The Memphis Zoo
Orangutan at the Memphis Zoo: This is a class five star zoo in my opinion. Most of the animals are in outdoor compounds conducive to their species. Ample space is available for exercising with structures that promote a natural habitat. Most are surrounded by a moat of water, preventing the animals from escape, and include a waterfalls. This particular compound included shade trees, jungle gym and natural grass.
Orangutan: They now face extinction. At the turn of the last century around 315,000 orangutans existed in the wild. Orangutan numbers are now down by 92% compared with a century ago and have been reduced by half in Northern Sumatra between 1993 and 2000. The orangutans ancient origin is not agreed upon. In a recent discovery (reported in 2002), a team of scientists unearthed a fossil ape in Thailand dating back 10 to 13.5 million years ago. It consists of both an upper and lower jaw with similar dental structure as today's orangutan and they consider it to be an ancestor of the new form. This discovery would place the development of the earlier orangutan in a similar habitat as today's tropical forest home on Sumatra and Borneo.
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