Wonderful news! Fingers crossed it’s a little girl, that would be very beneficial for the region’s breeding program in the long run. I know there are currently no confirmed pregnancies but can we expect any other births from the region this year? Any Sumatrans?
Given Charlie is 41, a female infant would be ideal as upon his passing, Auckland Zoo could import a new male to join Melur and her daughter. No more births in the near future I’m afraid. Perth Zoo have put breeding on hold while they renovate their exhibit; and Melbourne Zoo are awaiting a female.
A few notes on Auckland Zoo’s orangutan infant (Baby M): As we await the announcement of this infant’s gender, there’s one thing we can guarantee - it’ll receive an Indonesian beginning with M, as it’s Auckland Zoo’s tradition to name infants of apes with their mother’s initial. If the infant is female, I’d say there’s a strong likelihood of the zoo breeding from Melur again. Females overseas have produced offspring in their mid-40’s, so for the almost 34 year old Melur to produce another infant in five years time is more than feasible. This would allow the colony to expand without the need to import, as well as educating the juvenile female on maternal skills. If the infant is male, I’d say it’s unlikely the zoo would breed again from Melur. Males are more challenging to place in zoos overseas (they don’t want to risk the next infant being male also) and Charlie is well represented. The zoo could still form a colony around Melur and her son; with unrelated females imported from overseas in the next decade and Melur put on contraception once her son was mature.
It’s a Boy!!!! Thanks to @Lankey Kong for finding this video, which clearly shows Charlie and Melur’s infant is a male: Although a female infant would have been ideal (as well as Auckland Zoo’s first female orangutan infant in 20 years; and first surviving female orangutan infant in 33 years); as I mentioned above, a colony could still be built around Melur and her son over the decades to follow with unrelated females imported. In the meantime, it’s great to have a healthy infant and see Melur take to motherhood so well, as she previously did with Madju.
Auckland Zoo’s orangutan infant named: The infant is indeed a male as @Lankey Kong discovered last week and has been named Bahmi, meaning ‘noodles’ in Indonesian. It’s an alright name and not one that’s been overused by zoos, but I’m disappointed Auckland Zoo have broken with a decade old tradition of naming their apes with their mother’s initial. The name pays tribute to Wanita, who was affectionately known as Noodles by the primate team.
Auckland Zoo - Bornean orangutan infant update: Bahmi is now 11 weeks old and staff have posted a video to socials for anyone interested detailing Melur’s pregnancy and birth - complete with footage of Bahmi still wrapped in the amniotic sac! We’re taking you behind the scenes on orangutan Melur’s pregnancy journey – from the initial pre-pregnancy health exam at our vet hospital (with help from an expert sonographer), right through to the successful birth of her and Charlie’s baby. Video on Facebook and Instagram.
Santan recently had a health check after having a slight change in mobility. Now at the age of 44, he's been diagnosed with arthritis, which is of course usual for orangutans of his age.
Some sad news about Charlie and Melur’s grandson: Busch Gardens orangutan, 4-year-old Malu, euthanized due to declining health, park officials say As many of you know - Charlie and Melur’s son, Madju, became a father at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in 2017. The male infant was named Malu and developed into an active juvenile. Sadly Malu’s health began to decline earlier this month and he failed to respond to treatment. He was euthanised on humane grounds this week. The birth of Malu was significant as it represented the first offspring born to an Auckland Zoo bred orangutan, as well as being the first grandchild of Charlie and Melur. Their direct line has therefore been reduced to Madju (2005) and Bahmi (2022). Given how many of us knew Madju during his time at Auckland Zoo and are equally familiar with Charlie and Melur, I thought you’d all like to know.
Orangutans would be a good fit for Rockhampton Zoo. Perth Zoo have made moves to downsize their Sumatran orangutan colony in recent years - transferring out one adult female, exporting another prime aged female to the US and not replacing the two that have died via breeding (their last infant was born in 2012). They would surely be happy to transfer one to Rockhampton. Melbourne Zoo would also be happy to move Kiani and Gabby on. Their long term goal is to import a female Sumatran orangutan to pair with Malu, so any additional space would be appreciated.
Doubt this would happen, Kiani suffers from severe arthritis, and especially considering her age, a move would be undesirable. Gabby may be moved long term; but Melbourne have the space in the meantime to accomodate Malu, a female + Gabby and any offspring (born to Malu and the female).
It will depend on Melbourne Zoo’s plans. They may wish to expand their orangutan facilities following the departure of the elephants in 2024; but if not, it would be preferable to transfer Gabby out if the opportunity arises. Gabby could easily live another three decades and as exhibit standards continue to evolve, what is now considered an adequate exhibit for three adults and their offspring will be outdated within a decade or two. It’s important to plan for the future and ensure breeding isn’t hindered by a lack of space. If Kiani’s health has deteriorated to the point where a transfer would be further detrimental to her wellbeing, then it’s reasonable to assume she’ll pass on within the next decade. In the meantime, she can live out her years at Melbourne with additional space not needed for the offspring of Malu and his new mate for half a decade or more.
What would have been even better is if Australia Zoo had taken Auckland Zoo’s Bornean orangutans. In 2005, the colony was split in two - with Horst, Indra and Intan moving into the old chimpanzee exhibit. This trio was subsequently exported to the United States in 2009, with a further three following in 2015. There’s so many ways this could have been done, but one option could have been to send Charlie, Indra, Intan and Gangsa to Australia Zoo. Charlie was unrelated to all three females and could have formed pairings with any of them. Alternatively, they could have sent Horst, Indra and Intan; followed by Gangsa. This would have given the region a second holder of Bornean orangutan.
Discovery of Tapanuli Genes in North American Population Background: An interesting revelation has come to light that a female named Bubbles (who lived at San Diego Zoo until her death in 1995) was not a purebred Sumatran orangutan, but rather a Tapanuli orangutan. Thankfully, she only has a small number of descendants, but these will need to be removed from the breeding programme. UW researchers discover orangutan genome mix-ups that could affect zoo animals Implications for Australasia: I’ve reviewed her descendants and am pleased to report the founders of our Sumatran orangutan breeding programme are unrelated to this female and therefore remain purebred Sumatran orangutans. While our breeding programme is unaffected at this stage, further research will now be conducted in Europe to assess if any Sumatran orangutans were incorrectly classified. While this is likely an isolated incident, I thought for interest people would like to know.
@Zoofan15 Wow some very interesting news, ihanks so much for finding, ever since the discovery of Tapanuli Orangs' in Sumatra being a distinct species from the abelli Sumatran Orangs' have been wondering as sure so many of us have if this very discovery amongst our ex-situ Orangutans was going to happen. Wonder if Bubbles was the only Tapanuli Orang' to be taken from the wild and placed in a zoo (personally am sure going back decades other Tapanuli Orangs would have been caught and ended up in zoos, how recently though would be the thing). Tapanuli Orangs need all the help they can get too with their frighteningly low numbers but obviously they need the conservation support in-situ. Cheers again for sharing.
No problem. It’s entirely possible other Sumatran orangutans were imported that were actually Tapanuli. We may have even imported one ourselves as a region considering the numbers Taronga Zoo were importing in the mid 20th Century. To date, none of our founders are believed to be anything less than purebred Sumatran; but it makes me wonder if this is has contributed to the lack of action in breeding Sumatran orangutans in recent years (no breeding at Perth; no female imports for Adelaide and Melbourne). This discovery wasn’t made overnight and zoos would have had a heads up long before the research findings were announced.
Auckland Zoo Update I asked about the zoo’s breeding plans on my visit this weekend and was interested to learn that Charlie is ranked the second highest genetically valuable male in the international breeding programme. The news came as a surprise to me given his father (Zabu) sired 22 offspring - though looking through the studbook I see several died as infants, died without reproducing or left the breeding programme e.g. were donated to an unaccredited facility. Two were even sent to Fox Television Studios in the USA. No imports are scheduled for 2023, but the keeper said it’s possible the zoo will acquire another female or two in the next few years. It’s worth noting the zoo were originally planning to hold a group of 1.4 adults in this exhibit, so I’m willing to believe the likelihood of this occurring is high.
So what did happen in the end with the plans for the two females that were coming from Europe? I presume covid probably played a part in the import being canned. If they can integrate the Orangs with the Saimangs they should have enough space for five adults; and I believe that's the goal at the moment. These two species can notoriously be hard to combine, but hopefully Auckland's large habitat and high rope complex can provide them with the space they need to successfully coexist.
They were a wild born mother and her first generation daughter from Usti Zoo - Nuninka (1987) and Cantik (2011). Usti Zoo were keen to export them as soon as possible, so I imagine Auckland Zoo’s inability to receive them in early 2021 (as originally planned) went against them. Nuninka arrived at Beauval Zoo in September 2022, after plans to send her to Kristiansand Zoo in April 2022 fell through; while Cantik was sent to Rostock Zoo in April 2022. Given Charlie’s genetic ranking, his pairing with Nuninka would have been incredibly valuable, so it’s a shame this transfer never happened. I’m hopeful Auckland Zoo can integrate their Bornean orangutan and Siamang. Charlie is noted by staff to be exceptionally gentle for a male of his species and Melur has a friendly personality versus females like Wanita, who was short tempered.
