Australasian Orangutan Population

Zoofan15 said:
Horst (1978-2023)

First of all, thanks to @ApeLadyNZ for this update:

Horst the male Bornean orangutan passed away at Busch Gardens in March this year. He had turned 45 years old in January and was the oldest male Bornean orangutan in North America.

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Many of you will know Horst through his long term residence at Auckland Zoo. Born at Frankfurt Zoo in 1978, He was imported by Auckland Zoo in 1983; along with his half-sister from Frankfurt Zoo - Dara (1977-2000); and a female from Rotterdam Zoo - Indra (1980). They were joined in 1984 by a male from Singapore Zoo - Charlie (1981). Horst sired three confirmed offspring - Intan (1989-2011), Datuk (1989-1996) and Isim (1994). A fourth potential offspring that died the day it was born in 2002 is listed with unconfirmed paternity.

I have many fond memories from my childhood of visiting the orangutans at Auckland Zoo in the early 2000’s. With Horst and Charlie rotating access to the female group from the late 1980’s until 2005, it was always a point of curiosity which male I’d find with the main group. An off-display annex with an open air roof held the other male, which you wouldn’t see unless they climbed to the roof of this area.

Horst was the preferred male of Indra and Intan and he lived with these females between 2005-2009 in what had previously been a chimpanzee exhibit. Their export to the US in 2009 marked the beginning of phasing out Bornean orangutans from Auckland Zoo (a decision that has since been reversed; with the colony slowly building up numbers again).
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Horst was well beloved by keepers and visitors alike, nicknamed "Grampa" by his keepers and is survived by one son, Isim (now resident at Los Angeles Zoo), and by Indra, his female companion of 25 years at both Auckland Zoo and Busch Gardens.

At the time of his transfer to Busch Gardens, Horst was reckoned to be a very genetically valuable male, so I wonder why that zoo chose not to breed from him, whether with Indra or another female. Perhaps the breeding programme decided to concentrate on his offspring Isim and Intan (daughter Intan later passed away without offspring at the age of 22), although Isim and female companion Gangsa have yet to produce a surviving infant.
 
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ApeLadyNZ said:
Horst was well beloved by keepers and visitors alike, nicknamed "Grampa" by his keepers and is survived by one son, Isim (now resident at Los Angeles Zoo), and by Indra, his female companion of 25 years at both Auckland Zoo and Busch Gardens.

At the time of his transfer to Busch Gardens, Horst was reckoned to be a very genetically valuable male, so I wonder why that zoo chose not to breed from him, whether with Indra or another female. Perhaps the breeding programme decided to concentrate on his offspring Isim and Intan (who later passed away without offspring at the age of 22), although Isim and female companion Gangsa have yet to produce a surviving infant.
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Yes, Horst was the most genetically valuable male in North America at the time of his transfer. Horst's father Karl (1961-2012) sired 19 offspring between 1971 and 2006, but many of them died prematurely without producing offspring. It’s interesting how like gorillas, zoos bred great apes unrestricted until the late 20th century and therefore a handful of males sired large numbers of offspring (Charlie’s sire Zabu being another example).

If it appears unlikely Gangsa is to produce viable offspring going forward, I hope the initiative is taken to pair Isim with another female. He’s 29 years old and will hopefully have at least another 10-15 years in him, but there’s no guarantees.

In the meantime, Charlie is also reaching an impressive age considering he turns 43 years old in March. I really hope he lives long enough to sire an infant to Daya, who is also genetically valuable.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Yes, Horst was the most genetically valuable male in North America at the time of his transfer. Horst's father Karl (1961-2012) sired 19 offspring between 1971 and 2006, but many of them died prematurely without producing offspring. It’s interesting how like gorillas, zoos bred great apes unrestricted until the late 20th century and therefore a handful of males sired large numbers of offspring (Charlie’s sire Zabu being another example).

If it appears unlikely Gangsa is to produce viable offspring going forward, I hope the initiative is taken to pair Isim with another female. He’s 29 years old and will hopefully have at least another 10-15 years in him, but there’s no guarantees.

In the meantime, Charlie is also reaching an impressive age considering he turns 43 years old in March. I really hope he lives long enough to sire an infant to Daya, who is also genetically valuable.
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Yes, absolutely, I do think that the breeding programme should perhaps consider another female for Isim if Gangsa has no viable offspring (although she herself is now quite valuable due to father Laki having so few offspring and only one of those, Melur, successfully breeding). Although given Gangsa's temperament, perhaps LA Zoo and the breeding programme haven't introduced another female yet on those grounds, or perhaps they still hope for Gangsa to successfully breed.

It would be of great value for Isim to sire offspring, given that Horst's line is now so under-represented.
 
ApeLadyNZ said:
Yes, absolutely, I do think that the breeding programme should perhaps consider another female for Isim if Gangsa has no viable offspring (although she herself is now quite valuable due to father Laki having so few offspring and only one of those, Melur, successfully breeding). Although given Gangsa's temperament, perhaps LA Zoo and the breeding programme haven't introduced another female yet on those grounds, or perhaps they still hope for Gangsa to successfully breed.

It would be of great value for Isim to sire offspring, given that Horst's line is now so under-represented.
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Yes, Melur and Gangsa’s sire (Laki) represents a valuable line. His parents were wild born. His sire had 10 offspring, most of which died in infancy and only one other besides Laki has surviving descendants; while his dam had three offspring, with only Laki having surviving descendants. With this in mind, I’d say it’s likely they’ll breed Charlie and Melur again. Assuming a birth interval of five years, this may be achievable if Charlie is still with us in 2027.

Melur and Daya each producing a daughter is about the only scenario I would envisage Bahmi transferring out. A new male could then be brought in to breed with Daya and the two young females. This would stand the zoo in good stead for maintaining a cohesive grouping of females with two mother and daughter dyads; and the two first generation females having grown up together (albeit no guarantees as seen with Melur/Gangsa). Otherwise, I’d expect to see Bahmi become the next breeding male, siring offspring to Daya and hopefully an additional imported female.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Yes, Melur and Gangsa’s sire (Laki) represents a valuable line. His parents were wild born. His sire had 10 offspring, most of which died in infancy and only one other besides Laki has surviving descendants; while his dam had three offspring, with only Laki having surviving descendants. With this in mind, I’d say it’s likely they’ll breed Charlie and Melur again. Assuming a birth interval of five years, this may be achievable if Charlie is still with us in 2027.

Melur and Daya each producing a daughter is about the only scenario I would envisage Bahmi transferring out. A new male could then be brought in to breed with Daya and the two young females. This would stand the zoo in good stead for maintaining a cohesive grouping of females with two mother and daughter dyads; and the two first generation females having grown up together (albeit no guarantees as seen with Melur/Gangsa). Otherwise, I’d expect to see Bahmi become the next breeding male, siring offspring to Daya and hopefully an additional imported female.
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I too would like to see Melur breed once more, especially if Gangsa never produces a surviving infant. Although given Melur and Charlie's track record of producing males - and I'm just guessing here, really - Melur would have a slightly higher chance of producing a third son who is likely to transfer out upon maturity (of course, no one knows who the sire of Melur's first stillborn female infant was).

Otherwise, as you've said, Bahmi would likely become the breeding male unless Melur and Daya both produce daughters. Given Melur and Daya's personalities (and again I'm just guessing) I don't foresee the same conflict occurring that happened between Melur and Gangsa. I remember a volunteer telling me that Gangsa had "quite a streak in her" and was an outlier in terms of orangutan behaviour, developing a distrust of her keepers after an unpleasant experience during some health checks.

It would be encouraging to see more descendants of Laki. He is woefully under-represented compared to Melur's dam, Yasmin. Melur's younger half-brother, Kecil (Boomer x Yasmin) looks set to become the new breeding male at Brookfield Zoo, Illinois, with the passing of Ben. Kecil, 9, is now housed with former foster-sister Kekasih, 15 (and may possibly breed with Kekasih's sister Heidi, currently 7, in the future when Heidi matures).
 
ApeLadyNZ said:
I too would like to see Melur breed once more, especially if Gangsa never produces a surviving infant. Although given Melur and Charlie's track record of producing males - and I'm just guessing here, really - Melur would have a slightly higher chance of producing a third son who is likely to transfer out upon maturity (of course, no one knows who the sire of Melur's first stillborn female infant was).

Otherwise, as you've said, Bahmi would likely become the breeding male unless Melur and Daya both produce daughters. Given Melur and Daya's personalities (and again I'm just guessing) I don't foresee the same conflict occurring that happened between Melur and Gangsa. I remember a volunteer telling me that Gangsa had "quite a streak in her" and was an outlier in terms of orangutan behaviour, developing a distrust of her keepers after an unpleasant experience during some health checks.

It would be encouraging to see more descendants of Laki. He is woefully under-represented compared to Melur's dam, Yasmin. Melur's younger half-brother, Kecil (Boomer x Yasmin) looks set to become the new breeding male at Brookfield Zoo, Illinois, with the passing of Ben. Kecil, 9, is now housed with former foster-sister Kekasih, 15 (and may possibly breed with Kekasih's sister Heidi, currently 7, in the future when Heidi matures).
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It’s difficult to predict what gender Charlie and Melur’s next infant would be as Charlie previously sired a daughter to Dara and it’s possible he sired Melur’s stillborn daughter in 2002 (Horst being the other obvious candidate).

Despite being seven years old, I don’t believe Isim was ever considered a potential sire of Melur’s daughter on the basis they later discounted him as a potential sire of Madju in 2005. This implies he hadn’t been observed mating with the females at that point, which is supported by Charlie’s tolerance of him remaining in the group until 11 years of age. Madju by contrast was observed mating Melur from the age of six years and was already beginning to clash with Charlie when he was exported in 2015.

I agree theoretical daughters of Melur and Daya would likely remain cohesive into adulthood as we saw with Dara and Indra. Gangsa was clearly the problem as combining her with Isim and Wanita was also unsuccessful (with Isim and Gangsa attacking Wanita). Wanita had a temper and even Indra was noted to get out of her way, but Melur is a placid female and Daya sounds similarly good natured.
 
Zoofan15 said:
It’s difficult to predict what gender Charlie and Melur’s next infant would be as Charlie previously sired a daughter to Dara and it’s possible he sired Melur’s stillborn daughter in 2002 (Horst being the other obvious candidate).

Despite being seven years old, I don’t believe Isim was ever considered a potential sire of Melur’s daughter on the basis they later discounted him as a potential sire of Madju in 2005. This implies he hadn’t been observed mating with the females at that point, which is supported by Charlie’s tolerance of him remaining in the group until 11 years of age. Madju by contrast was observed mating Melur from the age of six years and was already beginning to clash with Charlie when he was exported in 2015.

I agree theoretical daughters of Melur and Daya would likely remain cohesive into adulthood as we saw with Dara and Indra. Gangsa was clearly the problem as combining her with Isim and Wanita was also unsuccessful (with Isim and Gangsa attacking Wanita). Wanita had a temper and even Indra was noted to get out of her way, but Melur is a placid female and Daya sounds similarly good natured.
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That is very interesting, especially the behaviour of the young males. I've heard stories about how challenging Madju could be with Charlie, and even if the zoo hadn't been focused on phasing out Bornean orangutans at the time, they would no doubt have chosen to transfer Madju out anyway. I also remembering a volunteer telling me that Madju once attempted to mate long-term playmate Wanita, which did not go well at all, although the adult males never showed any interest in her (likely due to her partial hysterectomy which meant she didn't come into heat).

Bahmi is showing himself to be very similar to Madju in terms of his temperament and personality - cheeky, adventurous and curious about the visitors. He seems most interested in observing children, with a fondness for small girls in particular. Bahmi's favourite pastime of late seems to be sneaking up on Charlie and pulling his hair, although Charlie is very gentle and tolerant due to Bahmi being an infant and will move out of reach rather than risk a confrontation with protective Melur.

These similarities to Madju are making me wonder if Bahmi will be as precocious as his older brother! :p
 
Australasian Orangutan Population 2024

Not a lot of change from 2023, bar the exciting new addition to Auckland Zoo’s Bornean orangutan colony.

It’s unlikely we’ll see any infants produced in 2023, with Melbourne, Mogo and Adelaide without viable breeding pairs; and Perth on a breeding hiatus until their exhibit renovations are complete.

Auckland Zoo:

Bornean orangutan:

1.0 Charlie (21/03/1981) Zabu x Girlie
0.1 Melur (11/06/1988) Laki x Yasmin; Imported 1995
0.1 Daya (27/05/2012) Bako x Jewel; Imported 2023
1.0 Bahmi (20/03/2022) Charlie x Melur

Adelaide Zoo:

Sumatran orangutan:

1.0 Kluet (18/07/1995) Gambar x Gina; Imported 2003
0.1 Puspa (01/01/1975) Atjeh x Puan

Melbourne Zoo:

Sumatran orangutan:

1.0 Malu (29/07/2003) Santan x Maimunah

Hybrid orangutan:

0.1 Kiani (24/06/1978) Bobby x Olga
0.1 Gabby (01/01/1990) Santan x Kiani

Mogo Zoo:

Hybrid orangutan:

1.0 Jantan (11/07/1987) Perang x Judy II
0.1 Willow (09/05/1985) Perang x Wendy

Perth Zoo:

Sumatran orangutan:

1.0 Dinar (06/03/1987) Dinding x Abigail; Imported 2004
0.1 Puteri (12/06/1970) Atjeh x Puan
0.1 Utama (19/06/1979) Atjeh x Puteri
0.1 Sekara (20/07/1990) Hsing Hsing x Puspa
0.1 Pulang (21/12/1993) Atjeh x Puan
0.1 Teliti (20/10/2009) Hsing Hsing x Puteri
1.0 Sungai (30/12/2011) Dinar x Sekara
0.1 Lestari (09/01/2012) Hsing Hsing x Pulang

Sydney Zoo:

Sumatran orangutan:

1.0 Santan (12/10/1977) Mias x Puppe; Imported 1987
0.1 Maimunah (23/05/1986) Pongo x Timor
0.1 Dewi (06/12/2010) Santan x Maimunah

Total regional population: 8.14

2.2 Bornean orangutan
5.9 Sumatran orangutan
1.3 Hybrid orangutan

Note: Year of import is year imported into the region.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Australasian Orangutan Population 2024

Not a lot of change from 2023, bar the exciting new addition to Auckland Zoo’s Bornean orangutan colony.

It’s unlikely we’ll see any infants produced in 2023, with Melbourne, Mogo and Adelaide without viable breeding pairs; and Perth on a breeding hiatus until their exhibit renovations are complete.

Auckland Zoo:

Bornean orangutan:

1.0 Charlie (21/03/1981) Zabu x Girlie
0.1 Melur (11/06/1988) Laki x Yasmin; Imported 1995
0.1 Daya (27/05/2012) Bako x Jewel; Imported 2023
1.0 Bahmi (20/03/2022) Charlie x Melur

Adelaide Zoo:

Sumatran orangutan:

1.0 Kluet (18/07/1995) Gambar x Gina; Imported 2003
0.1 Puspa (01/01/1975) Atjeh x Puan

Melbourne Zoo:

Sumatran orangutan:

1.0 Malu (29/07/2003) Santan x Maimunah

Hybrid orangutan:

0.1 Kiani (24/06/1978) Bobby x Olga
0.1 Gabby (01/01/1990) Santan x Kiani

Mogo Zoo:

Hybrid orangutan:

1.0 Jantan (11/07/1987) Perang x Judy II
0.1 Willow (09/05/1985) Perang x Wendy

Perth Zoo:

Sumatran orangutan:

1.0 Dinar (06/03/1987) Dinding x Abigail; Imported 2004
0.1 Puteri (12/06/1970) Atjeh x Puan
0.1 Utama (19/06/1979) Atjeh x Puteri
0.1 Sekara (20/07/1990) Hsing Hsing x Puspa
0.1 Pulang (21/12/1993) Atjeh x Puan
0.1 Teliti (20/10/2009) Hsing Hsing x Puteri
1.0 Sungai (30/12/2011) Dinar x Sekara
0.1 Lestari (09/01/2012) Hsing Hsing x Pulang

Sydney Zoo:

Sumatran orangutan:

1.0 Santan (12/10/1977) Mias x Puppe; Imported 1987
0.1 Maimunah (23/05/1986) Pongo x Timor
0.1 Dewi (06/12/2010) Santan x Maimunah

Total regional population: 8.14

2.2 Bornean orangutan
5.9 Sumatran orangutan
1.3 Hybrid orangutan

Note: Year of import is year imported into the region.
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It's been quite an exciting year for Auckland's Bornean orangutans, with the arrival of Daya from the Netherlands, and no doubt, 2024 will see her further get to know and hopefully integrate with original residents Charlie, Melur and their infant son, Bahmi. All looks positive, and although on my visits Daya is still being allowed out into the outdoor orangutan habitat alone and is not yet being given access to the aerial pathways, zoo staff have reported that things seem to be positive between Daya and the others behind the scenes, with some "very sweet" interactions between Daya and Bahmi. It is my hope that those two develop a play-based relationship as it would be very enriching for both of them.
 
Kiani (1978-2023)

Some sad news from Melbourne Zoo tonight:

Melbourne Zoo is sad to announce that we have said goodbye to our beloved elderly Orangutan, Kiani, earlier today.

Kiani was receiving supportive care to manage her age-related arthritis. Over the past few weeks, her condition deteriorated to a point where keepers and vets made the difficult decision to euthanise Kiani as the kindest and most humane welfare outcome. Kiani was born at Melbourne Zoo and spent her 45-years here. Melbourne Zoo is also home to Kiani's 33-year-old daughter, Gabby, as well as adult male, Malu. Sumatran Orangutans are currently listed as Critically Endangered in the wild.

Staff, zoo members and visitors alike will have fond memories of Kiani that span over the past four decades. Her gentle, inquisitive and affectionate nature was admired by all those who had the privilege of meeting her. Kiani loved to interact with visitors, paying special attention to men with beards, as well as mothers feeding their babies. While we are deeply saddened by her loss, we are comforted knowing she is at peace and without pain.

Vale Kiani.
 
While its sad news that an especially loved animal has passed on. It does open up the opportunity for Melbourne to potentially import a female sumatran to breed with their male.
 
Osedax said:
Oh, must be Gabby who's the hybrid. Was Kiani also a hybrid then?
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Yes, Kiani was a hybrid, and Gabby is also a hybrid. Gabby's sire, though, is a purebred Sumatran orangutan - Santan (currently at Sydney Zoo) - who is also Malu's father, so they are half-siblings. Malu's mother, however, Maimunah, is a purebred Sumatran also, so he is a purebred.
 
Abbey said:
Yes, Kiani was a hybrid, and Gabby is also a hybrid. Gabby's sire, though, is a purebred Sumatran orangutan - Santan (currently at Sydney Zoo) - who is also Malu's father, so they are half-siblings. Malu's mother, however, Maimunah, is a purebred Sumatran also, so he is a purebred.
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Gabby is 7/8 (87.5%) Sumatran:

Rufus (Bornean) x Helen (Sumatran) = Bobby (Hybrid)

Bobby (Hybrid) x Olga (Sumatran) = Kiani (Hybrid)

Santan (Sumatran) x Kiani (Hybrid) = Gabby (Hybrid)
 
Zoofan15 said:
Kiani (1978-2023)

Some sad news from Melbourne Zoo tonight:

Melbourne Zoo is sad to announce that we have said goodbye to our beloved elderly Orangutan, Kiani, earlier today.

Kiani was receiving supportive care to manage her age-related arthritis. Over the past few weeks, her condition deteriorated to a point where keepers and vets made the difficult decision to euthanise Kiani as the kindest and most humane welfare outcome. Kiani was born at Melbourne Zoo and spent her 45-years here. Melbourne Zoo is also home to Kiani's 33-year-old daughter, Gabby, as well as adult male, Malu. Sumatran Orangutans are currently listed as Critically Endangered in the wild.

Staff, zoo members and visitors alike will have fond memories of Kiani that span over the past four decades. Her gentle, inquisitive and affectionate nature was admired by all those who had the privilege of meeting her. Kiani loved to interact with visitors, paying special attention to men with beards, as well as mothers feeding their babies. While we are deeply saddened by her loss, we are comforted knowing she is at peace and without pain.

Vale Kiani.
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Sad to hear, she reached quite a respectable age. Being one of the two famous twins born at Melbourne back in 1978, she's spent most of her life in the zoo spotlight and was certainly adored by a lot of victorians for decades.

I only saw a video of her two days ago walking around the enclosure with Gabby and Malu (something I have to note; I'd never previously seen them do). I wonder whether Melbourne's team were in fact letting Kiani spend her final days with the other two orangutans; and even if not, I'm still glad she was able to do so.

She's long battled with arthritis probably descending from her days in the concrete grottoes, so it's a testament to Melbourne's team for being able to support her with her care for the past few decades and helping her reach this age.

Rest in peace Kiani.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Malu is a purebred Sumatran orangutan.

Kiani was a hybrid; as is her daughter Gabby.

There are only three hybrids remaining in the region now - Jantan and Willow at Mogo; Gabby at Melbourne.
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Rest in peace, sweet Kiani. :(

I wonder if this means that a purebred Sumatran female might be paired with Malu in the future?
 
ApeLadyNZ said:
Rest in peace, sweet Kiani. :(

I wonder if this means that a purebred Sumatran female might be paired with Malu in the future?
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That’s definitely a long term possibility. Even with Kiani’s death, it makes sense to put the acquisition of a new female on hold until the elephants depart; which has long been anticipated to open up room for the expansion of Melbourne’s orangutan facilities. From here, Melbourne could then consider bringing in a mate for Malu.

Within the next few years, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the transfer of some of Perth’s colony to other Australian zoos. Females could be paired with either Malu at Melbourne or Kluet at Adelaide; and their young adult male (Sungai) is the obvious replacement for Santan at Sydney Zoo when he passes, joining Maimunah and Dewi.

Perth’s renovated exhibit appear to show larger exhibits that require some degree of integration of their orangutans. Dependent on personalities, it’s likely we’ll see a downsizing of their colony to achieve this.
 
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