Introduction I thought it’d be interesting to have the histories of Australasia’s great apes recorded in one concise place - starting with orangutan. I have partial notes on Auckland, Perth and Taronga Zoo which I will revise to include a complete history; and will also be detailing Adelaide, Melbourne, Wellington, Mogo and Sydney’s orangutans. The latter three facilities will be combined in a single post given they have held six orangutans between them. Index: 1. Auckland Zoo 2. Adelaide Zoo 3. Perth Zoo 4. Wellington, Mogo and Sydney 5. Melbourne Zoo 6. Taronga Zoo Ssgssgsg
I have a list for Melbourne if your interested? It's not fully complete as I was planning to do a similar thread but at least it'll help as a start for you.
Auckland Zoo (Complete History) —————————————————— 1920’s to 1940’s 1.1 were imported in 1924: 1.0 Unnamed (Bornean) Born in the wild (Borneo) Unknown Arrived at Auckland Zoo 00/12/1924 Died at Auckland Zoo 00/01/1925 0.1 Unnamed (Bornean) Born in the wild (Borneo) Unknown Arrived at Auckland Zoo 00/12/1924 Died at Auckland Zoo 00/06/1927 1.0 was imported in 1926: 1.0 Unnamed (Unknown) Born in the wild (Unknown) Unknown Arrived at Auckland Zoo 20/01/1926 Died at Auckland Zoo 00/06/1928 0.1 was imported in 1939: 0.1 Ginger Rodgers (Sumatran) Born in the wild (Sumatra) Unknown Arrived at Auckland Zoo 00/00/1939 Died at Auckland Zoo 00/06/1943 —————————————————— 1950’s to 1970’s 1.1 were imported from Taronga Zoo: 1.0 Turvey (Sumatran) Born in the wild (Sumatra) 00/00/1954 Arrived at Auckland Zoo 11/09/1956 (via Taronga Zoo) Died at Auckland Zoo 16/06/1971 0.1 Topsy (Sumatran) Born in the wild (Sumatra) 00/00/1954 Arrived at Auckland Zoo 11/09/1956 (via Taronga Zoo) Died at Auckland Zoo 09/11/1968 Topsy gave birth to one infant at Auckland Zoo: 0.0.1 Unnamed (Sumatran) Stillborn at Auckland Zoo 29/05/1967 Sire: Turvey —————————————————— 1980’s to 1990’s 1.3 were imported in 1983: 0.1 Dara (Bornean) Born at Frankfurt Zoo 16/06/1977 Arrived at Auckland Zoo 19/08/1983 Died at Auckland Zoo 25/06/2000 1.0 Horst (Bornean) Born at Frankfurt Zoo 31/01/1978 Arrived at Auckland Zoo 19/08/1983 Sent to Busch Gardens 26/07/200 0.1 Indra (Bornean) Born at Rotterdam Zoo 07/09/1980 Arrived at Auckland Zoo 19/08/1983 Sent to Busch Gardens 26/07/2009 1.0 was imported in 1984: 1.0 Charlie (Bornean) Born at Singapore Zoo 21/03/1981 Arrived at Auckland Zoo 20/03/1984 Indra gave birth to two infants at Auckland Zoo: 0.1 Intan (Bornean) Born at Auckland Zoo 17/03/1989 Sent to Busch Gardens 26/07/2009 Sire: Horst 1.0 Isim (Bornean) Born at Auckland Zoo 15/06/1994 Sent to Los Angeles Zoo 12/11/2015 Sire: Horst Dara gave birth to two infants at Auckland Zoo: 1.0 Datuk (Bornean) Born at Auckland Zoo 18/05/1989 Sent to Taronga Zoo 13/12/1996 Sire: Horst 0.1 Darli (Bornean) Born at Auckland Zoo 22/06/2000 Died at Auckland Zoo 24/06/2000 Sire: Charlie —————————————————— 2000’s to Present 0.3 were imported in 2001: 0.1 Wanita (Hybrid) Born at Taronga Zoo 23/03/1979 Arrived at Auckland Zoo 06/03/2001 Died at Auckland Zoo 07/03/2022 0.1 Melur (Bornean) Born at Hong Kong Zoo 11/06/1988 Arrived at Auckland Zoo 07/03/2001 (via Taronga Zoo) Still at Auckland Zoo 0.1 Gangsa (Bornean) Born at Hong Kong Zoo 31/12/1989 Arrived at Auckland Zoo 07/03/2001 Sent to Los Angeles Zoo 12/11/2015 Melur has given birth to three infants at Auckland Zoo: 0.1 Unnamed (Bornean) Born at Auckland Zoo 08/08/2002 Died at Auckland Zoo 08/08/2002 Sire: Unknown 1.0 Madju (Bornean) Born at Auckland Zoo 09/11/2005 Sent to Busch Gardens 12/11/2015 Sire: Charlie 1.0 Bahmi (Bornean) Born at Auckland Zoo 20/03/2022 Still at Auckland Zoo Sire: Charlie ——————————————————
Thank you for the offer, but Melbourne has only held 15 orangutans according to the studbook, so it won’t take long for me to type it up. Taronga will be the mission so if you or anyone else has the wild imports written down somewhere (I already have all Taronga bred orangutans from 1957-1987), feel free to PM them to me (I want to keep this thread as concise as possible); but no worries if not as I can easily pull this up myself.
Cheers, just thought i'd help anyway I can as I do have a lot of records on the regions orangutans (and other great apes), although I haven't sorted it in any way. I'll see what I have re. Taronga. I think I did do some sort of family tree a while back, so should have info on the wildborn parents of the Taronga bred offspring.
Additional Notes on Auckland Zoo’s Orangutans 1920’s: The orangutans held at the zoo in the 1920’s were unnamed. This wasn’t an uncommon practice for Auckland Zoo during this era with only a handful of species being given names - elephants, hippopotamus etc. 1980’s-2000’s: The four Bornean orangutans imported in 1983-1984 were initially held in a group of four. The males were seperated in the late 1980’s, as Horst entered adolescence and became aggressive to Charlie. From this point on, the males rotated access to the female and offspring group on a fortnightly basis. Dara and Horst were half siblings via a shared father. Horst sired the first three infants (two to Indra; one to Dara); but the keepers took care to ensure Dara’s second infant was sired by Charlie to avoid further inbreeding. Unfortunately this infant died at two days of age, with Dara passing away the next day from Septicaemia. 2000’s-2010’s: The three females from Sydney in 2001 were a welcome addition to the colony. They gave Indra a welcome reprieve from the attentions of the males and seven year old Isim enjoyed the company of the young females, Melur and Gangsa. By 2005, the zoo had two adult males, five adult females, an adolescent male and an infant on the way. The transfer of the chimpanzees to Hamilton Zoo gave them a chance to split the colony with Horst, Indra and Intan moving across to their exhibit; and Charlie and Isim rotating use of the main exhibit. In the mid 2000’s, Auckland Zoo decided to phase out Bornean orangutan to focus on Sumatrans (which are critically endangered). This led to the export of 1.2 in 2009 (Horst, Indra and Intan). Following the birth of Madju in 2005, Charlie was housed with Melur and Gangsa; and Isim was housed with Wanita. Fighting between the females resulted in the permanent groupings of Charlie, Wanita, Melur and Madju; and Isim and Gangsa being established. The latter took up residency in the second exhibit and were exported to the US in 2015, along with Madju. This reduced the colony to 1.2: Charlie, Wanita and Melur. 2010’s to Present: The orangutans were loaned to Orana Wildlife Park in 2017, while a new exhibit was built for them. Since returning, the decision to phase out Borneans has been reversed (as they’re now critically endangered). Wanita passed away in March 2022; and Charlie and Melur produced a male infant the same month named Bahmi.
Adelaide Zoo - Complete History —————————————————— 1940’s to 1950’s: 1.0 was imported in 1949: 1.0 Mias (Sumatran) Born in the wild (Sumatra) 00/00/1937 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 15/01/1940 Died at Adelaide Zoo 22/02/1954 1.1 were imported in 1950: 1.0 George II (Bornean) Born in the wild (Borneo) 00/00/1949 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 08/02/1950 (via Taronga Zoo) Died at Adelaide Zoo 20/08/1976 0.1 Martha II (Bornean) Born in the wild (Borneo) 00/00/1949 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 08/02/1950 (via Taronga Zoo) Died at Adelaide 01/10/1950 —————————————————— 1970’s to 1980’s: 1.1 were imported in 1977: 1.0 Barut (Hybrid) Born at Artis Zoo 04/11/1974 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 31/05/1977 (via Rotterdam Zoo) Died at Adelaide Zoo 19/08/1978 0.1 Chantek (Sumatran) Born at Rotterdam Zoo 23/12/1974 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 31/05/1977 Died at Adelaide Zoo 07/04/1987 0.1 was received in 1978: 0.1 Puspa (Sumatran) Born at Perth Zoo 30/01/1975 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 21/12/1978 Sent to Perth Zoo 02/12/1981 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 13/01/2011 Still at Adelaide Zoo 2.0 were imported in 1979: 1.0 Caesar (Bornean) Born at Artis Zoo 25/03/1972 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 24/03/1979 Sent to Zoo Negara 14/05/1986 1.0 Bulu (Hybrid) Born at Rotterdam Zoo 20/06/1977 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 16/06/1979 Sent to the National Zoo Sri Lanka 21/07/1983 0.1 was imported in 1981: 0.1 Nora (Bornean) Born in the wild (Borneo) 00/00/1973 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 28/09/1981 (via Jakarta Zoo) Sent to Zoo Negara 13/05/1986 1.0 was received in 1982: 1.0 Puntjak (Sumatran) Born at Perth Zoo 24/03/1972 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 03/08/1982 Died at Adelaide Zoo 01/12/1999 0.2 were imported in 1988: 0.1 Kiki (Sumatran) Born in the wild (Sumatra) 00/00/1959 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 20/01/1988 (via Stuggart Zoo) Died at Adelaide Zoo 04/10/1990 0.1 Susi (Sumatran) Born at Munich Zoo 18/02/1969 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 01/08/1988 Died at Adelaide Zoo 26/09/1990 Nora gave birth to one infant at Adelaide Zoo: 1.0 Unnamed (Bornean) Born at Adelaide Zoo 16/04/1982 Died at Adelaide Zoo 16/04/1982 Sire: Caesar Chantek gave birth to two infants at Adelaide Zoo: 1.0 Unnamed (Sumatran) Stillborn at Adelaide Zoo 01/02/1984 Sire: Puntjak 0.1 Indah (Sumatran) Born at Adelaide Zoo 23/07/1986 Sent to San Diego Zoo 21/10/1992 Sire: Puntjak —————————————————— 1990’s to Present: 0.1 was imported in 1992: 0.1 Karta (Sumatran) Born at San Diego Zoo 22/07/1982 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 20/11/1992 Sent to Perth Zoo 11/11/1997 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 24/06/1998 Died at Adelaide Zoo 26/01/2017 1.0 was imported in 2000: 1.0 Pusung (Sumatran) Born at Perth Zoo 25/02/1978 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 11/10/2000 (via Singapore Zoo) Died at Adelaide Zoo 15/04/2009 1.0 was received in 2007: 1.0 Kluet (Sumatran) Born at Jersey Zoo 18/07/1995 Arrived at Adelaide Zoo 08/05/2007 (via Taronga Zoo) Still at Adelaide Zoo Karta gave birth to seven infants at Adelaide Zoo: 1.0 Unnamed (Sumatran) Born at Adelaide Zoo 03/08/1995 Died at Adelaide Zoo 07/08/1995 Sire: Puntjak 0.1 Unnamed (Sumatran) Born at Adelaide Zoo 27/04/1997 Died at Adelaide Zoo 27/04/1997 Sire: Puntjak 0.1 Unnamed (Sumatran) Born at Adelaide Zoo 04/05/2003 Died at Adelaide Zoo 05/05/2003 Sire: Pusung 0.1 Unnamed (Sumatran) Born at Adelaide Zoo 11/05/2011 Died at Adelaide Zoo 14/05/2011 Sire: Kluet 0.1 Unnamed (Sumatran) Stillborn at Adelaide Zoo 08/01/2013 Sire: Kluet 0.1 Unnamed (Sumatran) Stillborn at Adelaide Zoo 27/11/2014 Sire: Kluet 1.0 Unnamed (Sumatran) Stillborn at Adelaide Zoo 26/01/2027 Sire: Kluet ——————————————————
Do you know if there was an underlying reason why Karta failed with all her infants like this? I remember hearing about her continually losing infants but never knew why.
Yes, it was because she had anatomically small nipples that meant that even though the infants appeared to nurse, they weren't properly fed. Her last infants were stillborn, but a cooperative feeding regime was ready to be put in place. Karta's sister in Denver, Nias, had the same problem. I believe Karta's 2011 infant was given the name 'Sayang' by keepers.
Yes, she had an anatomical issue with her nipples, which meant she was unable to feed her infants. This was only discovered following the birth of her fifth infant in 2011, which was discovered in the post mortem to have no milk in its stomach. Her last three infants were sadly stillborn. Her cause of death was placental detachment issues.
So, this would be the Indah who went on to be the mother of Aisha and Kaja? I have been enjoying this family's antics, along with their siamang companions Eloise and Sela, on San Diego's Ape Cam lately!
It was a straight swap with Indah sent to San Diego Zoo in October 1992 and Karta arriving the following month from the same zoo. Unfortunately Indah remains the only orangutan born at Adelaide Zoo to survive to adulthood. Non-surviving infants were born 1982 and 1984; as well as Karta’s seven non-surviving offspring that were born between 1995 and 2017. Hopefully they have better luck with Kluet and a new female.
