Peter Kertesz operates on Rajang last week

A DENTIST carried out an unusual operation at Colchester Zoo recently – removing three teeth from the attraction’s most-famed animal.

West End dentist Peter Kertesz travelled to Colchester to aid Rajang the Orangutan, who is 41-years-old, and greets all visitors to the zoo as they walk in. While Mr Kertesz specialises in treating animals at zoos all over the world, he also treats human patients at his London clinic.

Curator Clive Barwick said: “Despite being very sleepy afterwards, Rajang, has made a full recovery from the operation over the weekend.

“He is the grand old age of 41 so there was naturally some concern in carrying out the procedure so we’re really happy with how it’s all gone.”

Source: http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/

Mar 05, 2010
Source: The Star/Asia News Network

By Hilary Chiew and Joshua Foong

PETALING JAYA: Besides keeping animals illegally, the controversial zoo in a southern state was also implicated in the smuggling of the critically endangered orangutan.

It was one of the private facilities in the country that is known to have acquired smuggled orangutan in recent years where the animals were confiscated and repatriated by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan).

This was confirmed by Perhilitan, thus contradicting the assertion of the zoo that the department took away a pair of its orangutan for breeding in Indonesia a year ago.

It is unclear if the zoo was penalised for the offence but it appeared that its special permit for orangutan was never revoked.

Instead, its orangutan collection was replaced; a six-year-old female was delivered in June last year followed by a 15-year-old male in December.

Perhilitan deputy director-general Misliah Mohamad Basir said the replacements were from the Bukit Merah Lake Town Resort as part of the department’s breeding loan programme, adding that it is an effort to promote eco-tourism in Johor.

In 2006, Malaysia repatriated seven Sumatran orangutan that were removed from a resort in Malacca and one from the Johor zoo following a nationwide DNA finger-printing exercise that revealed that 12 out of 58 orangutan held at seven facilities were Sumatran and the remaining 46 were Borneans.

However, in Perhilitan’s communication in 2005 with British-based NatureAlert that had taken an interest in the smuggled orangutan scandal, it was revealed that seven Borneans belonging to the Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii subspecies (found in Sarawak and western Kalimantan) would be repatriated.

Houston Zoo Orangutans and Elephants Collaborate With 10 Texas Artists Host Art Auction
Thu, 3/4/2010
Learn more

By Brian Hill

Houston, TX – Bert had never worked with Rama and Malay before but was pleased to discover that the sharper elements of their personalities didn’t intrude upon their partnership. Rudi seemed to take forever to choose his colors but Christopher was patient. Even though Solaris ended up wearing as much paint as he put on the canvas, Whitney found his youthful exuberance rather charming.

Rama and Malay are clouded leopards. Rudi and Solaris are orangutans. Bert Long, Christopher Malice and Whitney Riley are three of the 10 human artists who have collaborated with the Houston Zoo’s animals to produce unique works of art for a very special event.

On Saturday, March 27 the Houston Zoo will present its 4th Pongos Helping Pongos Art Event from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at G Gallery in the Heights at 301 E. 11th Street benefiting orangutan and elephant conservation. This very special art exhibition and wine and cheese reception will feature more than 40 individual paintings done by the Houston Zoo’s orangutans, elephants, siamangs, babirusa, and clouded leopards and collaborative pieces produced by the animals and their human artist partners.

The paintings, photographic portraits of the featured artists and professional photographs of wild orangutans and Bornean elephants will be displayed at G Gallery for a single night in a fine arts setting. All paintings, photographs, and portraits will be sold by silent auction with all proceeds benefiting orangutan and elephant conservation projects in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Pongos Helping Pongos is generously supported by G Gallery, Alice Tutt, Gayle and Michael Collins, YolArt Fine Arts, Alliance Graphics and Printing, Acme Rentals, Peggy Buhrmester, Toni Noble, Dena Strange, the Houston Zoo staff and by the Pongos Helping Pongos 2010 collaborative artists:

Kelly Alison Katy Anderson Bill Komodore
Bert Long Christopher Malice Patrick Medrano

Rahul Mitra Whitney Riley Glenn Ruthven

Sheila Swift Hurst

About Pongos Helping Pongos

Pongo is the scientific name for orangutans. So, the name Pongos Helping Pongos translates to Orangutans Helping Orangutans. Since 2004, the Houston Zoo, assisted by generous Pongos Helping Pongos donors have raised critically needed funds for the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project and Elephant Conservation Program in Sukau, Sabah, Malaysia, and for field conservation efforts at Indonesia’s Gunung Palung National Park. Both projects are located on the island of Borneo and represent some of the last remaining habitats for wild orangutans. A portion of Pongos Helping Pongos proceeds are also applied to orangutan behavioral enrichment activities at the Houston Zoo. The Houston Zoo is proud to partner with the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Program, supporting research, education, and awareness programs for orangutans, elephants, and habitat protection in the region.

About the Houston Zoo

Recognized by Parents magazine as one of the Ten Best Zoos for Kids, the Houston Zoo is an exciting live animal adventure that provides a unique educational and conservation resource serving 1.7 million guests annually. Set in a 55-acre lush tropical landscape, the Zoo is home to more than 4,500 exotic animals representing more than 800 species. Operated by the not-for-profit Houston Zoo, Inc., the Houston Zoo is dedicated to the conservation of endangered species, the provision of engaging educational opportunities and the creation of stimulating exhibits that broaden the experiences of our guests and encourage their curiosity.

The Houston Zoo is located at 6200 Golf Course Drive in beautiful Hermann Park. The Zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during Central Standard Time (last admission at 5 p.m.) and from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. during Central Daylight Time (last admission at 6 p.m.). The Zoo is closed Christmas Day. Regular admission is $11 for adults, $6 for seniors, $7 for children ages 2-11 and FREE for children under 2. Visit the courtesy booth at your neighborhood Fiesta Mart and purchase an adult Zoo admission for $9 and a child Zoo admission for $6. Zoo memberships start at only $55. For information on all the great benefits of becoming a Zoo member call (713) 533-6713 or visit our Web site at www.houstonzoo.org.

To view Houston Zoo’s web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to:
http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-727-Houston_Zoo

Talk about enrichment…. Anybody have a quarter?

Most of us have been driven nuts by a vending machine on more than one occasion. So imagine the frustration when the orangutans at Hanover zoo in Germany received their very own nut vending machine…

Check out the AMAZING photos at the telegraph.co.uk website:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/7367503/In-pictures-Orangutans-at-Hanover-zoo-receive-a-nut-vending-machine.html

Seven cases against popular zoo, says Perhilitan
By HILARY CHIEW and JOSHUA FOONG
Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/4/starprobe/5764927&sec=starprobe

PETALING JAYA: The zoo that came under the spotlight over breeding and trading in endangered animals has had at least seven run-ins with the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) since 2003.

These have resulted in two court cases and one compound notice being issued. The rest are currently at various stages of the legal process, the department said.

The department, however, did not provide details on the nature of the offences, or the outcome of the court cases.

Media reports of some of the seven cases relate to the zoo being in possession of animals without the requisite permits.

As a result of these cases, animals have been seized from the zoo, among them a baby elephant, two slow lorises, a baby wild boar and an unspecified number of pythons and storks.

The most shocking case was a raid on June 11, 2008, that unearthed 19 tiger cub carcasses in a freezer in the zoo.

Perhilitan, in a statement, said genetic sampling of 10 of the 19 carcasses showed that they were hybrid species, attesting that they were cubs bred in the zoo and not from the wild.

The zoo keeper explained that the carcasses were accumulated over a period of at least three years.

“We inform Perhilitan of every tiger birth and death. The carcasses are kept until Perhilitan comes to check.”

On the high mortality of tiger cubs, the keeper said: “They died from the cold during the rainy season or because their mothers were not good at taking care of them. But we have improved now. There are fewer cubs dying.”

As to the raids, he said that there had been 11 since 2003.

“I am not sure about the progress of the court cases.”

The zoo is one of three facilities that caught the attention of NatureAlert, an organisation based in Britain that fights for the welfare and protection of orang utan.

It sent its observation report on the facilities to Perhilitan last month, and is awaiting a response on action to be taken by the department.

In its report, a copy of which was made available to The Star, NatureAlert director Sean Whyte questioned the inhumane and filthy living conditions of the pair of orang utan at the facility, which he believed contravened at least two provisions of wildlife law.

The report cautioned that the zoo was a potential breeding ground for zoonotic diseases that not only threatened the animals but also zoo visitors.

It further queried the perceived immunity enjoyed by the zoo management despite the string of offences.

It pointed to Section 44 (1) of the Wildlife Act, which stipulates that first offenders should have their licence suspended. Subsequent convictions should result in disqualification from holding a licence for five years.

However, the zoo continues to operate and announce new additions to its collection.

Come spend a wonderful evening as we venture into the natural habitat of orangutans and learn about this fascinating species through the eyes of Shawn Thompson’s new book, “The Intimate Ape: Orangutans and the Secret Life of a Vanishing Species.”

Fresno Chaffee Zoo was the home of Aazak, the orangutan, mentioned in Thompson’s book, and will host the launch of Thompson’s book, which is on sale now! We hope to see you there!

Learn more about the event on the Fresno Zoo website

Learn more about The Intimate Ape

View the source: http://www.wmnf.org/program_specials/486

My guest on “Talking Animals” March 10 will be PATTI RAGAN, founder of the Center For Great Apes, a sprawling 100-+ acre sanctuary in Wauchula, FL, which not only houses a number of chimpanzees (including Michael Jackson’s old pal, Bubbles), but also offers refuge to the country’s largest gathering of orangutans.

A former teacher and business woman, Ragan founded the Center in 1997 and is considered a top expert on chimpanzees and other great apes in entertainment.

One Center resident, a chimp named Roger, was at the center of the recent book “The Wauchula Woods Accord,” by Charles Siebert, who periodically writes New York Times Magazine cover stories about animals & animal issues (and is a past “Talking Animals” guest).

Patti Ragan will speak with us live on March 10, and listeners are invited to participate in the conversation by calling (813-239-9663) or e-mailing (DJ@wmnf.org).

http://www.centerforgreatapes.org/

http://www.talkinganimals.net/