Karta (orangutan) facts for kids
.jpg)   Above: Sumatran orangutans
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| Species | Sumatran orangutan |
|---|---|
| Sex | Female |
| Born | 22 July 1982 San Diego Zoo |
| Died | January 2017 (aged 34) Adelaide Zoo |
| Parent(s) | Helen (mother) Otis (father) |
| Offspring | Karen |
Karta (born 22 July 1982 – died January 2017) was a special Sumatran orangutan. She was known for trying to raise her own babies. Karta lived at the San Diego Zoo in the United States and later at the Adelaide Zoo in Australia.
Karta was the mother of Karen. Karen was her only baby who survived. Zookeepers had to raise Karen by hand. In 1994, Karen became the first orangutan to have open heart surgery. Because Karen needed special care, Karta moved to Adelaide Zoo. There, Karta learned how to care for babies and how to nurse.
Karta made news in 2009. She briefly escaped her home by turning off an electric fence. In the same year, she helped with a big campaign. This campaign worked to protect orangutan homes.
Karta passed away in January 2017 while giving birth to a baby that did not survive. After her death, people raised money to build Camp Karta. This camp helps wild orangutans in Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in Sumatra.
Contents
Karta's Early Life
Karta was born on July 22, 1982. Her parents were Jane and Otis. She was born at the San Diego Zoo. Karta lived there for her first 10 years. Her mother raised her and her younger brother, Nias. Nias was born in 1988. Later, Nias and his mother moved to another zoo. Karta stayed at San Diego.
Karta's Daughter, Karen
On June 11, 1992, Karta gave birth to Karen.
zookeepers noticed that Karen was not drinking milk from Karta. So, they took Karen away to care for her. They tried to bring Karen back to Karta, but Karen still did not drink milk. So, Karen was raised by people.
Doctors found a large hole in Karen's heart. Karen then became the first orangutan to have open heart surgery. This made her very famous.
Karta's Mothering Challenges
Over the next 15 years, Karta had several babies that did not survive.
- August 1995: Karta had a healthy baby. But the baby died when it was four days old. It took two days for zookeepers to take the baby from Karta.
- April 1997: Karta gave birth at night. The baby was found dead the next morning.
- May 2003: Karta had a live baby. But it died the next day. It took three days to take the baby from Karta.
- May 2011: Karta had another live baby. It was found dead on day four.
- 2014: Another baby was born but did not survive.
Karta was a good mother in many ways. She had even been trained to care for babies using a toy orangutan. After many years and several baby losses, experts realized the problem was with breastfeeding.
In 1997, Karta went to Perth to learn more mothering skills. But her behavior caused her to return to Adelaide. In 2003, she was seen playing well with two siamangs.
Karta's Mates
In February 2006, Karta and her mate, Pusung, moved to a new orangutan home at Adelaide Zoo. In 2009, Pusung died from a chest infection. He was 31 years old.
In June 2007, Karta met a 12-year-old orangutan named Kluet. They became very close friends within six months.
Helping Orangutans: A National Campaign
In May 2009, an advertisement appeared in New Scientist. It asked people to avoid buying palm oil products. This is because making palm oil often destroys orangutan homes. At the same time, Karta's picture was used in a big campaign. This campaign asked the Australian government to make rules for food labels. These rules would show if products contained palm oil.
Karta's Escape Attempts
Also in May 2009, Karta briefly got out of her home at the Zoo. She used a stick to twist the electric wires. This turned off the fence around her. A Zoo spokesperson said Karta climbed over the wires. She then made a pile of leaves and used a branch to climb out. She was outside her home for about 30 minutes. Then, she calmly went back inside. Zoo officials thought she might have been looking for Pusung, her mate who had recently died.
Karta's Death and Legacy
Karta died in January 2017. She had a lot of blood loss after giving birth to a baby that did not survive. The zoo received more than 2,500 messages of sadness.
People raised money to build a guard post for wild orangutans. This post is called Camp Karta. It is in Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in central Sumatra.
