Not a lot an intelligent Ape can do with this. Some zoos nowadays e.g. Melbourne, are engaging their Orangutans in laser games and other forms of similar superior enrichment.
I feel so sorry for poor old Gambira who always seems to be inside during the zoo's opening hours, swaddled in a bundle of woodwool beside this window with whatever enrichment can be provided. I know Chinta and Mali and their daughters benefit from being outdoors, but Gambira always gets the short straw. The situation will only get worse in a couple of years time when they need to bring in another male too. Bornean orangs are probably the most difficult of all zoo animals to accommodate and the shortcomings of the orang half of the current Ape House are increasingly obvious.
Bornean orangs are probably the most difficult of all zoo animals to accommodate and the shortcomings of the orang half of the current Ape House are increasingly obvious.
My main grouse about this house (that rhymes...) has always been that it was built as 'twinned' accomodation for both Gorillas and Orang, like many other Ape Houses, and without taking in to account the species different social and behavioural needs. Of course the Zoo were breaking new ground in more than just one sense with this house, having never kept either species previously.
As you said, Borneans with their relatively(or potentially) antisocial natures, need more individual/seperate housing which often means 'no outdoors' for some. When London kept a large number in the Sobell Pavilions, they weren't all on show at any given time- the 'offshows' being restricted to the tiny dens behind the scenes.
The current regime at Paignton with two mothers+ babies +Gambira stretches the accomodation to its limit as far as separately housing them, goes. Better if Gambira was loaned out somewhere I think. As for a new male- not sure how they would be able to fit one in so both he and the females could all be on show and/or go outside at one and the same time.
Nakal, Bulu's son, used to have the small island to himself while Bulu, Gambira, Chinta and Gigit were usually together, not always harmoniously. When he departed and Demo (with Mali) arrived, the females seemed to tolerate his company and sometimes each other's. I did hear at a Presenter's Talk that Gambira might be moved on before a new male arrives. This was why I asked elsewhere whether Chester could accommodate another Bornean female. Having known her for 19 years, and having been very fond of her mother, Bulu, I'd like to think of her staying in the UK in a stimulating environment.
I've always felt that the orangs look like the poor relations of the gorillas. The difference between their two showdens can be quite stark, with the gorillas ankle deep in food, branches, sacks, barrels etc and the orangs with their variations on a cardboard theme. People often walk past saying 'there's nothing in there'. They need to have a reason to climb but the unsuitable design of the den means that as keepers can't climb, enrichment can't be placed high up. I think it is very degrading for one of the most intelligent beings in the zoo to have to lick grains of rice from the floor.
The islands are a different matter, though a couple of 'hides' where they could shelter from the elements would be nice.
One of the problems zoos always face with Orangutans (particularly Bornean) is that the accomodation is always built for the species per se as a single display unit for their animals. But when a pair or group later need separation for whatever reasons e.g. births/incompatibility, the enclosure is not really designed for that.
I think Paignton have now found this the case with their current Orangs- the house and outdoors is at full capacity with just three segregated adult females and it also means two of them(in the showden and on the large island) can't have indoor/outdoor free access at present either.
In an ideal world, the Ape House at Paignton would eventually hold a male Bornean and one of the female and daughter couples and their future offspring. However this would either require a British zoo to build extra orang accommodation or the export of the surplus animals. I suppose Gambira might be accommodated at Chester or at Colchester (perhaps without a recommendation to breed, depending on the Studbook keeper's view). Would any other zoo in the UK be ready and able to make the investment required to build good new orang accommodation? I'm afraid that I am doubtful.
I would be too. New holders only appear at very long intervals, Paignton themselves being the last.
Colchester might be in the position to house a surplus female in the future but only after the demise of their much-loved 'Rajang' I think. YWP is another mooted as a new holder in the future possibly, though Sumatrans keep being mentioned for them.
I've always understood that, far from being surplus, Gambira is more important genetically than Mali and Chinta. The aim of any move would be to give her the chance to breed sooner rather than later.
Have always presumed her line(via Bulu and Nakal) is pretty well represented too. But if they want to try to breed from her they need get on with it- the longer she's left, the greater the chance of a difficult birth etc. She's already, what,16? Already fully mature.
You know Bulu's story better than I do but, without looking up her family tree, I think that although she had 10 pregnancies, there were some miscarriages, stillbirths and early deaths and only Suka, Kadim and Nakal went on to reproduce? Apart from Gambira, Nakal has just one surviving son in Fuengirola.
