(CN - HKG) Orangutan programme's 'barren' breeding enclosure criticised

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South China Morning Post

 

Zoo's newest resident adds fuel to animal welfare debate

By Cheung Chi-fai

Mar 08, 2010

 

It might seem like a dream assignment for any red-blooded young male - being

brought to Hong Kong to mate with not one, but two females.

 

But things might not be entirely rosy in the love nest occupied by Vandu, a

15-year-old Bornean orangutan and his two paramours.

 

Animal welfare campaigners are questioning whether facilities for the menage

a trois at the 134-year-old Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens are

up to modern standards - in particular whether they cater sufficiently to

the endangered primates' psychological wellbeing.

 

Vandu arrived in January from Hungary as part of the zoo's conservation

breeding programme and was the first orangutan to be brought to Hong Kong in

19 years.

 

His primary mission, should be choose to accept it - and he has yet to get

the opportunity do so - is to mate with two locally-born females aged 26 and

14 who lost their male companion two years ago. The programme aims to

preserve the species' genetic diversity and offer access to scientific study

on the animals.

 

But the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says the zoo needs

drastic improvements to meet the orangutans' specific needs.

 

It says the orangutan enclosure, measuring about 272 square metres and five

metres high is too small and not properly equipped for the highly

intelligent animals.

 

The society says the enclosure is nothing like the wild with its concrete

floor, reinforced glass panels, metal bars and climbing structure,

artificial boulder and cement-paved pond, and night shelter with a concrete

sleeping platform.

 

" Such a barren environment denies them the opportunity to perform their

natural behaviour, such as building a sleeping platform using natural

vegetation, which they do at least once a day in the wild, " the society's

executive director Sandy Macalister said.

 

Before coming to Hong Kong, Vandu spent nine years in the 30-hectare Sosto

Zoo in Hungary, which was his fourth home since he was born in an Antwerp

zoo in 1994. He also briefly stayed in Stuttgart and Paris zoos. His parents

were also born in captivity.

 

While recognising the zoo's high veterinary and hygiene standards,

Macalister said the cages represented an outdated and cruel approach that

fell behind the animal welfare codes of the World Association of Zoos and

Aquariums of which the Hong Kong gardens are a member.

 

The code says " all exhibits must be of such size and volume as to allow the

animal to express its natural behaviour " .

 

The Orangutan Husbandry Manual, written by orangutan specialists worldwide,

also states in its facility design chapter that it is necessary to replicate

as much as possible the important elements of the wild environment.

 

" We cannot expect these animals to be content or fulfilled any more than

would a human being, living day to day in an environment devoid of the means

to exhibit their natural behaviour, " Macalister said.

 

" If these animals cannot be shipped to an appropriate sanctuary, then before

any more orangutans are added, and as a matter of urgency, a much larger,

naturalistic enclosure which meets the international standards should be

constructed and a regular, varied behavioural enrichment programme, which

simulates all five of the animals' senses, provided. "

 

Despite the criticism, veteran orangutan carer Mak Chi-wah said Vandu had

adapted well to the new environment and had made a good start - trustful eye

contact - with his two potential mates, Merdeka and the younger Raba in an

adjacent cage.

 

" He was kind of silent during the first days in the zoo, but he soon got

used to the new settings and has become very active and playful, " Mak said.

 

Vandu would have realised that his new home was much smaller, but Mak said

he believed the two wire cages should be large enough for the three

orangutans to play around in after they were linked up to allow mating.

 

" There is a fake tree in the Hungary zoo enclosure for the orangutan. But we

can't do that here since it would be dangerous if the animal breaks the tree

and uses the broken parts to damage the enclosure, " he said.

 

Mak said attention was paid to the psychological welfare of the orangutans

by offering them food in a way that required them to exercise their bodies

and brains. They were also given hay and dried leaves to put on their

sleeping platforms at night.

 

However, Macalister said there was a need to clarify the real purpose of the

breeding programme and whether it was aimed at reintroducing animals into

the wild. " Are they to replenish the dwindling numbers in the wild or will

they be sentenced to 35 years of confinement? "

 

Since the first orangutan was introduced to Hong Kong in 1978, 12 have been

born, from three mothers and two fathers.

 

Five died in infancy while five others were later transferred to zoos in the

United States, Spain and New Zealand. Two of the migrants later gave birth

in 2005 and 2007.

 

Vandu is the first orangutan import since Datu, who was born in England and

arrived in 1981 before dying of a heart attack in 2008 after siring six

children, of which two died.

 

Despite the potential danger, it is not uncommon for a zoo to install

" trees " . In the US, The Zoo Atlanta has a 16-metre dead tree as a climbing

structure, while Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo's US$8.5 million,

1,000-square-metre Hubbard Orangutan Forest, to which Hong Kong has sent

orangutans, has a 20-metre banyan tree.

 

A spokeswoman for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, which

manages the Hong Kong zoo, said the orangutan enclosure underwent renovation

three years ago, with new features installed including an artificial termite

mound. She said sacks, a hammock, nylon strips, a plastic ball and plastic

tank were placed inside the enclosure for the animals to play with.

 

She also said the zoo's visit programme for schools had been successful in

getting the message of wildlife conservation across.

 

The zoo draws more than 800,000 visitors a year.

 

Men of the Forest

 

Bornean orangutans, also known as Men of the Forest, are endangered, with a

population in the wild of between 40,000 and 70,000. They are mostly found

in Malaysia and Indonesia. In the wild, they live for up to 35 years, but

they can live longer in captivity. Apart from brief periods of mating and

raising infants by females, they are solitary animals.

 

They swing and move from branch to branch with their powerful hands and

rarely leave the trees for the ground. They sleep at night in large nests

built of broken branches and foliage. Fruit, leaves, bark and birds' eggs

are their favourite foods.