another orang death.. » Singapore Zoo

another orang death..
14-02-2008

Young orangutan dies in freak zoo accident - Environment - smh.com.au

geeze this is a real shame. i saw an orang in the hammock when i was there just a month or so ago. i didn't notice "a noose" as a part of it.....

14-02-2008

I'm really upset about this death, I've watched the baby girl Atina grow over the last 2 years. She was doing so well in the the trees, able to move about quite a bit on her own.
The local papers here published a photo of accident and when i saw it, it totally made me sick to the stomach. It was just too graphic.

Its unfortunate that the over protective mother resisted the keepers' attempts to reach Atina, pushing away ladders and extension poles. The other orangs inadvertently killed Atina by tugging her too hard.

It wasn't a noose per se, more like a loose knot.

The orang keepers are absolutely devastated, with the 2 deaths coming so close and unexpectedly.

accident prone apes
15-02-2008

Its a sad fact that apes, particularly younger ones, do seem quite accident prone in captivity. Apart from drowning (which can be avoided in the enclosure design) there are other examples, such as many years ago at Howletts where a baby gorilla (ironically their firstborn female) strangled itself while playing on ropes. I think there may have been a similar accident at Frankfurt more recently.

The best story I heard was from Jersey, where the gorilla baby Motaba(now at Melbourne) once got his head stuck through the ceiling bars of his indoor enclosure. His mother 'Nandi' was tugging frantically at his body and in danger of killing him in the process when father 'Jambo' stepped in. To a background of screams and panic from the rest of the group, he pushed mother 'Nandi' out of the way and supported his little son's body, at the same time easing him along to a spot where the bars were fractionally wider, allowing his head to slip back through. Does that show intelligence or what?

16-02-2008

That is amazing, about the Jersey gorillas that is. I was at Bristol zoo today, and the baby Komale was hanging from the ceiling in the indoor enclosure. The floor in there is concrete, if he, or any other gorilla, fell he would probably get seriously hurt.
Really sad about that orang baby too.

16-02-2008

What news from Bristol Ashley?

16-02-2008

Well Namoki's huge now, and Komale is straying from mum a bit. They're also building a butterfly house opposite the Prarie dogs, and Chandra the male lion's moving to Cotswold wildlife park. The femal Moti will be joined by the male from Twycross zoo.
The Gorilla island also looks really bare and crappy at the moment. The Gorillas never seem to use it either...

16-02-2008

@Pertinax: I recognize the Motaba story from one of Gerald Durrell's hilarious books.

16-02-2008

Apparently apes (large and small) are quite accident prone in the wild, as well.
Studies of wild caught gibbons showed that a fair percentage of them had healed fractures.

The main danger for wild gorillas are %@#$^ snares set by poachers! (Pardon my swearing!)

16-02-2008

yeah, studies of wild orang utans revealed something like half of them had healed fractures.

About the incident at Singapore, it really was unfortunate and a "freak accident" because the noose was actually quite large and the baby orang's head should easily slip in and out of it. I guess like us, even the most intelligent of animals panic and make fatal mistakes.

16-02-2008

I didn't know it was in one of his books as well but I read it in 'Jambo, A Gorilla's story' written by their keeper Richard Johnson Scott(whom I used to know vaguely)
Apparently it happened five minutes before H.R.H. Princess Anne(the zoo's patron) was due to visit the Gorilla House as part of a visit. The enclosure had been specially cleaned, windows polished etc in readiness for the VIP visitor but when she arrived- just after Jambo had saved Motaba- the enclosure was in total disarray, the floor covered with diahorrea etc from the frightened gorillas. Apparently she didn't seem to notice anything wrong....

16-02-2008

OOOH, I don't want to hear this... Komale is at that vulnerable stage. He's very valuable genetically(as is Namoke too) as he's Salome's only living offspring- and her father(Samson) has only one other living descendant. I am constantly worried about the fear of one of the two youngsters drowning in the watermoat too....

16-02-2008

Does he ride on her back yet? They told me last autumn he's a bit skinny (but a strong character) and they were trying to give him supplementary feeding in order to fill him out a bit- but at that time he wouldn't take anything.

The Gorilla Island always looks bare in winter. I've only rarely seen 'Jock' outside, and usually then only in warm weather, apart from when he comes out during the daily talk and feed sessions. I read somewhere he stays inside 90% +of the time!!! The females do go out a bit more, but not that frequently. They do like that wooden 'windshield' construction. Its really just an enormous waste of a large area. However, as the group hopefully grows larger, the young ones may use it a bit more often.

18-02-2008

Last time I went he was palying on a rope, so I don't know weather he rides his mothers back

18-02-2008

Thanks. I would think he probably is by now..

accident-prone apes...
18-02-2008

a few years back i remember watching two baby chimps at taronga chase eachother to the highest branches of their dead trees and then scurry along a rope strung between them. it was very high up and the ground below that particular section is sydney sandstone. one grabbed hold of the other and two hung there, playfighting and suspended by nothing but one hand of one of the baby chimps, he didn't seem the slightest bit worried, nor did any of the adults despite the fact that they stayed like this for over a minute, frantically shaking eachother and playing in a way that appeared, at least to us humans, totally careless.

of course that little chimp hand held firm. and the two eventually chased eachother back down unharmed.

in the end however, i think apes, despite being so spectacularly more agile and co-ordinated than us, still make the rare mistake and sometimes this can prove fatal. i don't think there is much use being over-cautious. the benefits of ropes and tall trees/frames for apes, even small infants, greatly outweighs the risk of a rare accidental death.

of course its wise to minimise the risks as much as possible.

for example its probably not such a great idea to build your climbing frames over say, a tiger exhibit.