Tuan

Great to get a glimpse of the hunk!

Andiii said:

I really want to see this big fella as I never got to see Sibu. I love the mature male orangs. It's such a shame that he is rarely on view as he is magnificent.

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In the old days when the Orangutan house was open to the public, you could see them inside or out, wherever they happened to be.

CZJimmy said:

Leia gave birth recently but I believe it is unsexed and unnamed at the moment

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Oh that's great news - Tuan has been a busy lad!! Thanks for the info. Just got to get to see the family now!!

Pertinax said:

In the old days when the Orangutan house was open to the public, you could see them inside or out, wherever they happened to be.

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They did have off-show bedrooms which are underneath the old viewing gallery

CZJimmy said:

They did have off-show bedrooms which are underneath the old viewing gallery

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Yes, but during Zoo opening hours they were shut out of them, so you could guarantee seeing them in the exhibition areas. Nowadays with the active Sumatran group people can see plenty of activity and I don't suppose anyone except Zooenthusiasts misses seeing particular individuals such as 'shy' Tuan.

CZJimmy said:

They did have off-show bedrooms which are underneath the old viewing gallery

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Yes, but during Zoo opening hours they were shut out of them, so you could guarantee seeing them in the exhibition areas. Nowadays with the active Sumatran group people can see plenty of activity and I don't suppose anyone except Zooenthusiasts misses seeing the ones that choose not to show themselves, like Tuan.

Pertinax said:

Yes, but during Zoo opening hours they were shut out of them, so you could guarantee seeing them in the exhibition areas. Nowadays with the active Sumatran group people can see plenty of activity and I don't suppose anyone except Zooenthusiasts misses seeing the ones that choose not to show themselves, like Tuan.

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Yes I think you are right there - going by their comments, some folk have difficulty differentiating between a monkey and an orangutan let alone whether it is a Sumatran or Bornean. I have a particular interest as I love the Males (particularly the Bornean) - and there are so few to be seen as magnificent as Rajang and Tuan ... not forgetting Puluh of course who is an equally impressive big fella!

visitors would quickly complain if there were no Orangutans to be seen, but they don't usually know(or care) how many Chester have got or which ones they don't see- so Chester can afford not to have them all on display all the time if their housing requirements dictate that.

Tuan may well have to stay apart from the new mothers for quite a while- it depends if they think they can trust him with the babies or not and even trying it could be risky.

Pertinax said:

visitors would quickly complain if there were no Orangutans to be seen, but they don't usually know(or care) how many Chester have got or which ones they don't see- so Chester can afford not to have them all on display all the time if their housing requirements dictate that.

Tuan may well have to stay apart from the new mothers for quite a while- it depends if they think they can trust him with the babies or not and even trying it could be risky.

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Yes, I appreciate what you are saying, such a shame though that they can't all be on display. Ahh well, I'll persevere and keep peering over the fence hoping to catch a glimpse of the big fella everytime I go! As you say, it's best to be safe with the little ones if Tuan's temperament is not known.

Andii said:

some folk have difficulty differentiating between a monkey and an orangutan let alone whether it is a Sumatran or Bornean.

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Never mind that, when I went to Colchester last weekend, not one, but three different visitors had difficulty distinguishing between a zoo (i.e. with live animals on display) and a waxworks/musuem of stuffed animals/Victorian freakshow maybe ? ..... because they each expressed raucous surprise that Rajang wasn't actually dead ....... 'Oh my god, it moved. I fort it was dead !' or 'Bloody hell, it's alive !'. You really do have to wonder at some people .........

So far as Chester is concerned I was really disappointed not to see any of the Borneans at all when I visited, even though the Sumatrans were wonderful. I'm hoping to rectify that by going back in the summer holidays (god help me). I think I've said before ....... maybe Chester could help engage the interest of more of its visitors if it provided more info about ALL the orangs they do have - family tree style inside RORA (as they do with other animals elsewhere in the zoo).