Orangutan at the Richmond Zoo gets a breastfeed lesson

Zoe, a 14-year-old orangutan at the Metro Richmond Zoo, was struggling to breastfeed her newborn son.

• So the facility brought in a zookeeper who was a new mom herself for a live demonstration.

What they’re saying: “The whole time she just kept watching me curiously,” said Whitlee Turner, the zookeeper-turned interspecies lactation consultant.

• “She didn’t immediately breastfeed her baby, but she was definitely watching the whole time.”

Context: The zoo thinks Zoe struggled to breastfeed because she was orphaned from her own mom at 9 months.

• Her first baby, Taavi, had to be hand-raised by zookeepers, prompting the zoo to make the special preparations for her second child, which also included video of other orangutans caring for their young.

The bottom line: Zoe and her new baby, who is still unnamed, are doing well and continue bonding, per the zoo.