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#ILoveLily

Dec 27, 2018 · Animal Story

2018 was a big year for orangutans at the Sedgwick County Zoo.

We kicked off the year with the birth of Mulia, daughter of Tao and Panji, on January 18. She is now a spunky almost-one-year-old who loves to climb and play and swing just like her mom.

On Sept. 7, we welcomed Lily, daughter of Daisy and Panji, in a more unconventional way – she was delivered via C-section by Drs. Janna Chibry and Laura Whisler, physicians at College Hill OB-GYN. Ever since, Lily and Daisy have kept zookeepers on their toes, challenged to come up with creative ways to care for these beautiful animals. We’ve shared their story on social media, but in case you missed it, you can catch up here:

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IT’S A GIRL! Sumatran orangutan Daisy delivered a healthy baby girl at 8:14 this morning via C-section. After laboring naturally through the night, Daisy showed signs of complications and the decision was made to intervene. Keepers will care for the baby to provide round-the-clock feedings and snuggles until Daisy has recovered and is able to take over. #sumatranorangutan #ILoveLily

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Baby girl is one day old, doing great and eating well. Mom Daisy is recovering as expected and is in good spirits. #sumatranorangutan #ILoveLily

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Happy Monday! #sumatranorangutan #ILoveLily

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Our tiny red-headed beauty is 2 weeks old today! Her name is Lily, a nod to the flowery name of her mama, Daisy. Both mom and baby are doing well. Keepers are still caring for Lily, providing feedings and snuggles round the clock. We’re slowly increasing the amount of contact between mom and baby, preparing Daisy to take over when she’s ready. . . #ILoveLily

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Baby hiccups. ❤️ . . . #ILoveLily #SumatranOrangutan

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Come with us on an inside look at the delivery room on Sept. 7: When Daisy the orangutan began to show signs of labor, everything was progressing normally … until it wasn’t. Contractions had stopped and Zoo staff began to notice too much blood. Daisy had experienced a placental abruption and Zoo staff called OB-GYNs Laura Whisler and Janna Chibry to help. There were a couple of very scary hours when we weren’t sure if either Daisy or her baby would survive. The emergency C-section saved both of their lives. Two-and-a-half weeks later, both Daisy and Lily are doing very well. Daisy is still healing and keepers are caring for Lily until Daisy is physically ready to take over. But Daisy’s history tells us that we may have a few more hurdles to jump over before we have a successful reunion … We’ll bring you that story tomorrow. . . #ILoveLily #sumatranorangutan

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Daisy arrived at the Sedgwick County Zoo in 2009 and gave birth to Kinali in 2011. Because Daisy was raised by humans, she is very people-oriented and social, but doesn’t have the strong maternal instincts that she would have learned by being around other orangutans early in life. When Kinali was born, Daisy was unsure of how to be a mother and zookeepers had to step in to care for Kinali. They developed a “shared custody” approach, in which keepers cared for Kinali, while slowly increasing the amount of time he spent with Daisy. They spent months behind the scenes training Daisy how to care for Kinali on her own. As he grew, Daisy became more comfortable with Kinali and eventually was able to take over as his full-time caregiver. Keepers were hopeful that her previous training with Kinali and her closeness to Tao, who gave birth to Mulia earlier this year, would prepare Daisy to care for her next baby. Come back tomorrow for more on how Daisy is adjusting to motherhood since Lily was born earlier this month. Photo: Daisy and Kinali on his first day in the outdoor habitat

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Following Lily’s birth, Daisy was in quite a bit of pain from the delivery, and both mom and baby were at high risk for infection and other complications. Lily required close medical observation and daily injections of antibiotics to treat a systemic bacterial infection. Daisy required time for her incision to heal. So a team of three keepers – aka, superheroes – are taking shifts to care for Lily day and night. This brings us to now: Lily has successfully beat back the infection, and Daisy is healing well and feeling better each day. Their caretakers’ days – and nights – are busy with feeding, training, cleaning, medicating, snuggling, and documenting it all along the way. Friday, we’ll show you what 24 hours with Lily and Daisy looks like. #ILoveLily #squadgoals #sumatranorangutan

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We tried to choose our favorite photo from Lily’s one-month photo shoot. We failed. You’re welcome. . . . ? Amy Hawley . #ILoveLily #SumatranOrangutan

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Our little bundle of joy is officially 2 months old and we're loving her more and more every day! Mom and baby are enjoying their quality time together behind the scenes playing, sleeping and eating with assistance from keepers. Lily's sweet and spunky personality is keeping both mom and keepers busy, but they wouldn't have it any other way! #ILoveLily #SumatranOrangutan

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We’re not crying … It’s been a long road for Lily and Daisy, and there’s still a way to go before Daisy is caring for Lily on her own. Seeing this sweet moment between mom and baby makes the long hours and extra training sessions worth every minute. . . . #SumatranOrangutan #ILoveLily

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On this day 3 months ago, we welcomed this sweet little girl into the world! It has been so exciting to see Lily's personality developing into a mini version of her mama Daisy. They have the same facial expressions for their likes and dislikes, and Lily's open-mouth, tongue-out play face keeps us all very entertained. She hasn't quite figured out how crawl yet, but she is able to scoot all around her nest, pull herself up and cling to the mesh for her bottle, and lift herself up on her arms and legs. They grow up so fast! #ILoveLily #SumatranOrangutan

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Merry Christmas! #ILoveLily

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Lily and Daisy are  thriving together behind the scenes, still working with keepers 24/7 to ensure that Lily gets the care she requires. Daisy participates in Lily’s care by helping Lily get to the mesh barrier for feedings with keepers, and she loves building nests from sheets for the two to snuggle in together. Once Lily is big enough to get around on her own, keepers will begin introducing them to the public habitat and allow them to share space with the other orangutans.

For now, visitors to the KOCH Orangutan and Chimpanzee Habitat will enjoy watching Mulia and Tao together, as well as Panji and Kinali who can always be counted on to bring a smile to our faces.

 

UPDATE: JAN. 28, 2018

We have installed a viewing window into Daisy and Lily’s maternity suite, allowing them time alone behind the scenes for bonding while also offering our visitors the opportunity to meet Lily. She is having a wonderful time interacting with all of her new friends!

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We thought about saving this for Lily’s 4-month birthday tomorrow but we just can’t! The love between mama and baby is just too much for us and we had to give you a little sneak peek. Come back tomorrow for a full 4-month update – it’s a good one and you won’t want to miss it! . . #ILoveLily #SumatranOrangutan

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Lily is 4 months old today and her caretakers are taking over today to tell you some BIG news: Daisy has been sharing space with Lily for quite some time, bonding and paying attention to her, but not really in a maternal way. We were still taking Lily out for bottles and snuggles several times each day. But around the end of December, we noticed that Daisy was spending more time with Lily in the nest and showing maternal behaviors toward her. One day recently, Daisy insisted on keeping Lily with her all day and night, and hasn’t let us have her since. We still aren’t sure what sparked this change, but it is clear that Daisy’s feelings regarding Lily have changed in a huge way. She isn’t nursing Lily yet, but she is very dependable in bringing Lily to the mesh so we can feed her a bottle. We’ll continue training sessions with both mom and baby to help Daisy maintain that maternal behavior consistently. They will continue to be behind the scenes as they bond and learn together. We are so excited to see what the next chapter brings in their story and what other surprises are around the corner. ❤️- Orangutan Keepers: Danielle, Devin, and Alicia. . . #ILoveLily #SumatranOrangutan

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Daisy and Lily are ready for visitors! Zoo guests can now see all the silliness and snuggles through a brand new public viewing window into their maternity suite behind the scenes. . . . #ILoveLily

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Lily is having such a great time meeting new friends! Have you had a chance to come to the Zoo to meet her yet? . . . #ILoveLily

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