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By Honoria Nadeau, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay welcomes a new member to its orangutan family with
the birth of a female on March 12, 2003. The birth is extremely important
for the conservation of this endangered species and marks the first time
an orangutan has been born at Busch Gardens. There are less than 15,000
orangutans in the wild, making them a critical species to conserve both
in the wild and in zoos. The baby brings the Borean orangutan group at the
adventure park to four, including mother Dayak, father Skinny and aunt Dixie.
Born after a typical orangutan gestation of a little more then eight months,
the baby was born via a Caesarean section operation. The orangutan weighed
in at a tiny 3.5 pounds (range 2.9 - 4.5 lbs.) and is steadily gaining weight.
In the Busch Gardens tradition of naming newborn animals from a language
in their species' native region, park primate specialists selected a Malaysian
name. The baby's name, Alina (pronounced Ah-lee-na), means of a nature that
is friendly, charming and sociable.
Baby Alina's successful birth is the result of a partnership that merged the skills of Busch Gardens veterinarians and senior medical staff from Tampa General Hospital including two OB-GYN physicians. As part of her care, the zookeepers wear an orange carpet vest, which allows the baby orangutan to cling to the keeper as she would cling to her own mother. To the best of our ability, special care is being taken to ensure Alina develops her natural orangutan instincts to help her with her re-introduction into an orangutan group.
The orangutan birth is part of an American Zoo & Aquarium Association (AZA)
approved Species Survival Plan, a program developed among accredited zoological
institutions to conserve endangered species. First-time father Skinny, is
the second highest ranked male orangutan in the United States according
to SSP. Busch Gardens has worked with the SSP for 10 years to find an appropriate
mate for 32-year old Skinny, to maintain continuity of his otherwise unresponsive
genes for the species.
The endangered orangutan is native to the Bornean forests of Indonesia.
There are two subspecies of the orangutan, the Bornean and the Sumatran.
The Borean has a round face and a dark red coat and the Sumartran has a
long narrow face with a light coat of hair. Males of both species have large
check flaps and generally weigh between 165 to 416 pounds, almost twice
the size of females. These primates maintain a diet of mostly fruit and
other plant materials including leaves, bark, flowers, nuts and occasional
insects. Unlike other great apes, orangutans are solitary creatures and
can live up to 50 years. One of the most intelligent species, orangutans
share 95 percent of human genetics. Although orangutans can walk upright
they travel mostly by using their powerful arms to move through trees.
The numbers of orangutans in the wild have been greatly reduced due to habitat degradation as a result of increasing human encroachment, agriculture, lumber production, fires and poaching. The capture and sale of orangutans is a worldwide problem. Often the orangutan mother is killed so the baby can be sold in the live animal trade. These practices continue to occur despite the many organizations that strive to eliminate the exploitation of endangered wildlife.
Because of the orangutan's critical status, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay supports efforts to conserve the species in the wild. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay also supports an orangutan rescue and rehabilitation center in Indonesia, operated by Orangutan Foundation International. These efforts combined with births like that of baby Alina, should help conserve this amazing species for generations to come.
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