Australian (and NZ) Great Ape News and Discussion

tetrapod said:
Personally I don't know what the exhibits in the Indian zoos were like during the late 80s/early 90s. Suspect that PZ didn't ask too many questions.
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I assume the living conditions were somewhat lacking (or at least the husbandry was) as the vast majority of the apes died within the first three years of their arrival in India.

These are the Perth orangutan exports to India:

Majizat (M)
Born at Perth Zoo 26/06/1976
Sent to Peshwae Park Zoo 08/11/1985 (LTF)

Bintang (F)
Born at Perth Zoo 09/10/1970
Sent to Hyderabad Zoo 21/03/1986
Died at Hyderbad Zoo 30/08/1987

Binar (F)
Born at Perth Zoo 02/05/1974
Sent to Hyderbad Zoo 21/03/1986
Died at Hyderbad Zoo 01/09/1988

Bini (F)
Born at Perth Zoo 09/12/1975
Sent to Peshwae Park Zoo 08/11/1985
Sent to Nandankanan Bio Park Unknown (LTF)

Bingkis (M)
Born at Perth Zoo 09/10/1979
Sent to Kamla Nehru Zoo 29/11/1985
Died at Kamla Nehru Zoo 28/06/1988

Indah (F)
Born at Perth Zoo 25/01/1979
Sent to Kamla Nehru Zoo 29/11/1985
Died at Kamla Nehru Zoo 17/06/1986

Bobby (sire of the Melbourne twins) was sent to Perth and then on to Hyderabad Zoo in 1986. He died at the Hyderabad Zoo in 1995 after being subject to 'malicious destruction.'
 
Zoofan15 said:
I assume the living conditions were somewhat lacking (or at least the husbandry was) as the vast majority of the apes died within the first three years of their arrival in India.
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They were not very good...although we saw a young Orangutan in Delhi Zoo in what was a passable enclosure. We talked to a keeper and because we were english he immediately wanted to get the Orangutan out and for us to hold her:eek:- we in no way had requested that! I remember it nearly caused a riot as a huge crowd of visitors came running over to see what was happening and excitedly pressed around us. I guess she was quite short-lived too.

Australian Zoos aren't the only ones that send unwanted Apes to India. In the 1960-70's Bristol sent a young pair of Bornean orangs to(I think) Hyderabad. Dublin also sent a single male silverback 'Polo' who couldn't breed, to Mysore Zoo, but he actually lived there for many years- though alone. Recently EEP sent two young surplus bachelor male gorillas to an Indian Zoo- the first gorillas in India since Polo died at Mysore.

But the usual 'dumping ground' for such unwanted Apes from G.B. was the East European zoos.
 
tetrapod said:
Confirmed my thinking that the exhibits were at best average, but the short longevity is shockingly poor. One must assume that standards have improved if more apes have been sent to Indian zoos more recently.
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I suspect in the case of the recent transfer of the young male gorillas, advice/inspection on enclosure/management would be a priority. But I doubt that happened in the past.
 
Hi, I'm new here to this thread, and I was just wondering if orangutans Gabby and Malu each have any breeding plans? I know Gabby and Malu are both related and can't breed. If they're set up for breeding, are they going somewhere else? They've already grown up now so I think it will be a good time for breeding!
 
ProjectGames said:
Hi, I'm new here to this thread, and I was just wondering if orangutans Gabby and Malu each have any breeding plans? I know Gabby and Malu are both related and can't breed. If they're set up for breeding, are they going somewhere else? They've already grown up now so I think it will be a good time for breeding!
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Welcome!

Gabby is actually sterilised as she’s a hybrid and the region has had a ban on breeding hybrids since the 1990’s.

Melbourne Zoo are focussing on the purebred Sumatran orangutan, so will retain Gabby; while acquiring a female Sumatran to breed with Malu.
 
ProjectGames said:
Hi, I'm new here to this thread, and I was just wondering if orangutans Gabby and Malu each have any breeding plans? I know Gabby and Malu are both related and can't breed. If they're set up for breeding, are they going somewhere else? They've already grown up now so I think it will be a good time for breeding!
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Zoofan15 said:
Welcome!

Gabby is actually sterilised as she’s a hybrid and the region has had a ban on breeding hybrids since the 1990’s.

Melbourne Zoo are focussing on the purebred Sumatran orangutan, so will retain Gabby; while acquiring a female Sumatran to breed with Malu.
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Gabby:

Some additional notes on Gabby:

Gabby (1990) and Malu (2003) are half siblings through their sire, Santan (1977), who’s a purebred Sumatran orangutan. Gabby is a hybrid via her maternal line and 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)

Population lists:

Also, if you’re interested in an overview of the great ape populations of Australasia, I’ve created these population threads:

Australasian Western Lowland Gorilla Population

Australasian Common Chimpanzee Population

Australasian Orangutan Population

I revise these lists on an annual basis if the population has changed enough to warrant a revision. Generally speaking, the chimpanzee population has been the most dynamic due to its size; compared to the orangutan population which saw the birth of the first successful infant in a decade last month.
 
Zoofan15 said:
Melbourne Zoo are focussing on the purebred Sumatran orangutan, so will retain Gabby; while acquiring a female Sumatran to breed with Malu.
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Ultimately I'm not sure if there are any immiediate plans for breeding Malu. The moving of the Saimangs into the Orangutan Sanctuary, has just taken away more space; and lately they've been grouping their Orangutans in two groups; either Malu and Gabby, and then Kiani by herself, or Gabby and Kiani with Malu by himself. Not sure why this is this the case, as it seems Malu and Kiani aren't being grouped together anymore.
 
To be honest, I think it's a shame to have excluded an animal from the Sumatran breeding programme when she's nearly 90% Sumatran. Obviously, I can understand why the blanket ban on breeding hybrids is in place
Jambo said:
Ultimately I'm not sure if there are any immiediate plans for breeding Malu. The moving of the Saimangs into the Orangutan Sanctuary, has just taken away more space; and lately they've been grouping their Orangutans in two groups; either Malu and Gabby, and then Kiani by herself, or Gabby and Kiani with Malu by himself. Not sure why this is this the case, as it seems Malu and Kiani aren't being grouped together anymore.
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I was told that Malu is not let into the main enclosure unless there are volunteers to observe, and also that there has been bullying behaviour from Kiani towards Gabby. I’m assuming these challenges influence who’s going out with whom. Perhaps Gabby being given a break from her mum when Malu can keep her company outdoors.

It will be a real shame if a potential mate isn’t able to be imported for Malu; the regional breeding program really seems to have stagnated with no Sumatran births since Lestari in Perth.
 
marmolady said:
To be honest, I think it's a shame to have excluded an animal from the Sumatran breeding programme when she's nearly 90% Sumatran. Obviously, I can understand why the blanket ban on breeding hybrids is in place


I was told that Malu is not let into the main enclosure unless there are volunteers to observe, and also that there has been bullying behaviour from Kiani towards Gabby. I’m assuming these challenges influence who’s going out with whom. Perhaps Gabby being given a break from her mum when Malu can keep her company outdoors.

It will be a real shame if a potential mate isn’t able to be imported for Malu; the regional breeding program really seems to have stagnated with no Sumatran births since Lestari in Perth.
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A hybrid is still a hybrid I guess, even if she's only just over 10%. Gabby is in her early 30's now so any chances of her breeding are pretty much gone.

Oh that would make a lot of sense. I hadn't seen Malu outdoors for about a year until I saw him a few months ago but there were two volunteers watching him and Gabby. I'd assume this is due to his incredible escaping skills lol. That's also interesting to her Kiani's been bullying Gabby. They've always been quite close. I did see Kiani and Gabby fighting over Malu a couple of years ago, so maybe thats why all three haven't been kept together lately.
 
Jambo said:
Gabby is in her early 30's now so any chances of her breeding are pretty much gone.
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Females can still breed for the first time in their 30’s and can potentially breed into their mid-40’s; however Gabby is sterilised, so make that zero chance. Theoretically a sterilisation could be reversed, but it would be an invasive procedure and not justifiable in this case given she’s a hybrid.
 
marmolady said:
To be honest, I think it's a shame to have excluded an animal from the Sumatran breeding programme when she's nearly 90% Sumatran. Obviously, I can understand why the blanket ban on breeding hybrids is in place

It will be a real shame if a potential mate isn’t able to be imported for Malu; the regional breeding program really seems to have stagnated with no Sumatran births since Lestari in Perth.
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Unfortunately, I don’t think any percentage of hybrid would be tolerated considering the blanket ban. The lack of breeding in the region suggests a lack of space/holders and implies there’s no shortage of viable breeding females.

In terms of sourcing a mate for Malu, four females at Perth would be suitable given his only relatives in the region are his family at Sydney and his uncle at Adelaide.

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
0.1 Lestari (09/01/2012) Hsing Hsing x Pulang

Of these options, Pulang is the most genetically valuable.
 
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