Taken in the old Gorilla House at Britsol, which adjoined the old Ape House, where the orangs were usually housed. I guess she was separated from the male because she was pregnant, perhaps with Oscar. Photo probably taken in 1972.
Taken in the old Gorilla House at Britsol, which adjoined the old Ape House, where the orangs were usually housed. I guess she was separated from the male because she was pregnant, perhaps with Oscar. Photo probably taken in 1972.
It may make you sad but she may not be sad at all.. Orangutans have few facial muscles so their expressions which often to us appear that they are sad or bored, are in fact no indication whatsoever of their mental state and they may be perfectly content within their captive environment.
Anne gave the impression of being a singularly placid and contented orang. Her first infant, Oscar, was hand-raised but later reintroduced to her and she raised her other babies herself and she obviously enjoyed a very good relationship with her keepers. The housing appears very old-fashioned now - and indeed it looked old-fashioned all those years ago: but the collection of the great apes at Bristol in the early 1970s was very impressive, I suspect this was due mainly to the keepers. Unfortunately this situation changed when they tried to improve the housing.
Anne gave the impression of being a singularly placid and contented orang. Her first infant, Oscar, was hand-raised but later reintroduced to her and she raised her other babies herself and she obviously enjoyed a very good relationship with her keepers.
For the record, Anne has a number of several living relatives;
Emma & Subis at Chester are her grandchildren, so all their offspring are her greatchildren.
Her younger daughter 'Julitta' now lives at Amneville Zoo France with her daughter 'Putri'- another grandchild of 'Anne'.
When Bristol stopped keeping Orangutans, Anne and her 2nd mate Adam moved to Santilla Zoo in Norther Spain, where both later died. But her last daughter 'Maria' was born there and is now breeding there too. She looks quite similat to 'Anne'.
I actually think it was a good thing Bristol went out of Orangutans when they did. The housing, as in so many zoos of the time, was never very good for them. This is a species that really needs specialist housing to allow proper climbing facilities, as at Chester or Paignton nowadays.
Interestingly, I think Bristol are still listed in the Studbook as the 'owners' of either Anne's daughter or her grandaughters in Santilla in Spain, so if the new Bristol Environmental Park ever gets off the ground, we might see them return there one day.
