Mother's Day is the perfect day to celebrate and pay tribute to orangutan mothers, like Ibu! The M.O.M. – Missing Orangutan Mothers Campaign - is one way of celebrating human AND non-human primate mommies! The M.O.M. Campaign is a positive way to bring attention to the crisis facing these primates and encouraging people to help protect them.
The love of a mother for her child is immense, and momma and baby orangutans are no exception to this love and bonding. They have a special relationship and are extremely close. On an average, baby Orangutans stay with their mothers for seven to eight years. The years the mother and her baby spend together are crucial since orangutan mothers teach their babies everything there is to know about surviving in the wild.
Unfortunately, hundreds of Orangutan mothers and their babies are separated every year as a direct effect of deforestation. Because of the growing demand for palm oil, more and more orangutan mothers are being killed on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra in Asia’s Indonesian rainforest. Tropical deforestation continues to occur in Malaysia and Indonesia due to the demand for palm oil and has displaced and continues to displace hundreds of orangutans by destroying their habitat. When they lose their momma baby orangutans don't have a support network around to give them the many lessons of finding food, building nests and other survival skills.
Some baby Orangutans are fortunate enough to end up at rescue and rehabilitation centers. However, many die as a result of losing their habitat and being orphaned at such as young age. There are more than 1,000 orphaned and displaced baby orangutans that need care and support from humans until they can be returned to the forest! That's a lot of missing orangutan mothers!
This is why the M.O.M (Missing Orangutan Mothers) campaign is so important for orangutans, and everyone who loves the El Paso Zoo!
You can help!:
1. Celebrate your mom with our mom! Every time you visit the Zoo, you help us contribute to orangutan conservation efforts and research.
2. Be a consumer conservationist. When you only buy palm oil free and sustainably sourced palm oil products, you help save orangutans’ rainforest home.
3. Follow Ibu’s Mommy blog, and teach your kiddos about orangutans and saving habitat, just like Ibu teaches Khaleesi! Knowledge is power!
4. Share your savvy! Share what you know about orangutan moms and how to help these animals in the wild with your friends, or on your social media pages!
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