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From Here to Paternity: How a chronically ill Bornean orangutan beat the odds to not only survive, but to thrive in his new home at the Los Angeles Zoo.
by Megan Fox, Great Ape Keeper
When Bornean orangutan Minyak arrived at the Los Angeles Zoo in December 2001, he was just a shell of what he is today—a strong, confident, and sometimes silly 400-pound orangutan who trusts his keepers, is always engaged in his surroundings and fellow orangutans, and has even become a father.
Minyak was born on March 19, 1981, at a primate research institution. His time there, as described by two of his former caregivers, was riddled with chronic illness and bouts of deep depression. He had little room and never had an opportunity to climb -- seemingly incomprehensible for an orangutan, the largest arboreal mammal in the world.
As Minyak’s condition progressively worsened, his caregivers worked with the orangutan Species Survival Plan (SSP) to find him a more suitable home. There were few zoos interested in taking Minyak. He suffers from air sacculitis—an infection of the air sac -- a respiratory illness that is impossible to cure and very difficult to treat. Minyak’s disease was accompanied by chronic pneumonia, which made him vulnerable to cold, damp environments.
Los Angeles not only has an ideal climate for dealing with such a disease, we also had a team of people willing to take on the challenge of caring for Minyak. While we recognized the severity of his illness, we also understood the importance of his survival to his entire species. Born to two wild-caught Bornean orangutans and having no siblings, Minyak was considered the most genetically valuable Bornean orangutan in North America.
Minyak was slow to adjust to his new surroundings. New experiences and unfamiliar items frightened him. The Zoo staff knew Minyak was going to be a challenge, but the extent to which this was to be true didn’t become apparent until November 2002, when his health began failing dramatically. After much discussion between our veterinarians, human respiratory specialists, and animal care staff, Minyak underwent a risky medical procedure on January 16, 2003. His air sac was removed in a nine-hour surgery that had never before been attempted on a mature ape.
Minyak’s road to recovery was long and difficult. We trained him to inhale medications from a nebulizer, something he had done before but never reliably. We also had to make up creative desserts to get him to take some nasty tasting medications. Minyak made slow but steady progress, and after almost a year at the Gottlieb Health Center he returned home to the Red Ape Rain Forest on September 17, 2003.
Prior to coming to our zoo, Minyak had never before set foot on dirt and grass. In August 2004, he went out on exhibit for the first time. Now he can interact with people through the glass windows, something he seems particularly fond of -- especially when small children are present. He seems to enjoy being out in the sunshine, and even climbs.
Most importantly, he is once again in the company of other orangutans. He was introduced to female Kalim in the summer of 2004. A few months later, she became pregnant. Their infant, Bosco Orangina Berani, born in February 2005, is now considered the most genetically valuable Bornean orangutan infant in North America.
Minyak has not only persevered but he has contributed to the conservation of his species, the most critically endangered of all the great apes.
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