Advertisement

Mother, orangutan share touching moment at the Melbourne Zoo

image

[Elizabeth Hunt Burrett shared an amazing interaction she had with an orangutan at the Melbourne Zoo on Facebook / Elizabeth Hunt Burrett/Facebook]


While celebrating her daughter’s third birthday at the Melbourne Zoo, Elizabeth Hunt Burrett’s 13-week-old son Eli became very hungry while they were at the orangutan enclosure.

The mother went around the corner to gain some privacy, and there, was met with an interaction she’ll never forget.

“This orangutan locked eyes with me and came over to check out what was going on,” Burrett told 774 ABC Melbourne.

At first there was only one orangutan, the mother of two explained. But as time went on, another, that appeared to be older than the first one, came over.

That orangutan proceeded to shoo off the first one until it left, and gave Burrett what she describes as a “nod.”

“I felt so proud and I felt like [the orangutan] was proud of me,” said Burrett, who also admitted to having trouble breastfeeding in the past. “I don’t know, it was just… amazing.”

Eventually the first orangutan returned and proceeded to watch the entire 10-minute feed.

Initially, Burrett thought that maybe the great ape believed her child was its own. “I have redheaded children,” she explained, “so I thought she was coming over like I was breastfeeding her child.”

The interaction drew an audience of people in awe of the moment the two shared. Burrett admitted that it was “kind of awkward,” but “no one said anything negative.”

Burrett, who just got a membership with the Zoo, says she plans on visiting again soon.