By Sarah Johnson


This baby orangutan may have been born in captivity but that hasn't stopped her mother from holding her close.

Emma, the Sumatran orangutan, gave birth to her daughter three days ago and has not let her out of her sight since.

The, as yet unnamed, newborn is the latest addition to the Realm of the Red Ape exhibit at Chester Zoo which houses a group of the critically endangered Sumatran orangutans.

Proud mother: Emma, a Sumatran orangutan, looks at the camera as she cradles her newborn daughter

These adorable images show the tenderness and love that Emma bestows on her daughter.

She cradles her newborn in her arms while looking proudly at the camera before another photograph captures her gazing lovingly at the baby orangutan.

Not one for missing the action, however, the infant manages to poke her head out from underneath her mother's fur to see what is going on around her.

She looks straight at the lens before something catches her attention and she looks away.

Emma who was also born at the zoo, in 1987, gazes lovingly at the newest addition to the family

Sumatran orangutans originally come from the Island of Sumatra in Indonesia and live in tropical and subtropical forests in the lowlands as well as in mountainous areas up to a height of 1500m.

When fully grown, they can measure up to 1.4 metres tall and weigh up to 90 kilogrammes.

Orangutans are the only great ape found outside of Africa.

Their numbers in the wild have decreased from more than 12,000 in the mid 1990s to just 6,500 in recent years.

Peek-a-boo! Emma holds her unnamed three-day-old baby close to her body at Chester Zoo

A mother's love: The unnamed baby orangutan gazes up at the camera from the safety of it's mother's protective embrace

Wide-eyed: Enveloped in its mother's fur, the three-day-old orangutan catches sight of something up above

They are threatened by habitat loss with land being used for agricultural development and logging. Severe droughts and forest fires also play their part.

The animals are hunted for meat, traditional medicine and the pet trade.

With less than 900,000 hectares of suitable habitat remaining, it’s possible that this could be the first great ape to become extinct in the wild.


source:dailymail

•The primate showed off her talents to visitors to Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta

By Graham Smith


This orangutan proves why her species is regarded as the world's most intelligent animal, after man.

Idling away her time on a blisteringly hot summer's day at Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta, Indonesia, the primate was only too eager to demonstrate her talents when a bottle of orange juice landed at her feet.

It had been thrown by a well-meaning visitor, wanting to help her manage during the warm weather.

Thirsty work: An orangutan is pleased to receive a bottle of orange juice that had been tossed into her pen at Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta, Indonesia

Refreshment break: After unscrewing the bottle top, the orangutan enjoys the drink, while her three-month-old baby tucks into a bottle of probiotic drink Yakult

Without a moment's hesitation, the orangutan had unscrewed the bottle top and was happily swigging the refreshing juice.

Her three-month-old baby, meanwhile, was enjoying a small bottle of probiotic drink Yakult.

The 350-acre Ragunan Zoo was established in 1862 and is currently home to 20 orangutans.

As an endangered species, the primate's numbers have dropped to just 40,000 as a result of logging, mining and forest fires.

Found only in South-East Asia on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the gentle red ape demonstrates significant intelligence, with an ability to reason and think.

Crowd-pleaser: The orangutan pulls a pose for the benefit of tourists gathered round her pen

According to research by Harvard University psychologist James Lee, orangutans are the world’s most intelligent animal other than man, with higher learning and problem solving ability than chimpanzees, which were previously considered to have greater abilities.

The name orang-utan translates into English as 'people of the forest'.


Cooling down: The primates enjoy getting themselves wet with the orange drink


Playtime: The 350-acre Ragunan Zoo was established in 1862 and is currently home to 20 orangutans


source:dailymail

-Pair saved at last minute by Brit-based animal rescue group
-Palm oil firms trying to clear plantations said to be offering £70 for each orang-utan killed on the Borneo palm oil plantations


By Richard Shears


As bounty hunters with bush knives entrapped them in a circle and moved in for the kill, the only thing this mother orang-utan could think to do was to wrap a giant protective arm around her daughter.

The pair seemed to be facing a certain death as a gang of hunters surrounded them in Borneo, keen to cash in on the palm oil plantations' bid to be rideof the animals.

But, happily, a team from the British-based international animal rescue group Four Paws arrived in time to stop the slaughter and saved their lives.

The pregnant mother and daughter were captured and moved to a remote and safe area of the rainforest and released back into the wild - but not before the mother was equipped with a radio device so she and her young can be tracked to ensure they remain safe.

'Our arrival could not have been more timely,' said Dr Signe Preuschoft, a Four Paws primate expert.

Mother and daughter were captured and moved to a remote and safe area of the rainforest and released back into the wild - but not before the mother was equipped with a radio device so she and her young can be tracked to ensure they remain safe.

'Our arrival could not have been more timely,' said Dr Signe Preuschoft, a Four Paws primate expert.

'A few minutes later and the orang-utans could have been dead.

'We discovered a gang of young men surrounding them and both victims were clearly petrified.

'The gang meanwhile were jubilant in anticipation of their rewards for catching and killing the animals. These massacres must not be allowed to continue.'


Saved: 'Our arrival could not have been more timely. A few minutes later and the orang-utans could have been dead' said Dr Signe Preuschoft, a Four Paws primate expert

Rescue: When the animal rescue group found the 'clearly petrified' mother and baby they discovered a gang of young men who were looking to cash in on the palm oil companies' offer of £70 per orang-utan

Before the rescue, a Four Paws team had scoured the area on the Indonesian side of Borneo, which is shared with Malaysia, but found no other orang-utans which had survived an earlier slaughter.

Deforestation has dramatically reduced their habitat and their numbers have dropped from 250,000 a few decades ago to only 50,000 in the wild.

And while the loss of their habitat by logging companies has created a major threat to their existence, a more brutal form of reducing their numbers has emerged in recent years - direct slaughter.

Palm oil is used in hundreds of products from chocolate to oven chips, but the demand for buying it at a low price has resulted in significant deforestation as habitats are being destroyed to make way for plantations.

Some palm oil companies see orang-utans as pests, a threat to their lucrative business, and have placed a bounty on their heads.


Fresh start: The apes were released back to rapidly decreasing wilderness elsewhere in Indonesia by the charity group

Everything must go: The plantations, which are carving great swathes through south-east asia as they cut down trees to farm palm oil for the West, view the orang-utans as a pest

Company executives are reported to be offering up to £70 to employees for each orang-utan killed on the palm oil plantations.

While such stories were at first denied, proof of the slaughter emerged last September when graves and bones were found by investigators.

'Killing of orang-utans is illegal in Indonesia but the law is lacking enforcement,' said a British Four Paws spokesman.

'Before November last year only two low-level arrests had ever been made.

'But in the last two months 10 more arrests have taken place including the arrest of the senior manager of the plantation where the worst graves have been found.'

In an equally tragic scenario, babies left alive after adult orang-utans have been slaughtered have been put up for sale in the pet trade by hunters.

When traumatised babies are found by Four Paws and other animal rescue teams they are taken to a sanctuary and taught skills they will need in order to return to the wild.




source:dailymail

By Emma Reynolds


Behind bars: An orangutan in a cage at the Melaka Zoo, south of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, where animals are kept in desperate conditions


Orangutans are being locked up in tiny cages and deprived of food and water by cruel zookeepers, it emerged today.

Left without any stimulation or room to exercise, the intelligent creatures sit and stare out hopelessly from behind the bars, according to campaigners in Malaysia.

The endangered species are trapped for up to 24 hours a day in their cramped quarters alongside other mistreated animals at Melaka Zoo, south of Kuala Lumpur, according to The Mirror.


Hopeless existence: Orangutans stare out from the bars of their tiny cages at Melaka Zoo

Cruel: An impossibly tiny cage which leaves no room for exercise. Attempts by the Malaysian government's wildlife ministry Perhilitan to clamp down on conditions in the country's zoos have failed


In May, Malaysia's Johor Zoo was revealed to be keeping a chain-smoking orangutan called Shirley.

The orangutan, who was seized from the zoo, lived a sad existence in which she tore apart drinks cans and chewed on food wrappers thrown at her by visitors.


Endangered: But this orangutan lives a bleak existence in Malaysia's Melaka Zoo

No escape: Desperation on the face of this orangutan, left without any stimulation in horribly cramped conditions


'A species that should be the pride of all Malaysia is instead being treated like prisoners on death row,' Sean Whyte, the head of British charity Nature Alert told the newspaper today.

'We don’t know how long it’s been like this but it’s months and possibly years.'

Attempts by the Malaysian government's wildlife ministry Perhilitan to clamp down on the appalling conditions in the country's zoos, rated among the worst in the world, have failed to change the situation.


Malaysia's zoos are among the worst in the world, say wildlife campaigners, with some even making animals perform despite the practice being banned


Pitiful: Campaigners say the creatures are left without food and water and treated like prisoners on death row

Cramped: In a common sight for Malaysian zoos, a tiger was found earlier this year in an enclosure that afforded barely any room for exercise


Some creatures were being made to perform, despite the practice being banned, but worst of all was the example of a zoo that had been obtaining its animals on the black market.

In October 2010 the Malaysian government passed a new law giving the zoos six months to clean up their act but there has been shamefully little progress since the June deadline.

Nature Alert has worked hard to prick the conscience of the Malaysian government but with the new regulations being met with obvious indifference, it is working to focus international attention on a problem for which a wealthy country has no excuse.


Disgrace: Shirley the chain-smoking orangutan is typical of the horrors to be found in Malaysian zoos. She was seized from state-run Johor Zoo earlier this year



source:dailymail

By Lee Moran


Treatment: Puyul, a 40-year-old orangutan, is seen undergoing an operation for a broken leg


Puyul the orangutan won't be monkeying around for quite some time - after he broke his leg by falling out of a tree.

The 40-year-old plummeted to the ground when conservationists found him roaming at a rubber plantation too close to an Indonesian village.

Vets from the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) treated him at a clinic in Batu Mbelin, North Sumatra.

Treatment: Puyul, a 40-year-old orangutan, is seen undergoing an operation for a broken leg

Laid up: With a drip in his arm, vets operate on Puyul's broken leg at their clinic in Batu Mbelin, North Sumatra, Indonesia


They also removed an air rifle pellet from his body. Indonesia has lost half of its rain forests in the last half century.

It has put the remaining 60,000 orangutans, who live in scattered, degraded forests, in frequent and often deadly conflict with humans.

Other orangutans to be treated by SOCP's vets include four-year-old Marvel, whose left leg had to be amputated.


Bandaged up: Puyul looks slightly worse for wear after his operation

Get well soon: An x-ray shows the break in Puyul's leg (left), while a drip is in his arm (right)


He had been chained up when kept as a pet and developed open wounds which became infected.

Now on the road to recovery, he still has respiratory problems which he has to be treated for.

And two newcomers to the conservation programme are orphaned babies Septian and Seroja, who regularly play inside their very own basket at the centre.


Preparing for surgery: Marvel the orangutan, who is four, is pictured about to receive treatment for a respiratory problem


Open wide: Vet Yenni Saraswati plays with Marvel (left) as he is prepared for surgery, while Marvel, whose left leg has been amputated, plays in a cage (right)


Monkeying around: Orphaned baby orangutans Septian and Seroja play inside a basket at the SOCP centre in Indonesia



source:dailymail

By Lee Moran


Treatment: Puyul, a 40-year-old orangutan, is seen undergoing an operation for a broken leg


Puyul the orangutan won't be monkeying around for quite some time - after he broke his leg by falling out of a tree.

The 40-year-old plummeted to the ground when conservationists found him roaming at a rubber plantation too close to an Indonesian village.

Vets from the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) treated him at a clinic in Batu Mbelin, North Sumatra.

Treatment: Puyul, a 40-year-old orangutan, is seen undergoing an operation for a broken leg

Laid up: With a drip in his arm, vets operate on Puyul's broken leg at their clinic in Batu Mbelin, North Sumatra, Indonesia


They also removed an air rifle pellet from his body. Indonesia has lost half of its rain forests in the last half century.

It has put the remaining 60,000 orangutans, who live in scattered, degraded forests, in frequent and often deadly conflict with humans.

Other orangutans to be treated by SOCP's vets include four-year-old Marvel, whose left leg had to be amputated.


Bandaged up: Puyul looks slightly worse for wear after his operation

Get well soon: An x-ray shows the break in Puyul's leg (left), while a drip is in his arm (right)


He had been chained up when kept as a pet and developed open wounds which became infected.

Now on the road to recovery, he still has respiratory problems which he has to be treated for.

And two newcomers to the conservation programme are orphaned babies Septian and Seroja, who regularly play inside their very own basket at the centre.


Preparing for surgery: Marvel the orangutan, who is four, is pictured about to receive treatment for a respiratory problem


Open wide: Vet Yenni Saraswati plays with Marvel (left) as he is prepared for surgery, while Marvel, whose left leg has been amputated, plays in a cage (right)


Monkeying around: Orphaned baby orangutans Septian and Seroja play inside a basket at the SOCP centre in Indonesia



source:dailymail

By Leon Watson


Mmm, tasty... This sweet-toothed ape's birthday pavlova has gone down very well.

Dewi, the Sumatran orangutan, was spotted licking her fingers after she wolfed down the treat at Melbourne Zoo in Melbourne, Australia.

The ape, who turned one, was presented with a gluten free version of the dessert as her father who also ate the cake is gluten intolerant.

Endangered: Dewi licks pavlova from her hands on her birthday at Melbourne Zoo in Melbourne, Australia


Despite once being widespread throughout the forests of Asia, orangutans are now confined to just two islands, Sumatra and Borneo.

Sumatran orangutans - like their Borneo brothers - are declining in numbers in the wild due to poachers and the spread of palm oil plantations which damage their habitat.

The species has been classified as 'Critically Endangered' by the IUCN, the World Conservation Union.

Latest data from 2008 estimates that there are now only around 6,600 remaining in the wild.


Sumatran orangutans are endangered in the wild due to the spread of palm oil plantations, which clear their rainforest habitat



source:dailymail

By Nadia Gilani


Gripping: The mother supports baby Siswi's head as the youngster appears to be absorbed looking at something in the distance


A pair of British photographers spent weeks following orangutans observing similarities between the behaviours of the primates and humans.

The incredible collection gives an intimate and heartwarming insight into how human-like the apes' behave is as they go about their daily business.

Some of the images capture the tender relationship between a mother and her newborn baby called Siswi.

Giving a lick: Siswi plays with a leaf by putting it straight into her mouth much like children do when exploring new objects


Fiona Rogers and Anup Shah from Watford, Hertfordshire, captured these fascinating scenes in Tanjung Puting National Park in Borneo, Indonesia.

In one, the doting female appears to smile as she gently cradles a dozing Siswi in her arms, while another shows her protectively looking on as the youngster plays with a leaf.

The series of photographs also show another male orangutan gingerly wading through a pool just like a human might holding its arms in the air as he navigates the deep water.

Ms Rogers said: 'We felt that orangutans are very human-like in their gestures, glances, and general behavior.

'They can work you out - they study you and try to figure out who you are and what you are thinking.

'It felt quite eerie to be with an ape that was very intelligent and deliberate in its thinking.

'Many people comment on how human-like they look when they see the pictures.

'Among the great apes, orangutans are the most upright in their walking.

'In intelligence, tests indicate that orangutans reach the same level of human children about three and a half years old but not beyond.

Comforting: Siswi falls into a deep sleep close to her mothers chest and cradled in her arms


'All great apes share this ceiling but recent studies show that orangutans may have an edge over other apes'.

The photographers spent three weeks in the national park getting very close to the animals in order to capture the intimate shots.

Ms Rogers said: 'We were able to get close because the orangutans are rehabilitated.

'Some were once captive but have been released in the wild where they now live, some are wild but have lost their fear of humans.

'Others have been rescued from disasters like forest fires and immediately released.

'They are free to come and go, and a few of them may come to a camp where there are people.

'This is so distinctive about some orangutans, they have a curiosity about humans that they cannot let go of'.


Having a stretch: Another orangutan in the park wades through a pool to cool off with its arms in the air



source:dailymail

By NADIA GILANI


Pucker up: The moment when a little boy and giant orangutan met through a pane of glass


Putting his lips up to the glass this little boy got more than he bargained for when a huge orangutan tried to give him a kiss.

The photograph captures an incredible moment where the massive mammal mimicked the child's pose at Moscow Zoo.

The youngster seems completely at ease when faced with the animal despite them being so close with nothing but a pane of glass between them.


Russian photographer Olga Dmitrieva who was on hand to capture the scene which left crowds stunned said: 'It was an amazing thing to witness'.

The Moscow zoo has more than 6000 animals representing about 1000 species and covers an area of around 53 acres.

Experts at the centre also study animals' behaviour, feeding and reproduction. Many of the breeds housed there include rare and endangered species.


source:dailymail

By Richard Shears


On the menu: A mother and baby orangutan swinging through the trees in Borneo


Hundreds of orangutans have been killed for food by villagers in Borneo as man and beast struggle for survival, a shock report revealed today.

Almost 700 of the great apes - whose name means man of the forest - have been slaughtered in the rainforests by hungry villagers, while starving animals have moved in the other direction, encroaching onto farmland looking for food.

A survey by a nature group in Indonesia - which shares occupation of Borneo with Malaysia - reveals that 691 orangutans were slaughtered in Kalimatan, Indonesia's larger portion of the island.


Miss Suci Utami Atmoko, a field co-ordinator with The Nature Conservancy, said hunger was the main reason for killing and eating the orang-utans.

'Some residents were desperate and had no other choice but to kill them after spending three days hunting for food,' she said.

Other reasons for killing the great apes included fear of attack, harvesting the meat to make traditional medicine - and to earn money by selling surviving baby orangutans to people who want them as pets.

Under threat: Villagers are killing orangutans for food but the young are often sold as pets

The survey organised by The Nature Conservancy was carried out between April 2008 and September 2009 and involved questioning nearly
7,000 people in 698 villages, although the researches do not specify over what period the animals were killed.

Other groups taking part in the intensive survey included the World Wildlife Fund, the People's Resource and Conservation Foundation Indonesia and the Borneo Orang-utan Survival Foundation.

The conservancy's programme manager, Neil Makinuddin, said 70 per cent of the villagers questioned knew that orangutans were a protected and endangered species when they hunted the animals.

Mr Makinuddin said that government decisions to open land in Borneo for human development had not considered orangutans, leading to the destruction of their habitat.

Emergency: Aid workers prepare to treat an orangutan caught up in illegal land-clearing fires


'We must soon open conservation areas for orang-utans or their population will become extinct,' he told the Jakarta Post.

'The government should punish orangutan killers.'

There are fears that if just one per cent of female orangutans were killed in one year, Kalimantan's great apes would become extinct.

'Uncontrolled killing will soon diminish their population,' said Mr Erik Erik Meijaard, forest director of People and Nature Consulting International.

It is estimated there are about 50,000 orang-utans in Kalimantan, although the number is rapidly decreasing due to loss of habitat, according to the World Wildlife Fund.


Hard to stomach: Orangutans in Borneo are being killed and eaten by villagers hit by food shortages


Deadly trade: Illegal logging in Borneo is a threat to orangutans who are now being hunted for food


source:dailymail