A male Sumatran orangutan has defied the “absent father” role of his wild counterpart by stepping up to care for his 2-year-old daughter after her mother died unexpectedly in a zoo in Colorado. Female orangutan Nias, who lived at Colorado’s Denver Zoo for fifteen years, passed away on Dec. 17, 2020, at the age of 32. The matriarch is survived by her two daughters, Hesty, aged 10, Cerah, aged 2, and her mate, Berani. “In the wild, orangutan males are not involved with their offspring,” Denver Zoo posted on Facebook nearly a month after Nias passed away. “To see Berani step up as Mr. Mom is an extremely rare situation, and Cerah couldn’t have asked for a better dad.” Zookeepers felt “so fortunate” that the young orangutan’s father had “stepped up to the plate.” Protective and attentive to Cerah’s needs, Berani began carrying her, comforting her, and even cuddling with her while she slept. In …