He must be one of the most photographed animals at the zoo, but I doubt that many have captured a shot like this. His teeth look to be in as good a condition as the rest of him!
The zoo is working on it so hopefully he'll be moving on in the near future.
Incidentally, despite 'acknowledging' me (throwing sticks, for example) when he's outside, he wouldn't come near me when I went backstage on my Ape Day!
It was a wonderful day; I was still smiling the next morning! Being close to the orangutans and gorillas was a dream come true. It was eye-opening to hear how complicated things can be, like moving an animal to another zoo or even to another enclosure. The Ape Days were part of Paignton's EAZA Ape Campaign activities and have now ended.
There's a risk though that he could be a flop like his predecessor 'Awali' has been since joining a 'breeding' group at Barcelona- both males have similar backgrounds, being handraised and consequently humanised to quite a degree.
Its worth remembering that the 4 males that have gone into groups from Paignton and bred well were all mother-raised males, while the two that were handraised have failed to do so.
There's always a question mark over a handraised male though I hope Kumbuka will prove successful(as some do) if he's given the chance.
