WA orang-utan killed by snake
The first zoo-born male Sumatran orang-utan to be released into the wild has died after being bitten by a snake in the Indonesian jungle.
Semeru, born at Perth Zoo in 2005, made national headlines in 2011 when he was released in Indonesia as part of a global breeding program aimed at shoring up numbers of the critically endangered species.
It appears he was bitten by a snake while in his sleeping nest in a tree in the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in eastern Sumatra, Perth Zoo Director of Animal Health and Research Dr Peter Mawson said.
Indonesian trackers who monitored his movements each day found his body, Dr Mawson said. The vet who examined him found puncture marks on his upper back, and suspected they were from a pit viper.
“Many of the keepers at Perth Zoo remember the day that Semeru was born here and his parents and siblings still live with us. It is a huge blow to lose him,” Dr Mawson said.
“Semeru had a beautiful nature and was a beacon of hope for this critically endangered species.
Dr Mawson said Semeru, who would have turned eight in June, was progressing well, climbing the trees, building nests, finding food and interacting with other orang-utans.
“He was learning all the time and it is sad that it has ended this way. But I am glad that Semeru was able to spend the past 17 months experiencing life in the wild,” he said.
In the statement he thanked Semeru’s trackers, the Frankfurt Zoological Society, The Orang-utan Project and the Indonesian Government for their contributions to Semeru’s care since his release.
There are thought to be just 6600 orang-utans left in the wild in Sumatra, according to the Sumatran Orang-utan Society.
He became the first zoo-born male orang-utan in the world to be released into the wild, following in the footsteps of another history-making Perth Zoo orang-utan, Temara.
Temara became the world's first zoo-born female orang-utan to be released into the wild when she was successfully released in the same area in Sumatra in November 2006.
