the first orangutan birth at the zoo in 35 years. Godek, also 15, was the father. Zoo visitors and readers of Seattle’s Child eagerly tracked the pregnancy as the zoo offered updates on Batu’s health and a 24/7 birth watch in which volunteers watched the expectant orangutan closely for signs of impending labor.
The birth watch started in August, but zoo staff reported last week that their projected birth window was considerably off. At that time, zoo officials said Batu and her fetus both appeared healthy.
“While we always prepare for worst-case scenarios, of course, this is not the outcome we expected. We had high hopes and were so excited to welcome a healthy baby to our zoo family and for Batu to enter a new chapter of motherhood. This is a monumental loss for our zoo family and our hearts are very heavy, especially for Batu and her dedicated caretakers,” WPZ Chief Zoological Office Roger Sweeney said in a release.
“Up until recently we had been able to closely track the development of Batu’s fetus. The last ultrasound showed all indicators were good—the fetus was near-term and appeared to be developing well, with a normal heartbeat,” added Dr. Tim Storms, the zoo’s Director of Animal Health.
Zoo officials said that Batu was given the choice to voluntarily participate in the non-invasive ultrasounds. To do so, she needed to present her belly to radiologists and hold still while the ultrasound probe was applied for imaging.
“Because Batu wouldn’t participate in any ultrasounds recently, we made a decision to anesthetize her this morning for evaluation by an expert consulting team of human obstetricians and radiologists. The imaging and examination immediately revealed the fetus was no longer viable and Batu had lost her baby,” added Storms. “We were able to successfully deliver the fetus without the need for surgery, which will greatly shorten Batu’s recovery.”
Throughout Batu’s pregnancy, the orangutan care team provided maternal skills training to help her gain the baby care skills and confidence. Zoo officials say that Batu is healthy and that they hope she will be able to sustain a future pregnancy.
“Because she’s still young, we continue to hold on to hope for a future pregnancy and successful birth. Our orangutan team will shower Batu with extra TLC in the coming days,” Sweeney said.
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