Professional Documents
Culture Documents
BROOKFIELD ZOO
PRESENTS:
THE ORANGUTAN SSP© HUSBANDRY
WORKSHOP
Featured Speakers
Lori Perkins, Zoo Atlanta, Orangutan SSP Chair, AZA Animal Welfare Committee Chair – Lori has served as the SSP chairperson
for 25 years. Lori will present an overview of the current SSP population and discuss the challenges facing orangutans in zoos
Dr. Rob Shumaker, Great Ape Trust of Iowa, Orangutan SSP Vice Chair – Rob is the director of the Great Ape Trust and will
present information on the Trust’s innovative facility design and his cognitive work on orangutans. Prior to becoming the director of
the Trust, Rob was instrumental in developing the “Think Tank” and “O Line”, two very innovative and unique exhibits at the
National Zoo. These two projects demonstrated the cognitive abilities of the orangutans in an interactive setting for zoo guests
while the “O Line” was a unique exhibit that allowed their orangutans to travel in an arboreal manner throughout the National Zoo
Dr. Deb Schmidt – Nutritionist, San Diego Zoo, Orangutan SSP Nutrition Advisor – Deb will teach workshop participants about the
unique aspects of orangutan physiology and their nutritional needs.
Dusty Lombardi, Curator of Living Collections, Ape Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) Birth Management Committee Chairperson,
Columbus Zoo – Dusty will discuss the recent formation of the Ape TAG’s Birth Management Group and their mission to promote
all aspects of proper birth management for any ape within the AZA population
Carol Sodaro, Orangutan SSP Husbandry Advisor, Lead Keeper, Brookfield Zoo – Carol will discuss husbandry trends over the past
15 years including information on general behavior, introductions, animal transfers and rearing trends of the AZA population
Tim Sullivan, Behavioral Husbandry Manager, Brookfield Zoo – Tim will teach a short class on positive reinforcement training
techniques to workshop participants. Following the class, a problem solving session will be held to help participants with orangutan
training challenges they are facing.
Patti Ragan – Director, Center for Great Apes – Patti will discuss her mission at the Center for Great Apes which is the only
orangutan sanctuary for ex-pets and show business animals in the country. Patti has been featured on NBC’s Dateline and World
News tonight.
Dr. Bob Lacy, Brookfield Zoo, IUCN Chairperson – Bob will provide an overview of the work that has been done at recent PHVA
(Population Habitat Viability Assessment) workshops held in Indonesia. This will include assessments of the wild orangutan’s
status as well as identifying priority conservation actions. Bob will be a panel member of the Conservation Roundtable Discussion
portion of the workshop.
Norm Rosen – President of the Orangutan Conservancy and a member of the CBSG (Conservation Breeding Specialists Group).
Norm plans on launching a new conservation initiative at this workshop. He is hoping to form a consortium between zoological
personnel and field biologists to address the rapid decline of the wild orangutan. He plans on introducing this concept to both
European and Australian zoos in subsequent years. Norm will also be a participant in the Conservation Roundtable Discussion. The
Orangutan Conservancy is hosting the icebreaker for our workshop in order to launch his initiative. Norm is having the Orangutan
Conservancy Board of Directors meeting during the workshop in order to show support for formation of this group which will may
include many noted orangutan field researchers.
SUSTAINABLE YIELD palm oil is very important to the livelihood of millions of people in Indonesia. When it is produced NON-
SUSTAINABLY, thousands of orangutans perish each year, due to clear cutting of rainforests and uncontrolled burns. In 1997-98 an
uncontrolled burn of these palm oil plantations took the lives of 8,000 orangutans in Borneo.
NON-SUSTAINABLE palm oil plantations not only destroy biodiversity, but land is often forcibly taken from indigenous people
resulting in the violation of human rights, worker exploitation and blood shed.
Many of these plantation workers are also killing and torturing these animals who have resorted to eating palm oil seeds to survive.
The wild population of Bornean orangutans is estimated at 45,000-50,000. There are 15 times more deer in the state of Colorado
alone than there are orangutans on Earth! There are about 7,300 Sumatran orangutans in the wild and are on the list of top 25 most
endangered primates in the world.
Orangutans will be extinct in the wild in the next 10 years if the palm oil
industry, deforestation and burning of peat forest does not stop now.
RESOURCE LINKS
Forest Stewardship Council www.fscus.org
Great Ape Trust www.greatapetrust.org
Nyaru Meteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Center www.orangutan.com/projects_nyarumenteng.html
Orangutan Conservancy www.orangutan.com
Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) www.rspo.org
SAWIT Watchwww.sawitwatch.or.id (Indonesian website; translates to “Palm Oil Watch”)
Sumatran Orangutan Society www.orangutans-sos.org
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) www.usaid.gov/
World Wildlife Foundation www.wwf.org(search: palm oil; Borneo; Sumatra)
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo www.cmzoo.org/palmoil.html
At the bottom of the page have a list of the sponsors / donors info
After the workshop is over, have a place to put the workshop proceedings