Perth Zoo Perth Zoo News 2013

First Released Male Orang Dies in

Hopefully they will gain some valuable experience from this: Much-loved orangutan dies | Perth Zoo

Posted on 3 April 2013

Perth Zoo’s much-loved Sumatran Orangutan, Semeru, who made world history when he was released into the Indonesian jungle in 2011, has died from a venomous snake bite.

Perth Zoo Director of Animal Health and Research, Dr Peter Mawson, said Indonesian trackers who monitored his movements each day had found Semeru’s body in a night nest that they had watched him build the previous afternoon.

“Semeru had a beautiful nature and was a beacon of hope for this critically endangered species. It is sad news but we know there are risks for any animals living in the wild and there was nothing that his trackers could have done,” Dr Mawson said.

Semeru was the first male zoo-born orangutan ever to be released into the wild. He would have turned eight in June.

It appears he was bitten by the snake while he was settling into his sleeping nest in a Kasai tree.

“Many of the keepers at Perth Zoo remember the day that Semeru was born here and his parents and siblings still live with us. It is a huge blow to lose him,” Dr Mawson said.

Semeru was released into the Bukit Tigapuluh (BTP) ecosystem in November 2011. BTP is a jungle sanctuary for critically endangered species including orangutans, tigers, elephants and sun bears.

Perth Zoo Senior Orangutan Keeper Kylie Bullo had an emotional reunion with Semeru recently when she visited Bukit Tigapuluh and he immediately remembered her and came down from the tall trees to see her.

“He was progressing well climbing the trees, building his nests, finding food and interacting with other orangutans,” Dr Mawson said.

“He was learning all the time and it is sad that it has ended this way. But I am glad that Semeru was able to spend the past 17 months experiencing life in the wild.”

Dr Mawson said the vet in Sumatra who had examined Semeru’s body had found two puncture marks on his upper back. Due to his condition she had concluded that the bite was most likely from a pit viper.

He thanked Semeru’s trackers and the many others who had helped with his release and care since 2011, including the Frankfurt Zoological Society, The Orangutan Project and the Indonesian Government.
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His death was certainly not a waste as both he and the other one they released earlier have proved that releases of this sort are possible. I wonder if they need to be more educated about snakes perhaps?
 
pit vipers are active at night. The orangutan was probably bitten in his sleep, possibly by rolling onto the snake in the nest.
 
Chlidonias said:
pit vipers are active at night. The orangutan was probably bitten in his sleep, possibly by rolling onto the snake in the nest.
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In which case his captive background probably has no bearing on a very unfortunate accident. I hope they continue with these trials with surplus Perth-bred Orangs.
 
CGSwans said:
There's also a western swamp turtle in SA. I can't remember now whether it was at Adelaide Zoo or Cleland WP. I think the zoo. It could have died, I guess, but I definitely saw one on my July 2011 trip there.
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It is Adelaide Zoo, they appear to be breeding the species, and have eight tortoises at present. Nowhere near as many as Perth though :cool:
 
zooboy28 said:
It is Adelaide Zoo, they appear to be breeding the species, and have eight tortoises at present. Nowhere near as many as Perth though :cool:
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It's not a tortoise, it's a turtle.

:p

Hix
 
zooboy28 said:
This is very true. Interestingly, Perth Zoo calls them tortoises on their website: Western Swamp Tortoise | Perth Zoo
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in Australia "tortoise" has traditionally been used for all species (except the sea turtles), much like Americans traditionally use "turtle" for all species (such as "Galapagos giant turtles"). So the species in question has always been called "western swamp tortoise" even though it is a turtle. It's just a common name.
 
That's intresting, didn't know about this from Australians and American !
In the Netherlands the whole group is called 'schildpad' with making a sub-grouping by calling the 'landschildpad' for tortoise, 'moerasschildpad' for turtle and 'zeeschildpad' for sea turtle. By the way, the word schildpad would mean translated shield-toad !
 
Always thought that terrapin worked well for any aquatic species with claws, leaving the tortoise for land-based species and turtle for the sea-going species (+ pig-nose).
 
a couple of reptile additions to the Zoo (reported on their Facebook): a three-toed box turtle in April (had been kept illegally as a pet) and a male Madagascar tree boa in June.
 
According to the Perth Zoo website, the visitor's area of the Orang-Utan exhibit is being upgraded:

Exciting news! Work on a new elevated visitor viewing boardwalk at our orangutan exhibit has begun. This State Government-funded project requires the partial closure of the exhibit over the coming months but there are still good opportunities to see our orangutans with some viewing bays remaining open. Perth Zoo’s orangutan exhibit is proudly sponsored by Alinta Energy.
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Off-display and Under Construction | Perth Zoo
 
National and International Transfers at Perth Zoo:

Story and photos here: National and International Transfers at Perth Zoo | Zoo Aquarium Association

-Female Brolga arrived from Fleay's Fauna Park.
-Male Red Panda sent to Adelaide Zoo.
-Male Red Panda received from National Zoo and Aquarium.
-Male juvenile Cassowary sent to Adelaide Zoo, female to Billabong Sanctuary.
-Female Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo received from Adelaide Zoo.
-Female Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo sent to Yokahama Zoological Gardens, Japan.
-Female Emperor Tamarin arrived from Lisbon, Portugal, mating observed upon introduction to Perth's male.

In addition, Perth Zoo has undertaken the first translocations (releases?) of Australian Water Rats:

Five native Water Rats Hydromys chrysogaster (IUCN: LC) were transferred from Perth Zoo into the wild in the first official translocation of this species in Australia. One pair was released at Mussel Pool, Whiteman Park, 22 km north of Perth. The other group (one male and two females) was released at Australian Wildlife Conservancy’s Karakamia Sanctuary comprising 275 ha of Jarrah forest in the southwest of Western Australia. On 17 October, another Perth Zoo born female Water Rat was released at Karakamia. All are being monitored using infra-red remote sensing cameras and early reports indicate that the rats are active in the water bodies and are returning regularly to their purpose-built artificial dens. The native Water Rat is a top order predator in our freshwater and coastal marine systems.
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