Ape mates:
Bornean orangutan twins Wan Wan and Wah Wah will meet the public from February 10.
In good hands:
The twins have been looked after by Zoological & Botanical Gardens staff since their July birth.
Family reunion:
Veterinarians are working to reunite the twins with their mother Raba, who showed little interest in them after their birth.
Hairy high jinks set for HK zoo
February 09, 2012
Bornean orangutan twins were born at the Zoological & Botanical Gardens last July, the first pigeon pair to be born there. They consist of elder brother Wan Wan and younger sister Wah Wah.
They are the offspring of Vandu and Raba. Weighing about 5kg, they sleep 12 hours a day. They eat five times a day, including two meals of baby food and fruit, just like human babies.
The gardens' staff took custody of the twins after they noticed their mother Raba would not breastfeed them.
The veterinarians' efforts to bring the twins and their mother together are starting to pay off after seven months' work. Raba is finally responding positively to the twins by getting close to them.
Senior Veterinary Officer Dr Eric Tai said: “We will keep trying and will keep bringing the babies back to their mother, hoping she will accept them one day. In the long term, if the mother takes the babies back, then they will not be separated. So it all depends on the mother. It may take years to resume a normal family relationship."
Staff have been working to provide a good living environment for the twins, providing climbing bars and nets catering to the orangutans' natural instinct for tree dwelling.
The lively twins are now old enough to meet the public. They will go on show at the gardens' Education & Exhibition Centre from February 10. The two daily viewing sessions are 10am to 11am and 2pm to 3pm.
