BBC News Online: Sci/Tech

Ape family falls out over TV

Rather than watching films of orang-utans in the wild, intended to help alleviate the problems of captivity, the father has been glued to dubbed American soap operas and pop videos.

"Before the TV appeared, Rabu never took his eyes off his lady," explains Lena Goroshenkova, a zoologist at the ape house in Leningradksi Zoo.

"But then they put up the TV and he's been glued to the screen ever since."

TV dinners

The normally raucous feeding time has been transformed into a quiet television dinner and even the frantic swinging around of Rabu's mate, Monika does not distract him from the set.

The television was installed in Rabu and Monika's cage after they failed to raise their first baby, Ramon, born last November.

Monika desperately tried to nurture her son but did not know how to feed him. After two days the zookeepers were forced to remove Ramon and care for him themselves.

Monika was raised in captivity and has not had the company of other orang-utan mothers to learn from, as she would have done in the wild.

Animal behaviourists believe that orang-utans are intelligent apes, so they reasoned that watching videos of troops of orang-utans in the wild would help teach the captive apes their native skills. This would be an essential task if captive animals are to be returned to the wild.

However, the wildlife videotapes have not yet arrived and Ramon has succumbed to the flicker of entertainment on the small screen. Yet, the zoo's director says he is not worried about Rabu ignoring Monika because she is a "beautiful woman" and he may be right - she is pregnant again.

Relevant Stories

Monkeys see and do (22 Oct 98 | Sci/Tech)

Internet Links

Teaching orang-utans
Orang-utan Cam
Orang-utan Foundation International

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