'I'm the king of the swimmers': Rare sighting of orang-utan taking a dip in crocodile infested river

In the Jungle Book, orangutan King Louis wanted nothing more than to be like me and you-oo-oo. And these kings of the swimmers seem to have the same ambition – diving into pools and even fishing for their tea.
The pictures have amazed experts, who have long believed the apes to be scared of water.
But for these two, named Sif and Menteng, not even the threat of crocodiles is enough to keep them home and dry.
The behaviour was witnessed at an orangutan reserve in Indonesian Borneo, by Canadian professor Anne Russon, 64, who has studied the animals since 1989.
She said: 'They're sinkers and they know it, which is why they're very cautious anyway.

'Sif is a real water baby and she'd only try this if she was entirely confident she could reach her target without sinking.

'She uses it for serious purposes like crossing wide bodies of water too deep for wading, but could play in water for more than half an hour.
'Menteng has very advanced skills and in these pictures you see him picking a large fish out and inspecting it.
'Orangutans and other great apes are reputed, incorrectly it seems, to be afraid of water.
'Some probably are, but of course, so are some humans.

'They have drowned in zoos because they've fallen into water-filled moats surrounding their enclosure.

'There are also other things dangerous to them in water like crocodiles and large snakes - so there are many reasons water wouldn't be much of an attraction to them.'
The amazing pictures were taken at an orangutan rehabilitation facility called Nyaru Menteng in Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, at the end of the dry season late last year.

Anne, from Toronto, Canada, is a psychologist so her research was psychology-bent - focusing on their behaviour, intelligence and learning.

She added: 'It's really useful for rehab, because rehab is mostly about how they learn the skills they need to survive in the forest.'

For pictures, read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1394516/Im-king-swimmers-Rare-sighting-orang-utan-taking-dip-crocodile-infested-river.html#ixzz1VCPxJBTZ

Britain's fattest orangutan Oshine loses 20kg after ditching the sweets

Oshine shot to fame as Britain's fattest orangutan, but now she is king of the slimmers after ditching her diet of sweets, jelly and marshmallows.The chubby primate originally weighed in at 100kg (15st), with her lifestyle as a pet for 13 years in South Africa thought to be the reason for her obesity.

After arriving at Monkey World in Dorset last year Oshine found herself on a strict diet, cutting out unhealthy snacks in favour of a more healthy diet of fruit, vegetables and exercise.
Oshine has now lost a fifth of her body weight and now has even adopted an orphaned baby orangutan named Silvestre.

With Monkey World's help, Oshine has turned her life around,’ said director Alison Cronin.
‘When she arrived at the rescue centre she was morbidly obese and ran the risk of developing heart disease, blood clots, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
‘We have been quite strict with her diet and have removed all sweets and processed foods that she used to get in addition to her normal diet and it has worked.’
But while her slimming feat is impressive, Oshine’s slimming battle isn’t over yet.
‘Oshine still has a long way to go and needs to lose another 20kg to 30kg before we will be happy with her fitness and health,’ Cronin added.
Once Oshine reaches her target weight there’s a treat in store – she will be introduced to one of the adult groups of orangutans in the hope she will meet a suitable male and have a baby of her own.


Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/870788-britain-s-fattest-orangutan-oshine-loses-20kg-after-ditching-the-sweets#ixzz1V86x1EoL

Orangutan rides bicycle to preach cycling safety

Meet Bam the road safety primate who's on a mission to make sure children in Thailand wear their helmet whilst cycling.
The eight-year-old Orangutan loves to cycle around when he gets the chance and was enlisted by the Thailand government to help spread a campaign message about accident prevention.

Launched on Friday at the Dusit Zoo in Bangkok, Bam dressed in a bright yellow t-shirt rode his favourite blue bike (courtesy of some training wheels) through the crowd of thrilled onlookers.
He was also joined by two freewheelin' friends, but it seems one forgot to wear her helmet, which is a big no-no for Bam who always wears his smiling panda hat whenever he hits the road.

Road welfare is a serious issue in Thailand with a staggering number of daily cases being recorded. In 2010, daily road accidents in Thailand averaged 559 cases a day with 616 persons injured and 52 killed.


Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/872203-orangutan-rides-bike-to-preach-cycle-safety#ixzz1V86EBBbi


Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/872203-orangutan-rides-bike-to-preach-cycle-safety#ixzz1V86BhYUD

Orangutan rescues coot chick from water at zoo in Dublin

Video at site

17 June 2011 Last updated at 17:18 Help Footage of an orangutan apparently trying to revive a poorly coot chick has emerged online two years after the video was recorded.

Leo Oosterweghel, director of Dublin Zoo, said it showed the animals had a gentle side to their nature.

The smile that says rescued Mely the orangutan loves her new home

Three months ago, she was in shackles, with a chain clamped around her neck and desperation in her eyes.


After being neglected and held captive for 15 years, Mely the orangutan struggled to walk, climb or feed herself. But what a difference 12 weeks – and the generosity of Daily Mail readers – makes.

Now, playing happily in her nest and eating fruit and leaves, the look on Mely’s face clearly shows she is enjoying every moment of her new life after being rescued from a riverside shack in Borneo.

When Mely first arrived her steps were very calculated and slow since she had to learn how to walk and climb,’ said Carolynn Fitterer, a volunteer with the charity International Animal Rescue.

‘But now she has become quite playful, and I always see her weaving in and out of tyre swings and ropes suspended in mid air.’


As a baby, Mely was taken as a pet by a fisherman who shot her mother as a trophy.

But as she grew into an adult, he lost interest, leaving her chained to the balcony as a tourist attraction and surviving on scraps of unsuitable food that were thrown to her.

After Mely’s plight featured in the Mail, readers raised more than £8,000 to help International Animal Rescue seize her.

She travelled by river, road and air to get to the forest sanctuary in Ketapang, Indonesia.

Miss Fitterer said: ‘Mely’s personality is so sweet I never would have guessed she came from such a horrific background. She always comes over to say hello, and she is incredibly gentle.

'Mely got to do so many things for the first time here, like touch the hand of another orangutan, climb higher than one metre off the ground, and sleep in a bed of leaves.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1342622/The-smile-says-Mely-orangutan-loves-new-home.html#ixzz19hFjXRA6

The smile that says rescued Mely the orangutan loves her new home

Three months ago, she was in shackles, with a chain clamped around her neck and desperation in her eyes.


After being neglected and held captive for 15 years, Mely the orangutan struggled to walk, climb or feed herself. But what a difference 12 weeks – and the generosity of Daily Mail readers – makes.

Now, playing happily in her nest and eating fruit and leaves, the look on Mely’s face clearly shows she is enjoying every moment of her new life after being rescued from a riverside shack in Borneo.

When Mely first arrived her steps were very calculated and slow since she had to learn how to walk and climb,’ said Carolynn Fitterer, a volunteer with the charity International Animal Rescue.

‘But now she has become quite playful, and I always see her weaving in and out of tyre swings and ropes suspended in mid air.’


As a baby, Mely was taken as a pet by a fisherman who shot her mother as a trophy.

But as she grew into an adult, he lost interest, leaving her chained to the balcony as a tourist attraction and surviving on scraps of unsuitable food that were thrown to her.

After Mely’s plight featured in the Mail, readers raised more than £8,000 to help International Animal Rescue seize her.

She travelled by river, road and air to get to the forest sanctuary in Ketapang, Indonesia.

Miss Fitterer said: ‘Mely’s personality is so sweet I never would have guessed she came from such a horrific background. She always comes over to say hello, and she is incredibly gentle.

'Mely got to do so many things for the first time here, like touch the hand of another orangutan, climb higher than one metre off the ground, and sleep in a bed of leaves.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1342622/The-smile-says-Mely-orangutan-loves-new-home.html#ixzz19hFjXRA6

Orangutans use mime to communicate messages

August 13, 2010 12:00 PM

Scientists who analysed video footage of orangutans amassed over 20 years, claim the creatures are able to explain things to each other, and humans, via mime.

The boffins say they found 18 occasions in which orangutans used "elaborated gestures of pantomime" to get what they wanted.

Examples ranged from rubbing a leaf on their forehead and then passing it to a human as an instruction to clean them, to holding an object over their head because the want an umbrella passing to them.

Professor Anne Russon said the finding could offer new insight into the evolutionary origins of human language.

Which is all well and good… but what we want to know is when will the world's first inter-species charades tournament take place.

Russon - of York University in Toronto - added that if the mime is not understood by a human the orangutans get a look on their faces as if to say ‘Are you stupid?

http://newslite.tv/2010/08/13/orangutans-use-mime-to-communi.html

Orangutan's photographs become a hit on Facebook

Tom Phillips - 3rd December, 2009

Nonja the orangutan's photos, taken with a camera that dispenses raisins whenever she takes pictures, have won over 500 fans on Facebook since the zoo launched an online photo album on Tuesday.

Although the slightly blurry images of Nonja's climbing rope, food and companion's shaggy red-brown fur have won lots of admiring comments from fans, the photographer herself is not so interested.

'Of course the apes don't care about the pictures, they are just an accidental side product,' zoo spokesman Gerhard Kasbauer told Reuters. 'They just know that when they press the button, a raisin pops out.'

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/802863-orangutans-photographs-become-a-hit-on-facebook

Orangutan's photographs become a hit on Facebook

Tom Phillips - 3rd December, 2009

Nonja the orangutan's photos, taken with a camera that dispenses raisins whenever she takes pictures, have won over 500 fans on Facebook since the zoo launched an online photo album on Tuesday.

Although the slightly blurry images of Nonja's climbing rope, food and companion's shaggy red-brown fur have won lots of admiring comments from fans, the photographer herself is not so interested.

'Of course the apes don't care about the pictures, they are just an accidental side product,' zoo spokesman Gerhard Kasbauer told Reuters. 'They just know that when they press the button, a raisin pops out.'

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/802863-orangutans-photographs-become-a-hit-on-facebook

Orangutans cannibalise own babies

Two female orangutans have been seen cannibalising the bodies of their recently deceased babies.

Such behaviour has never before been recorded in any great ape species.

The two incidences occurred just one month apart in the same region of forest in Indonesia.

The conservationist who witnessed both incidences suspects they were examples of aberrant behaviour, triggered by stressful living conditions suffered by both mothers.

Humans aside, chimpanzees were the only great apes known to engage in cannabilism, the eating of members of the same species. The behaviour had also been inferred but not seen in gorillas, after the remains of infants were found in the faeces of two adults.

But until now, no ape has been recorded eating its own offspring.

"Cannibalism has been documented in chimpanzees and reported in gorillas. Never before has any ape species been seen treating its own offspring as a consumable resource," says David Dellatore of Oxford Brookes University, in Oxford, UK.

That was until Dellatore begun tracking orangutans living in Bukit Lawang, an area of forest within the Gunung Leuser National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Dellatore, who now works with the Sumatran Orangutan Society based in Medan, Sumatra, initially monitored the physical health of once captive orangutans that have been rehabilitated and released back into the wild.

But soon he noticed that tourists in the area were interacting closely with the apes. Despite a ban on doing so, some tourists would feed or touch the semi-wild apes. So Dellatore switched his research to monitoring the behavioural health of the orangutans, following them from dawn till dusk.

During this research he twice witnessed female apes he recognised eating the corpses of their recently deceased babies.

"While following Edita, whose infant had just died in the forest, on the eighth day myself and my assistant Tumino saw her begin to consume the corpse," Dellatore says.

"At first we did not believe it, but there was no mistaking it. Edita was engaging in filial, or mother-infant cannibalism."

"Then a month later I was following Ratna by myself, whose infant had also just died, and observed her also cannibalising her dead infant."

Seeing the first instance surprised Dellatore, while he found the second even more shocking.

"Such behaviour had never been seen before in more than four decades of orangutan research. Surely it's not happening here twice in a one month period?" Dellatore recalls asking himself.

But Dellatore managed to collect further evidence of the second event. "I recovered a fallen piece of the infant's skeleton that Ratna spat out, as well as rather clear video footage of the event."

Grieving mothers

Dellatore is unsure why the orangutans behaved so. "It makes little evolutionary sense for orangutan females to kill their infants, nor is there any evidence that this happened here," he reports in the journal Primates.

But he points out that it is not uncommon for orangutans and other nonhuman primate mothers to carry their deceased infants. "It may be part of a grieving process," he says.

Indeed, Edita, a 23 year old female, carried and protected the body of her one year old infant for seven days, occasionally inspecting it while vocalising a whimper. Only on the eighth day did she start to consume it, when it was already heavily decomposed. Twenty year old Ratna's seven month old infant appeared unwell a few days before death.

Dellatore is reluctant to make any definitive claims as to why the behaviour occurred. But he suspects that the mothers' stressed upbringing may have triggered their later actions.

"Semi-wild orangutans are all exposed to considerable traumas, such as witnessing the deaths of their own mothers," he says. To feed the pet trade, an orangutan is often captured from the wild as an infant, with its mother being killed as she would not otherwise let her baby go. Captive orangutans also suffer long periods of social isolation.

"Studies have shown that early social deprivation can have deleterious effects on later levels of cognitive ability. It is possible that the cannibalism events are an extension of these effects," he says.

Although rare, mothers have been recorded cannibalising their infants in a few species of monkey. In galagoes, another primate species also known as bushbabies, the behaviour has been linked to stressful living conditions.

The presence of tourists may also be stressing the apes.

Dellatore supports proper ecotourism in the area, which can bring in important funds that can help conserve the great apes. But he says too many tourists visit and interact with the apes without a sense of environmental or social responsibility.

His organisation is running an ecotourism development programme in Bukit Lawang to try and mitigate these problems.

See video footage at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8058000/8058365.stm

Whistling orangutan cuts a disc

Click to enlarge.

metro.co.uk, Tuesday 12 May 2009

Orang-utan short-circuits electric fence in Zoo 'escape'

An "ingenious" 137-pound (62-kilogram) orang-utan used a branch to short-circuit an electric fence and escape from an Australian zoo only to change her mind and return to her enclosure.

Last Updated: 7:18PM BST 10 May 2009

The ape, a 27-year-old female named Karta, jammed a stick into wires connected to the fence and then piled up debris to climb a concrete and glass wall at the Adelaide Zoo.

Peter Whitehead, the zoo's curator, said: "You're talking about an animal that's highly intelligent.

"We've had issues with her before in normal day-to-day operations where she tries to outsmart the keepers. She's an ingenious animal."

Mr Whitehead told reporters that Karta sat on top of the fence for about 30 minutes before apparently changing her mind about the escape and climbing back into the enclosure.

"I think when she actually got out and realised where she was ... she's realised she shouldn't be there so then she's actually hung onto the wall and dropped back into the exhibit," he said.

Karta came within a few yards (meters) of visitors, who were the first to notice the animal's escape bid.

Whitehead said the animal was not aggressive, but the zoo was cleared as a precaution, and veterinarians stood by with tranquilliser guns in case of trouble.

Officials at the zoo in the southern city of Adelaide would conduct a "thorough review" of the escape bid and it was likely some vegetation that could be used in a future try for freedom would be removed from Karta's enclosure.

The ape, a 27-year-old female named Karta, jammed a stick into wires connected to the fence and then piled up debris to climb a concrete and glass wall at the Adelaide Zoo.

"We've had issues with her before in normal day-to-day operations where she tries to outsmart the keepers. She's an ingenious animal."

Mr Whitehead told reporters that Karta sat on top of the fence for about 30 minutes before apparently changing her mind about the escape and climbing back into the enclosure.

"I think when she actually got out and realised where she was ... she's realised she shouldn't be there so then she's actually hung onto the wall and dropped back into the exhibit," he said.

Karta came within a few yards (meters) of visitors, who were the first to notice the animal's escape bid.

Whitehead said the animal was not aggressive, but the zoo was cleared as a precaution, and veterinarians stood by with tranquilliser guns in case of trouble.

Officials at the zoo in the southern city of Adelaide would conduct a "thorough review" of the escape bid and it was likely some vegetation that could be used in a future try for freedom would be removed from Karta's enclosure.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5304626/Orang-utan-short-circuits-electric-fence-in-Zoo-escape.html

New orangutan population found in Indonesia

By ROBIN McDOWELL, Associated Press Writer Robin Mcdowell, Associated Press Writer – Sun Apr 12, 8:09 am ET

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Conservationists have discovered a new population of orangutans in a remote, mountainous corner of Indonesia — perhaps as many as 2,000 — giving a rare boost to one of the world's most endangered great apes.

A team surveying forests nestled between jagged, limestone cliffs on the eastern edge of Borneo island counted 219 orangutan nests, indicating a "substantial" number of the animals, said Erik Meijaard, a senior ecologist at the U.S.-based The Nature Conservancy.

"We can't say for sure how many," he said, but even the most cautious estimate would indicate "several hundred at least, maybe 1,000 or 2,000 even."

The team also encountered an adult male, which angrily threw branches as they tried to take photos, and a mother and child.

There are an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 orangutans left in the wild, 90 percent of them in Indonesia and the rest in neighboring Malaysia.

The countries are the world's top producers of palm oil, used in food, cosmetics and to meet growing demands for "clean-burning" fuels in the U.S. and Europe. Rain forests, where the solitary animals spend almost all of their time, have been clear-cut and burned at alarming rates to make way for lucrative palm oil plantations.

The steep topography, poor soil and general inaccessibility of the rugged limestone mountains appear to have shielded the area from development, at least for now, said Meijaard. Its trees include those highly sought after for commercial timber.

Birute Mary Galdikas, a Canadian scientist who has spent nearly four decades studying orangutans in the wild, said most of the remaining populations are small and scattered, which make them especially vulnerable to extinction.

"So yes, finding a population that science did not know about is significant, especially one of this size," she said, noting that those found on the eastern part of the island represent a rare subspecies, the black Borneon orangutan, or Pongo pygmaeus morio.

The 700-square mile (2,500-square kilometer) jungle escaped the massive fires that devastated almost all of the surrounding forests in the late 1990s. The blazes were set by plantation owners and small-scale farmers and exacerbated by the El Nino droughts.

Nardiyono, who headed The Nature Conservancy's weeklong survey in December, said "it could be the density is very high because after the fires, the orangutans all flocked to one small area."

It was unusual to come face-to-face with even one of the elusive creatures in the wild and to encounter three was extraordinary, he said, adding that before this expedition, he had seen just five in as many years.

Conservationists say the most immediate next step will be working with local authorities to protect the area and others that fall outside of national parks. A previously undiscovered population of several hundred also was found recently on Sumatra island, home to around 7,000.

"That we are still finding new populations indicates that we still have a chance to save this animal," said Paul Hartman, who heads the U.S.-funded Orangutan Conservation Service Program, adding it's not all "gloom and doom."

Noviar Andayani, head of the Indonesian Primate Association and Orangutan Forum, said the new discoveries point to how much work still needs to be done to come up with accurate population assessments, considered vital to determining a species' vulnerability to extinction.

"There are many areas that still have not been surveyed," she said, adding that 18 private conservation groups have just started work on an in-depth census based on interviews with people who spend time in the forests.

They include villagers and those working on plantations or within logging concessions.

"We hope this will help fill in a few more gaps," said Andayani, adding that preliminary tests in areas where populations are known indicate that the new interview-based technique could provide a clearer picture than nest tallies.

"Right now the information and data we have about orangutans is still pretty rudimentary," she said.

Some experts say at the current rate of habitat destruction, the animals could be wiped out within the next two decades.

___

On the Net:

The Nature Conservancy: http://www.tnc.org

Nature Conservancy blog: http://blog.nature.org

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090412/ap_on_sc/as_indonesia_new_orangutans

Baby twin leopards have soft spot for orangutan

THESE adorable twin leopards might have a surrogate mother at the conservation centre where they were born – but that hasn’t stopped them seeking out a more unusual carer.

The cheeky pair – Solka and his sister Chant – have teamed up with friendly orangutan, Rishi, seeking comfort in the one-year-old’s long fur.

The African leopards are being hand-reared by carers at The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Rajani Ferrante, who gives the cubs round-the-clock care said: “Solka and Chant came away from their mother, Kirean, 10, around ten days ago.

“The babies are fed every four hours with a special formula made from vitamins, fresh yogurt and goats milk.”

She added: “In the wild the mothers are usually very attentive for around one month, after which they leave the babies to fend for themselves.”

The cute leopard twins now weigh around two pounds and stand at six inches tall and measure 12 inches from tail to nose.

When they are fully grown they will reach 80cm high and weigh about 180 pounds although females are lighter at 120 pounds.

Rajani, 35, who has worked for the Institute for 12 years, said: “These guys will never be going into the wild and so to form a relationship with them they need to be hand raised by us.

“It will be several months before they can be re-united with their 10-year-old mother and 15-year-old father, Chance.”

But in the meantime they are content spending time with orangutan, Rishi, who will be their playmate for the next six to eight months.

Rajani said: “Leopards are the most intelligent of the big cat family and Rishi is having a good time teaching them a few things.”

http://www.thelondonpaper.com/thelondonpaper/weird/baby-twin-leopards-have-soft-spot-for-orangutan