A stud Sumatran orangutan has been given his own harem of six females in a one-ape bid to help save the endangered species.
Awang has been drafted in by keepers at Switzerland’s Zurich Zoo with the intention of boosting the troop’s birth rate.
The 12-year-old ape was a rising dominant male at his previous home in Germany and experts at his new zoo are hoping he can fill the same role there.
Video footage obtained from the zoo on 29th May shows how Awang was kept in quarantine for a month and not allowed to join his new girlfriends until after a series of health checks.
But even when he was allowed into the enclosure it seemed not all his new harem were as keen to save the species as he seemed to be.
As Awang swung through the compound, some of his suspicious new females were seen keeping their distance.
Finally, he seems to settle in with one new orangutan mum, who cautiously allows him to share some food.
A statement from Zurich Zoo said: “With the new male addition, Zurich Zoo can once again breed the Sumatran orangutans, which are threatened with extinction, and thus contribute to species conservation.
“Awang was the first offspring of the Sumatran orangutans in the ZOOM Erlebniswelt in Gelsenkirchen.
‘At almost 13 years old, it was time for the increasingly dominant male to leave his previous group.
“As part of the European Endangered Species Breeding Program (EEP), Awang was sent to Zurich Zoo to ensure future offspring of the endangered great ape species.”
They added: “The Zurich orangutan group currently consists of the six female orangutans Timor, Xira, Cahaya, Pandai, Riang and Utu.
“In February of this year, the previous male orangutan Djarius became unexpectedly and very seriously ill and had to be put down shortly afterwards.”
“Awang moved to Zurich Zoo at the end of April and initially completed a period of quarantine in the background.
‘He has now successfully completed this and is now settling into his new home.”
And the zoo is optimistic that Awang will be up to his duties.
They said: “Getting to know the new females is going very well and gives hope for a positive development.”
Sumatran orangutans are listed as threatened with extinction on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
The zoo said that the loss of their habitat due to the clearing of huge areas of rainforest for palm oil cultivation has brought the species to the brink of extinction.
His previous keeper Stephanie Fischer said Awang would grow into his new role.
She explained: “Awang will settle in well in his new home. He has a friendly disposition and is very curious.”
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below. Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Georgina Jedikovska, Agency: Newsflash
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