Eirina, a pregnant orangutan at the Denver Zoo, is feeling much better, thanks to her quick-thinking caretaker. Early in Eirina's pregnancy, the team at the Colorado zoo noticed that the primate was experiencing morning sickness, which was making her uncomfortable. Eirina had low energy, was eating less, and not acting like her normal self.
"She has never been pregnant before. This whole experience is new for her," an animal care specialist at the Denver Zoo, Cindy Cossaboon, told People.
More from Mom.com: Morning Sickness Remedies That Actually Work
Cossaboon has been working with the orangutan since she arrived at the Denver Zoo from the Dortmund Zoo in Germany in 2016, so she's pretty familiar with Eirina's behaviors.
"Eirina had obvious signs of discomfort immediately. She went from playing all day to not wanting to get out of her nest. We would come in, and she would be in her nest, covered in blankets up to her neck. She didn't want anything to eat or drink," Cossaboon explained.
The changes in Eirina's mood and behavior prompted the zoo's care team to try a bunch of different natural remedies to help, such as ginger, but none of them seemed to work.
"When I was pregnant, I was a high-risk pregnancy, so I started taking this tea hoping it might help. The benefit I found was that it really helped my morning sickness," Cossaboon explained.
The tea, which she described as a "traditional medicinal pregnancy tea," has ingredients such as raspberry leaf, spearmint, stinging nettle, and fennel fruit. She explained that she made the suggestion to the team at the zoo to see if they could give Eirina the tea to help her feel better. Thankfully, she got the go-ahead to try the tea.
"When orangutans really like how something tastes, they will swish it around in their mouth to savor the taste," Cossaboon said via People. "I brought Eirina her tea. She sat up from her nest. She took a sip from her straw, and she looked like a chipmunk with these huge cheeks while she swished away. She loved it."
"When I arrive in the morning, I get her tea ready. While it is seeping, I go check on her. She is always still in her nest under her blankets," she shared.
"I then go get her tea, and when she sees me coming, she sits up and is ready to drink her tea. After she has had her tea, she is more active and eats her breakfast," the orangutan's caretaker said.
Cossaboon and the other members of the team have noticed a positive change in Eirina since she started drinking the beverage. She has since started to slow down as she nears her due date, and thanks to the tea, she is largely in good spirits.
