Taronga Zoo Recent history of Taronga and developments etc

[steveroberts]

I get the sense with Taronga timeline-wise that.

1966-1968/1969? transition between eras period, possibly seen by those at the zoo as an 'uphill' time at the zoo, some criticisms launched about how was the zoo going to 'evolve' (Dr Heini Hediger's assessment report but think some newspapers were quite critical of the zoo at the time too). Hallstrom retired, Ronal Strahan becomes director and ushers in a new era at the zoo, this is just my opinion but I think the opening of the original Platypus House in 1969 was the first achievement of the new era.

Late 1980s - another difficult time for the zoo, needing funds for repairs and new exhibits, critcisms especially about the zoo's orangutan's living conditions. Great achivements already like Seal Cove and neighbouring Macquarie Island replication complex pinniped pools etc..but criticsims (and a very stingy state government under Greiner I believe who cut funding the zoo until Mr Moore and Dr Kelly pleaded the case for the zoo).

The late great Dr John Kelly becoming zoo's director in '87 brought about a great new progressive era for the zoo..but I gather he had a very tough first few years in the role. The unfortunate death of Victoria Scrivener in December 1988, and the wait in 1989 to see if the zoo would get more funding (plus Dr Kelly criticised for spending more than $4 million on the Taronga Centre but he said the centre helped raised funds for the zoo so was worth building).

The Snow Leopard Mountain in 1990 was the first of many new or refurbished exhibits in the 1990s as you pointed out @Zoofan15 which really was an decade of many good new or renovated happenings at Taronga. It's a shame Dr Kelly passed so young in 1997 (he even got acknowledged in state parliament the day after he died by a politician for his hard work at Taronga {and WPZ} and for his dedication to making the zoo contribute more to global conservation efforts). -

- He also asked the respiratory specialist doctors including surgeon doctors of St Vincent's Hospital if they would come and examine Archie the orangutan (their first ever non-human patient) to try help save him from his respiratory illness/affliction he had; but Dr Kelly would only let them examine Archie after they had ''tinkered around with him first'' (he had to see the respiratory specialists himself as he had an illness that meant he had to have major major surgery to get both his lungs and his heart transplanted in mid 1990s - it 'bought him' some more time of life but was only ever going to be brief, which is why he passed in '97.) Not because he wanted to be 'first in line' with getting the St Vincent's doctors medical help - but because he was very protective of all of the zoo's animals including Archie who many at the zoo were very fond of, and I believe Dr Kelly wanted to see if the St Vincent's specialists were as good at their profession as their reputation implied they were, using his own survival of their operating as the verdict, before letting them anywhere near Archie.

*should of added that info about Dr Kelly and Archie and St Vincent's respiratory specialists was because the late great Darill Clements wrote about it in her book Postcards from the Zoo as one of the examples of what a great, caring and selfless man (Dr) John Kelly was.

 

[Zoofan15]

Apparently Dr Peter Crowcroft the director of zoo in mid to late '70s wanted to build an equal sized exhibit near Chimpanzee Park for the gorillas and also one for the orangutans, but never eventuated (maybe the NSW state government said ''too expensive!'') and Dr Crowcroft left the role and went back to working in North America (albeit he was Australian by origin, had worked at North American zoos before becoming director of Taronga).

I think I made a mistake in the past saying it was Ronald Strahan who wanted to do this (maybe he did too) but the era that Chimpanzee Park construction started was during Dr Crowcroft's tenure.

It was certainly an era of thinking big with regards to Great Ape exhibits. Within that time period, Auckland Zoo opened their Orangtuan Park in 1987, with the intention being for the exhibit to be split in two (with two night houses/day rooms) to manage the colony in small groups - presumably Horst/Indra and Charlie/Dara given Horst and Dara were half-siblings. Construction costs required the project to be scaled back (the dividing wall and one of the night houses were canned).

It would have been phenomenal to seen so much space at Taronga dedicated to great apes and like the Chimpanzee Park, surely resulted in exhibits which remained useable to this day - versus the Gorilla Rainforest and Orangutan Rainforest, which are dated by today’s standards.

 

[Zoofan15]

I have wondered whether Taronga in fact refused Melbourne's group of chimps initially on the basis of not having enough space in the future as you mention, accounting for future births ect.

Melbourne had seven chimps at the time; two of which were males, which would've also been quite difficult to introduce to Taronga's troop, or place elsewhere. It seems Melbourne instead elected to retain their chimps with the intention of phasing them out down the line, but eventually sent some of their remaining to Taronga once their group numbers had decreased quite suddenly in the early 90's.

That seems likely. The principle issue behind Snowy’s painstakingly long integration into the colony was his young age and lack of family support. On hindsight, bringing in Melbourne’s young adult male (Ernie), along with his mother Molly (prior to her death) would have been a better move; but placed infants in the troop at risk - hence Snowy (then three years old) being deemed a safer option.

Taronga (which still had founders of varying social ability) may have also been wary of accepting Melbourne’s females. Sandra rejected all four of her offspring; and Koko had the same issue, as well as being a problematic female most of her life.

 

[Jambo]

It’s very interesting that Perang died on the same day Perak was exported to Hyderabad. Since the zoo had multiple females (not all of which were housed with Jantan at that time), I’m of the opinion that he wasn’t euthanised upon the departure of his exhibit mate on the basis of being unable to be housed with the others. More likely in my opinion is they underwent a medical examination prior to export and he died under anaesthetic. Either way, it’s too coincidental for there not to be a link between the deaths.

It’s interesting that Singapore would have wanted hybrid orangutans given the majority of their colony were purebreds (with Ah Meng’s hybrid offspring being an unplanned mating). They accepted purebred Bornean from Perth Zoo earlier that decade.

I think you may be spot on with him passing during a medical examination prior to his export (with Perak). It doesn't make much sense for Taronga to offload just a single orangutan anyway, when they had a large group of hybrids, none of which had any value to the regional breeding program.

Do we know what the groupings were at the time? Obviously we can assume Judy and Jantan were kept together. Jantan and Willow have always been close so I've always assumed they grew up together.

 

[Zoofan15]

I think you may be spot on with him passing during a medical examination prior to his export (with Perak). It doesn't make much sense for Taronga to offload just a single orangutan anyway, when they had a large group of hybrids, none of which had any value to the regional breeding program.

Do we know what the groupings were at the time? Obviously we can assume Judy and Jantan were kept together. Jantan and Willow have always been close so I've always assumed they grew up together.

That’s a good question. I recall hearing Archie didn’t get along with one of the females - from memory it was Judy (which makes sense with Wendy being his mother).

Wanita and her sister Willow definitely lived together. I would assume they (and possibly Wendy) lived with Archie; with Judy and Jantan living together as a pair. I recall hearing Jantan and Willow didn’t grow up together; but were rather housed together when they were older.

Melur and Gangsa from Hong Kong arrived 1995; and Datuk from Auckland Zoo in 1996. I would assume they lived as a trio, with Wanita joining them sometime before the export of her and the Hong Kong females to Auckland Zoo (where they were reportedly all close). Separating Wanita and Willow during this time ties in with Willow entering young adulthood and clashing with her older sister (as we later saw at Auckland Zoo with Gangsa).

The death of Archie may have prompted the integration of Judy and Jantan with Wendy and Willow in connection with Wanita joining the imported Borneans.

Kluet arrived in 2003 and couldn’t have been housed with Jantan, so I’m wondering if they were housed Judy/Jantan and Kluet/Willow, which ties in with what I recall hearing about Jantan and Willow not living together until later. There was a story of how moving off display helped them grow closer.

 

[Zoofan15]

That’s a good question. I recall hearing Archie didn’t get along with one of the females - from memory it was Judy (which makes sense with Wendy being his mother).

Wanita and her sister Willow definitely lived together. I would assume they (and possibly Wendy) lived with Archie; with Judy and Jantan living together as a pair. I recall hearing Jantan and Willow didn’t grow up together; but were rather housed together when they were older.

Melur and Gangsa from Hong Kong arrived 1995; and Datuk from Auckland Zoo in 1996. I would assume they lived as a trio, with Wanita joining them sometime before the export of her and the Hong Kong females to Auckland Zoo (where they were reportedly all close). Separating Wanita and Willow during this time ties in with Willow entering young adulthood and clashing with her older sister (as we later saw at Auckland Zoo with Gangsa).

The death of Archie may have prompted the integration of Judy and Jantan with Wendy and Willow in connection with Wanita joining the imported Borneans.

Kluet arrived in 2003 and couldn’t have been housed with Jantan, so I’m wondering if they were housed Judy/Jantan and Kluet/Willow, which ties in with what I recall hearing about Jantan and Willow not living together until later. There was a story of how moving off display helped them grow closer.

I found the article (from July 2018):

Two is Company for Zoos Orang utan

It notes attempts had been made over the previous five years to introduce Jantan and Willow, suggesting they didn’t previously cohabit (or at least hadn’t cohabited for a long period of time). Whether they had never lived together; or whether they did with Willow then separated circa 2003 to live with Kluet is unclear.

 

[Jambo]

That’s a good question. I recall hearing Archie didn’t get along with one of the females - from memory it was Judy (which makes sense with Wendy being his mother).

Wanita and her sister Willow definitely lived together. I would assume they (and possibly Wendy) lived with Archie; with Judy and Jantan living together as a pair. I recall hearing Jantan and Willow didn’t grow up together; but were rather housed together when they were older.

Melur and Gangsa from Hong Kong arrived 1995; and Datuk from Auckland Zoo in 1996. I would assume they lived as a trio, with Wanita joining them sometime before the export of her and the Hong Kong females to Auckland Zoo (where they were reportedly all close). Separating Wanita and Willow during this time ties in with Willow entering young adulthood and clashing with her older sister (as we later saw at Auckland Zoo with Gangsa).

The death of Archie may have prompted the integration of Judy and Jantan with Wendy and Willow in connection with Wanita joining the imported Borneans.

Kluet arrived in 2003 and couldn’t have been housed with Jantan, so I’m wondering if they were housed Judy/Jantan and Kluet/Willow, which ties in with what I recall hearing about Jantan and Willow not living together until later. There was a story of how moving off display helped them grow closer.

I found the article (from July 2018):

Two is Company for Zoos Orang utan

It notes attempts had been made over the previous five years to introduce Jantan and Willow, suggesting they didn’t previously cohabit (or at least hadn’t cohabited for a long period of time). Whether they had never lived together; or whether they did with Willow then separated circa 2003 to live with Kluet is unclear.

It's interesting as Taronga only had one outdoor enclosure and one small, indoor day room. So they would've effectively only been able to manage two groups at most.

Lou Grossfeldt's book 'Our Primate Family' mentions that Willow used to have incidents where she would manage to remove the fire hose off the wall and decorate the day room with it at night, after their initial move to the new complex. This obviously suggests she (and others) had access to it overnight, and that would make sense if she was being grouped with her mother and siblings versus Judy and Jantan.

It's possible once the younger trio of girls arrived Hong Kong, Willow and Wanita were than integrated with them. Wendy perhaps retired with Jantan/Judy or also introduced with the main group.

Following the exports to Auckland and Wendy's death, Kluet would join three other orangutans. It's very likely he was paired with Willow. With Kluet heading to Adelaide in May of 2007 and Judy passing the following month; Jantan and Willow would've been introduced not longer after. Surprising given Lou Grossfeldt's book mentions the pair as being very close!

Considering it's possible Jantan largely resided with just his mother (and maybe Wendy), it's no wonder he took so long to warm up to Willow.

 

[Zoofan15]

It's interesting as Taronga only had one outdoor enclosure and one small, indoor day room. So they would've effectively only been able to manage two groups at most.

Lou Grossfeldt's book 'Our Primate Family' mentions that Willow used to have incidents where she would manage to remove the fire hose off the wall and decorate the day room with it at night, after their initial move to the new complex. This obviously suggests she (and others) had access to it overnight, and that would make sense if she was being grouped with her mother and siblings versus Judy and Jantan.

It's possible once the younger trio of girls arrived Hong Kong, Willow and Wanita were than integrated with them. Wendy perhaps retired with Jantan/Judy or also introduced with the main group.

Following the exports to Auckland and Wendy's death, Kluet would join three other orangutans. It's very likely he was paired with Willow. With Kluet heading to Adelaide in May of 2007 and Judy passing the following month; Jantan and Willow would've been introduced not longer after. Surprising given Lou Grossfeldt's book mentions the pair as being very close!

Considering it's possible Jantan largely resided with just his mother (and maybe Wendy), it's no wonder he took so long to warm up to Willow.

I see Datuk (Bornean male) didn’t arrive until the December of 1996 (with Archie dying nine months earlier in March 1996). As you mention, the exhibit really only accommodated two groupings, so clearly Archie’s death cleared the way for his import.

What’s interesting is the Bornean females had been imported nearly two years prior in February 1995. Due to his respiratory issues, perhaps Taronga anticipated he wouldn’t make old age and brought in the females (who were still juveniles) with the intention of sourcing a male when they reached adolescence (which may have already been identified as Datuk). Young males are usually tolerated by adult males until around 10 years of age, so Auckland Zoo may have been willing to retain him on site another three years (but the death of Archie meant they shipped him over at seven years of age). Isim had been born two years prior and they were having to manage Horst and Charlie seperate, so they were no doubt willing to take Taronga up on the opportunity.

Alternatively, I wonder if Taronga had a plan to ship out some of their hybrids and streamline their colony into a purebred Bornean colony. It otherwise seems strange why they’d import an additional three Bornean orangutan when they already had several hybrids managed across two groups.

 

[Jambo]

I see Datuk (Bornean male) didn’t arrive until the December of 1996 (with Archie dying nine months earlier in March 1996). As you mention, the exhibit really only accommodated two groupings, so clearly Archie’s death cleared the way for his import.

What’s interesting is the Bornean females had been imported nearly two years prior in February 1995. Due to his respiratory issues, perhaps Taronga anticipated he wouldn’t make old age and brought in the females (who were still juveniles) with the intention of sourcing a male when they reached adolescence (which may have already been identified as Datuk). Young males are usually tolerated by adult males until around 10 years of age, so Auckland Zoo may have been willing to retain him on site another three years (but the death of Archie meant they shipped him over at seven years of age). Isim had been born two years prior and they were having to manage Horst and Charlie seperate, so they were no doubt willing to take Taronga up on the opportunity.

Alternatively, I wonder if Taronga had a plan to ship out some of their hybrids and streamline their colony into a purebred Bornean colony. It otherwise seems strange why they’d import an additional three Bornean orangutan when they already had several hybrids managed across two groups.

Looking at an old post on here, someone mentioned that Taronga did have plans to send out their hybrids. Initially it was to Mareeba, and then Australia Zoo but both plans were cancelled. Kluet's import obviously indicated Taronga still intended to breed, albeit with Sumatrans.

However it seems Taronga never ended up getting to offload their hybrids and eventually elected to send Kluet to Adelaide to breed, with Taronga retaining their trio of hybrids.

 

[Zoofan15]

Looking at an old post on here, someone mentioned that Taronga did have plans to send out their hybrids. Initially it was to Mareeba, and then Australia Zoo but both plans were cancelled. Kluet's import obviously indicated Taronga still intended to breed, albeit with Sumatrans.

However it seems Taronga never ended up getting to offload their hybrids and eventually elected to send Kluet to Adelaide to breed, with Taronga retaining their trio of hybrids.

With plans for a large exhibit, Australia Zoo could have presented an opportunity for Taronga and Melbourne to transfer out some hybrids, enabling them to dedicate the space to their purebred Sumatran colonies.

Arguably Isim could have replaced his half-brother Datuk at Taronga; but the 1991 Regional Primate Meeting outlined plans for New Zealand to focus on Bornean orangutan and Australia to focus on Sumatran orangutan, so it appears they reverted to that. Following the death of Dara, Auckland Zoo were keen for more females as Indra was overwhelmed by the male attention. It sounded like Dara and Indra had a close relationship, which continued into adulthood; but with the import of the Taronga females, conflicts arose.

Kluet’s transfer to Adelaide came about due to the death of Karta’s mate. Had he lived longer, I wonder if Taronga would have considered acquiring a female for Kluet from the Perth colony.

 

[Jambo]

With plans for a large exhibit, Australia Zoo could have presented an opportunity for Taronga and Melbourne to transfer out some hybrids, enabling them to dedicate the space to their purebred Sumatran colonies.

Arguably Isim could have replaced his half-brother Datuk at Taronga; but the 1991 Regional Primate Meeting outlined plans for New Zealand to focus on Bornean orangutan and Australia to focus on Sumatran orangutan, so it appears they reverted to that. Following the death of Dara, Auckland Zoo were keen for more females as Indra was overwhelmed by the male attention. It sounded like Dara and Indra had a close relationship, which continued into adulthood; but with the import of the Taronga females, conflicts arose.

Kluet’s transfer to Adelaide came about due to the death of Karta’s mate. Had he lived longer, I wonder if Taronga would have considered acquiring a female for Kluet from the Perth colony.

At the time (mid 2000's), Taronga would've had three hybrids and Melbourne just had their pair. Five orangutans (in at least two groupings) would have certainly worked considering Taronga did have plans for a world class exhibit.

It's a shame those plans never eventuated. Whilst Melbourne had space to breed with their new Orangutan complex opening in 2006, Taronga never had the opportunity to do so. Part of it was poor planning, with only a single outdoor exhibit. Even had Kluet remained, I'm not sure whether they would have still had space to breed. It would've meant rotating orangutans on/off display which likely wasn't the long term intention.

 

[Zoofan15]

At the time (mid 2000's), Taronga would've had three hybrids and Melbourne just had their pair. Five orangutans (in at least two groupings) would have certainly worked considering Taronga did have plans for a world class exhibit.

It's a shame those plans never eventuated. Whilst Melbourne had space to breed with their new Orangutan complex opening in 2006, Taronga never had the opportunity to do so. Part of it was poor planning, with only a single outdoor exhibit. Even had Kluet remained, I'm not sure whether they would have still had space to breed. It would've meant rotating orangutans on/off display which likely wasn't the long term intention.

Taronga’s set up was indeed poorly equipped for breeding. Factoring in that females that have just given birth are typically seperated from the male throughout the neonate stage (further groupings required) and it was really only sufficient for a breeding pair (with the male rotating BOH with the female and neonate).

Space was the main issue. Subdividing the exhibit into two would have been arguably acceptable in those days - and create two exhibits not dissimilar to Perth’s in size; but Taronga clearly wanted a large, impressive open plan exhibit befitting a modern zoo.

 

[Jambo]

Taronga’s set up was indeed poorly equipped for breeding. Factoring in that females that have just given birth are typically seperated from the male throughout the neonate stage (further groupings required) and it was really only sufficient for a breeding pair (with the male rotating BOH with the female and neonate).

Space was the main issue. Subdividing the exhibit into two would have been arguably acceptable in those days - and create two exhibits not dissimilar to Perth’s in size; but Taronga clearly wanted a large, impressive open plan exhibit befitting a modern zoo.

That's likely precisely the reason why Taronga were hesitant to breed considering they essentially needed to off load Jantan as he couldn't be accommodated with Kluet during the period when any offspring were born.

Melbourne managed this when their Orangutans were still in the great ape grottos when Maimunah conceived; grouping Santan with Gabby and Kiani.

Taronga's exhibit also wasn't the largest by any means. I don't think there would've been enough space to divide into two. Perth's exhibits would likely be of similar size to Taronga's - not to mention, the substantial aboreal space they presented of which Taronga's didn't.

 

[Jambo]

Kluet’s transfer to Adelaide came about due to the death of Karta’s mate. Had he lived longer, I wonder if Taronga would have considered acquiring a female for Kluet from the Perth colony.

Kluet was sent to Adelaide in 2007, and Pusung passed in 2009. I'm not sure why Kluet was initially sent to Adelaide, as it appears he wasn't even grouped with Karta until following Pusung's death. Perhaps by that point in time, Taronga elected to phase out orangutans as a whole.

 

[Zoofan15]

Kluet was sent to Adelaide in 2007, and Pusung passed in 2009. I'm not sure why Kluet was initially sent to Adelaide, as it appears he wasn't even grouped with Karta until following Pusung's death. Perhaps by that point in time, Taronga elected to phase out orangutans as a whole.

It’s hard to say. Guy Cooper retired as CEO/Director in 2009; and was replaced by Cameron Kerr. Perhaps under Guy Cooper, a decision was made circa mid-2000’s to phase out orangutans; with Cameron Kerr’s influence seeing them re-added to the masterplan (released 2015, which featured orangutans). From there, the decision was then made to phase them out after all!

As we know, zoos swap and change a lot in their decisions with Auckland Zoo being a prime example. Fully committed to Bornean orangutans for two decades until the decision was made circa 2005 to switch to Sumatran orangutans. After exporting six members of their colony, the decision was reversed a decade and a half later and they’ve continued with Borneans. The reason for Auckland’s swapping and changing was the evolving conservation status of the Bornean species (now critically endangered).

 

[steveroberts]

Taronga (believe in early 1960s, maybe late 1950s but think early '60s)- footage owned now by Fairfax Media (things have changed at the zoo for the better now, but personal favourites were the sun bear up on the climbing pole - thats the red pandas exhibit today, and all the platypus footage so so cute, lots of other animals in footage to too like seals, penguins and Chori the African elephant and some of the Asian elephants too (wonder if the little one is Ranee/Rani? or Burma before she was sent to circus for 20 years), can see Edward Hallstrom a bit before 3 minutes in as one of the two people feeding the giraffes)

source: Fairfax Media - Taronga footage shows how zoos have changed | By The Sydney Morning Herald | Facebook

*though the poor animals being manhandled, the Aldabra tortoise being ridden on by kids would of been stressful and in that b+w footage section that koala really clearly did not want to be held by that lady, as two examples (in those moments the soundtrack melody is kind of ironic sounding, though for visitors to the zoo am sure was the theme-tune of what a day at Taronga must of felt like, just that some of the animals were man-handled way way way too much)..but thought would share after finding the video for historical reasons. Keepers looked after their animals though best and caringly they could for the era, just was very hands on for visitors too back then a little too much perhaps.

 

[Zoofan15]

Taronga (believe in early 1960s, maybe late 1950s but think early '60s)- footage owned now by Fairfax Media (things have changed at the zoo for the better now, but personal favourites were the sun bear up on the climbing pole - thats the red pandas exhibit today, and all the platypus footage so so cute, lots of other animals in footage to too like seals, penguins and Chori the African elephant and some of the Asian elephants too (wonder if the little one is Ranee/Rani? or Burma before she was sent to circus for 20 years), can see Edward Hallstrom a bit before 3 minutes in as one of the two people feeding the giraffes)

source: Fairfax Media - Taronga footage shows how zoos have changed | By The Sydney Morning Herald | Facebook

*though the poor animals being manhandled, the Aldabra tortoise being ridden on by kids would of been stressful and in that b+w footage section that koala really clearly did not want to be held by that lady, as two examples (in those moments the soundtrack melody is kind of ironic sounding, though for visitors to the zoo am sure was the theme-tune of what a day at Taronga must of felt like, just that some of the animals were man-handled way way way too much)..but thought would share after finding the video for historical reasons. Keepers looked after their animals though best and caringly they could for the era, just was very hands on for visitors too back then a little too much perhaps.

What a fantastic video with very clear footage considering the era.

That elephant calf is tiny! I would estimate its age to be 1-2 years maximum, so with that in mind we can discount Ranee and Joan. It would likely be Burma or Bimbo, who were both at Taronga for a very short period before their transfer to the circus. The adult elephant (looks like Sarina) is clearly trained; and they clearly had a level of confidence in being able to control such a young calf to take them out to see the public.

It’s shocking to see the animals being handled in such a fashion (especially the kid riding the tortoise and prodding it; and the Koala struggling to get away from that last); but certainly not uncommon for that time period.

It was equally surprising to see a turtle in the penguin pool. Auckland Zoo’s staff advised me that they won’t be holding turtles in their pinniped pool as they require very clean water, with precise parameters versus what penguins require.

 

[Jambo]

As we know, zoos swap and change a lot in their decisions with Auckland Zoo being a prime example. Fully committed to Bornean orangutans for two decades until the decision was made circa 2005 to switch to Sumatran orangutans. After exporting six members of their colony, the decision was reversed a decade and a half later and they’ve continued with Borneans. The reason for Auckland’s swapping and changing was the evolving conservation status of the Bornean species (now critically endangered).

Auckland especially had valuable Borneans on their hands, and there really weren't many options whereby they could offload them (they'd already sent a group across to the USA), so naturally the best decision was to just continue with the Borneans they had.

This has paid off well as their commitment to the species has paid off with the recent birth of Bahmi and the hopeful chances of having two more infants before this decades end!

 

[Zoofan15]

Auckland especially had valuable Borneans on their hands, and there really weren't many options whereby they could offload them (they'd already sent a group across to the USA), so naturally the best decision was to just continue with the Borneans they had.

This has paid off well as their commitment to the species has paid off with the recent birth of Bahmi and the hopeful chances of having two more infants before this decades end!

I was amazed at the time to hear Charlie was the second most genetically valuable male Bornean orangutan in captivity. Considering he’s 44 years old, I hope they’d don’t delay too much longer in breeding him and Daya.

I actually wouldn’t mind Auckland Zoo phasing out Siamang and utilising both exhibits to accomodate a larger number of orangutans. I can only imagine what use the previous colony (which peaked at nine) could be getting out of this exhibit.

It’s a real shame Taronga have no apparent plans to require orangutans. A second Bornean holder would be so valuable.

 

[Jambo]

I was amazed at the time to hear Charlie was the second most genetically valuable male Bornean orangutan in captivity. Considering he’s 44 years old, I hope they’d don’t delay too much longer in breeding him and Daya.

I actually wouldn’t mind Auckland Zoo phasing out Siamang and utilising both exhibits to accomodate a larger number of orangutans. I can only imagine what use the previous colony (which peaked at nine) could be getting out of this exhibit.

It’s a real shame Taronga have no apparent plans to require orangutans. A second Bornean holder would be so valuable.

I wouldn't be surprised if both Melur and Daya receive recommendations to breed either this year or next year. As you say, it's important Charlie continues to breed asap when you take into consideration his age.

It would be wonderful if Auckland could acquire another group of orangutans to occupy the current Saimang exhibit. Another male and unrelated females would provide the opportunity to mix and match individuals from both troops for breeding long term, not to mention the great benefit such a troop would have considering Auckland is the only facility holding them regionally.