zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
Well said Tetrapod i totaly agree with every thing you`ve just said.
But the situation with the orangs confuses me. If they were part of the EEP breeding program then I would understand. But there is no point just breeding orangs for breeding sakes. They must be either part of a proper breeding program or part of an in-situ release.
I believe recently they are also now taking in some rejected baby Orangutans from other European zoos to act as a 'nursery' for them. Does this indicate they are now acting within EEP guidelines or is it only a one-way situation?
It will be interesting to see once all the orangutans are breeding whether animals go off to other collections.
This is where it gets complicated. Presumably the babies which were supplied by the zoos are still under EEP 'ownership' while the Asian imports would be owned, as you said, by the countries they came from, while Amy and Gordon are (presumably) Monkeyworld's own. So three quite seperate sources of 'ownership' in the one colony.
Also I'm not clear where the ones they do breed could go in the future. Orangutans breed very freely in captivity and most zoos that keep them already have their own breeding colonies so there isn't great demand there. Progeny from the 'Asian' animals presumably wouldn't be allowed into zoos anyway, but can they realistically be returned to Asia for rerelease into the wild? What else is the aim in producing them?
It would be interesting to know whether the EEP orangutan crech means just that and once there are nearing sexual maturity they will be sent of to other collections.
Jeremy Keeling managed Gordon Mill's private collection of orangs and gorillas at Weybridge - I was fortunate to visit the collection . I think 2 of the gorillas went to Longleat with the rest of both going to collections in the States .
One young male gorilla came from Tyseley Pet Stores in Birmingham I also remember a pair of baby orangs being advertised . How things have changed !
Wasn't 'Olly' advertised for sale as a Mountain gorilla , or is it my memory ?