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The RainForest may be closed for construction, but there is no interruption to the attentive care your Zoo’s keepers provide for the orangutans and other species in the building. What’s more, Zoo guests will get to see exclusive health and husbandry in action when orangutans move into their new habitat in Primate Forest.

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It is (mostly) business as usual for the orangutans as construction begins on the future Primate Forest. The Animal Care team is focused on minimizing disruptions and maintaining consistency of routine for the apes, who will enjoy an expanded and improved habitat when the first phase of the project is complete. During the closure, the orangutans’ schedule may be more fluid, allowing for more relationship-building activities with the keepers, unique enrichment opportunities, and training for health check behaviors.

As always, the orangutans’ wellbeing is the team’s top priority, and through voluntary training that empowers them to participate in routine monitoring, it’s low-stress for them to stay up-to-date on their healthcare.

GREAT LENGTHS FOR GREAT APES

Sharing 97% of their DNA with humans, orangutans also share a susceptibility to some of the same health concerns – such as cardiac and respiratory disease – and lifestyle factors like diet and exercise may play a role. Sound familiar?

One of the most solitary apes, orangutans’ larygneal air sacs help them vocalize across long distances to communicate with other individuals. These air sacs are prone to infection, both in the wild and in human care. While the scientific community does not fully understand all the forms and causes of the issue, there is some belief that diet and exercise support healthy air sacs. Like gorillas, orangutans are also at risk for cardiovascular disease, which is linked to lifestyle factors.

The Zoo’s science and animal care experts monitor the group closely – the keepers’ close familiarity with each orangutan equips them to spot potential issues quickly. “We know what is ‘normal’ for each individual – they have their own routines, patterns, and ‘tells’,” said orangutan keeper Andrew Clark.

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Kayla receives one of her two weekly nebulizer treatments.

In addition to daily visual assessments, the orangutans participate in voluntary training to facilitate a comprehensive list of regular health checks. Through positive reinforcement with coveted food items such as fruit for demonstrating positive behaviors, the orangutans are trained to participate willingly in blood draws, echocardiograms (EKGs), cardiac ultrasounds, nebulizer treatments, and more. “Relationship-building is really important,” said keeper Kim Jansen, explaining that maintaining a good rapport with the animals is foundational to the team’s training philosophy. It is also a significant investment of time; training is a long process, and it’s never “done” - it must be maintained through regular repetition.

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Merah participates in an EKG by placing her fingers on a plate.

Frequent monitoring is key to keeping the orangutans healthy, and this approach reduces stress and empowers the apes to play an active role in their health. The training often takes a playful form; keepers will scatter items throughout the habitat for the orangutans to retrieve and “cash in” for fruit or nuts after performing a behavior. Behaviors start simple – showing hands, feet, mouth, and back for visual examination – and lead to more complex practices such as placing fingers on a credit card-sized EKG plate or inhaling through the mouth and exhaling through the nose for a nebulizer treatment. All of the adult and sub-adult orangutans are trained on these behaviors and considered to be in “maintenance mode” with continued training to keep them sharp, while Zaki is in “shaping mode,” just beginning to learn the basics.

One example of a “shaping behavior” that Merah is practicing is showing her tongue. This simple behavior is the first step toward participating in pulse oximeter readings. Once she consistently shows her tongue, the keepers can add the element of depressing it with a tongue depressor stick, then using the pulse oximeter probe. While humans can have their pulse measured with a fingertip oximeter, orangutans’ fingers are too calloused to collect a reading this way. In addition to shaping behaviors that lead to specific health monitoring practices, the animal care team trains the orangutans to present many of their body parts. This way, if injury occurs or there is concern for a specific part of the body, they can request to see it for closer inspection.

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Training Merah to show her tongue

USING THE DATA

Ongoing data collection serves a few purposes: it makes these health and husbandry practices a normal part of the orangutans’ routine and reduces stress associated with care and treatment; it gives the Zoo’s veterinary and animal care teams baseline information on each animal to define their “normal”; and it feeds into a larger data set for orangutans across AZA zoos to establish standard ranges and guidelines for the species.

Bringing together veterinarians, ape experts, pathologists, and even human cardiologists, the Great Ape Heart Project was founded in 2010 with the goal of better understanding and approaching cardiovascular health factors in apes. Your Zoo has been a member of GAHP since its inception, and its contributions to the population’s data set and ongoing research have been instrumental in establishing parameters of health for orangutans and gorillas alike.

The keepers work with the Zoo’s veterinary team to evaluate results and adjust their approach with each individual as needed. Every three years, each orangutan receives an anesthetized veterinary examination with the additional consult of Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Dr. Zoran Popovic and echocardiogram technician Margaret “Koko” Park. “Partnering with the Cleveland Clinic Cardiology team enhances our ability to interpret the images we obtain,” Head of Veterinary Programs Dr. Selig explained, “and that information empowers us to more effectively manage the health of the orangutans.”

Utilizing anesthesia for these exams facilitates a deeper and more detailed look at the animals’ health. The voluntary trained health behaviors maintained between the triennial check-ups mean that orangutans do not need to be anesthetized more often, and promote more frequent health data collection.

Your Zoo’s dedication to exemplary animal care and the highest standard of well-being is evident in its approach to orangutan health. The robust health monitoring the team carries out, and the voluntary training that makes it low-stress, represent a steadfast commitment to doing things the right way. When complete, the orangutans’ new home will complement these health and husbandry practices with habitat spaces centered around key contributors to these great apes’ health.

WHAT’S AHEAD

Primate Forest's expanded, reimagined orangutan habitat will be designed to maximize the apes’ well-being, promote natural behaviors, and give visitors never-before-seen glimpses into the Zoo’s husbandry practices.

A zoo habitat that aims to replicate their wild home – the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra – and offers ample opportunity to climb and move can also support orangutans’ cardiac and respiratory health. Primate Forest aspires to do just that. Not only will the Zoo horticulture team grow a variety of plants inspired by the apes’ wild habitat, but innovative new design elements will also provide opportunities for the orangutans to climb, swing, and nest, creating a space that feels like – well, a forest.

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Vastly increased vertical space and a focus on replicating key elements of their wild habitat will give the orangutans new opportunities to exhibit natural behaviors such as climbing, nesting, and eating in the canopy.

“Sway trees” will replicate the experience of scaling a tree as it moves with the wind, and long ropes will allow for more brachiating, the branch-to-branch swinging movement that carries them through the forest canopy. Enrichment materials such as hanging feeders and nesting materials may be given to encourage them to use their vastly increased vertical space. The addition of outdoor access will offer new, natural sights and smells for the orangutans, including people! With these apes, observation is reciprocal – just as Zoo guests will enjoy new ways to watch them, they will also enjoy new people-watching options.

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Two-story viewing will offer brand-new perspectives for guests observing the orangutans – and for the orangutans observing them in return!

The opportunities for visitors to observe the orangutans in new ways do not end there. “Health management hubs” will put Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s scientific expertise front and center, inviting guests to observe the Zoo’s animal care experts as they work with the orangutans on training, perform tests such as EKGs, ultrasounds, and pulse readings, and administer care such as injections and nebulizer treatments.

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Orangutans will have outdoor space for the first time in Cleveland, and their habitat will be the first thing visitors see as they approach Primate Forest.

Primate Forest represents an exciting, immersive experience for animals and humans alike, and the orangutans at the Zoo will benefit from upgrades in every aspect of their new habitat. The animal care and science teams contributing to the design of this space are dreaming up elements that encourage natural behaviors, replicate aspects of orangutans’ wild rainforest habitat, and support their optimal health. In the meantime, the orangutans continue to receive conscientious care as their new habitat at the Zoo begins to take shape.

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