Pulling a very strange face. I think he may have been calling, but I could not hear anything. Is there any other explanation? RotRA, Chester, 18th July 2015
Pulling a very strange face. I think he may have been calling, but I could not hear anything. Is there any other explanation?
RotRA, Chester, 18th July 2015
Very possibly, he and Sarikei were looking through the mesh to the other enclosure (behind him in the photo) where the grass had been cut and some pruning done. I did wonder if anything had been put in there - they sometimes let the small-clawed otters in, I couldn't see them, but that's not surprising. Thinking about it, Willie may never have seen otters before, which might have made him nervous. He certainly pulled this face repeatedly, for a second or so each time, although he didn't actually smack his lips.
I am told that Willie is quite a nervous animal, as Pertinax suggested. He tends to come out into the outdoor enclosure quite frequently, but only briefly. I think he may like it when the Bornean orangs get access to the other parts of RotRA, so that he can have more space and more opportunities to get away from the other orangs.
He may also be exhibiting some of 'move syndrome'- where some young male Orangs in particular take a long time to adjust to a new home. Just occassionally in a European zoo one has gone into a serious decline and stopped eating and it had to be returned home to stop it pining/dying.
I also remember Twycross 'Batu' looking very timid and hiding away for several months when he first arrived there. Usually like him, they come out of it over time.
