Posted March 2, 2020 in News
As most of our visitors will be aware, we sadly lost our beloved Rajang the Orangutan in December 2018 at 50yrs old. Rajang had lived at Colchester Zoo since 1980, as he was a hybrid Rajang was not able to breed however, he had companions during his time at Colchester Zoo including our current male orangutan Tiga who is 19yrs old this year.
Orangutans are solitary in the wild therefore it hasn’t affected Tiga being on his own since Rajang’s passing however, we are pleased to be introducing not one but two more Orangutans to Colchester Zoo to share Tiga’s home at Rajang’s Forest.
The two orangutans who will be joining the Colchester Zoo family are mother and daughter from Paignton Zoo. The mother is 24yrs old and is called Mali, her daughter Tatau is almost 7yrs old. It will be a while after they arrive at the zoo until either of them are introduced to Tiga therefore we are currently making adjustments to the enclosure to enable the Animal Care Team to keep them separated whilst still allowing them all access outside. Therefore, visitors may notice on their days out that we are constructing new fencing in the outside area in preparation for our exciting new arrivals. There will also be some obstructed viewing indoors temporarily whilst our team replace some of the glass windows. We thank all our visitors for their understanding whilst this work takes place.
The date that our new arrivals will be joining us is yet to be confirmed but as soon as we have more information on the pair, we will be sure to let you know – watch this space!
