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| Orangutan Baekseoggi is fed milk by zoo keeper Jung Hyo-ju at Seoul Zoo in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Monday./ Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
By Kim Se-jeong
Baekseoggi, a 10-year-old male orangutan living in Seoul Zoo with paralyzed legs and a developmental disorder, will soon leave Korea for good for treatment in Malaysia.
Born in 2009, the endangered species received an unprecedented operation in 2011 where three zoo veterinarians and three urologists moved one of his misplaced testicles back to where it should be ― the fact that the urologists took part in the operation made him into news headlines.
The zoo vets also found other permanent issues ― his two hind legs were paralyzed and he had a developmental disorder.
"We've been taking care of Baekseoggi until now but this is a zoo and we can't give him dedicated care," Yang Woo-jung, the head of the zoo's public relations team, said Monday as to what the zoo had in mind about the disabled orangutan.
"When we heard about the place dedicated for orangutans like Baekseoggi, we were interested," Yang said.
He is going to the Bukit Merah Orangutan Island Foundation where he will be treated with other orangutans with problems.
It was not an easy decision to make for the zoo staff.
"Because he's never been in the wild, he could have a harder time there. But, with the help of the foundation, we hope that he will find the jungle more comfortable," Yang said.
The zoo staff got the idea of sending him to Malaysia through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a non-profit group based in the U.S. advocating animal welfare.
"The Malaysian foundation liked the idea and we invited them to the zoo to show Baekseoggi and to discuss his condition."
According to its website, the foundation is "to serve as a temporary holding facility for those orangutans rescued from illegal possession or trade before being returned to their natural habitat, with mechanism in place to treat, care and rehabilitate those orangutans assessed unfit for immediate return to the wild."
Baekseoggi getting ready to leave
Baekseoggi is expected to move to Malaysia before May ― via plane from Korea to Malaysia and a boat from the airport to the island where the center is located.
In preparation for his new life in Malaysia, the zoo is feeding milk recently.
"The Malaysian team recommended us to feed him milk to give the legs more protein so he could stand alone," a zoo staff member said. He gets fed four times and each time, we give him 200 milliliters of milk.
That's in addition to two regular meals of assorted vegetables and fruits.
For the most part, he spends time alone in his room, filled with toys and swings made of fire hoses to remind him of branches in the forest. He jumps from one hose swing to another but very slowly because he cannot use his legs.
When it's warm outside and sunny, he gets outdoor time ― he plays there alone or gets a massage from a zoo keeper.
The zoo keeper has to keep one thing in mind when taking him out: to keep other orangutans away from him. That's because "Baekseoggi gets scared when seeing other orangutans. We've tried to get him to stay with other animals for socialization, but he got stressed quickly."
The zoo keeper carries him in his arms to the outdoor play site ― he weighs between 30 kilograms and 40 kilograms.
People are his only interaction ― zoo keepers and visitors ― and he has developed a sense of attachment and even learned to play with people.
"Because interaction is possible, the zoo keeps are sad to see him leaving as well."
He will travel with his mother, Osooni, to the island but Yang said it's nothing to do with giving Baekseoggi comfort.
"He doesn't recognize his mother anyway," Yang said. "We are sending her to the foundation because she's getting old and thought Malaysia would be a better option for her."
Facts about orangutans
Orangutans are native to Indonesia and Malaysia. Currently, they're only found in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra islands.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), orangutans are critically endangered species. In 2016, the number of surviving orangutans was 100,000, while the population is expected to decline to 47,000 by 2025.
Human activities are believed to be the main cause for the severe decline of the orangutan populations. Poaching for the exotic pet trade, and logging for palm oil cultivation have destroyed their habitat in the rainforests.
Orangutans live up to 40 years in the wilderness and up to 50 years in captivity. Females give birth every seven to nine years and the gestation period is nine months. Females raise infants alone and the infants stay with their mothers until they are seven to eight years old.
Most adult males live alone, while females take care of children, sometimes with their adult sister or mother.
Orangutans are part of the big ape family, together with chimpanzees and gorillas.
While orangutans' natural habitat is Asia, gorillas and chimpanzees are from Africa. The gorilla is the largest of the three ― between 200 pounds and 400 pounds, while orangutan and chimpanzee don't weigh more than 140 pounds.
Seoul Zoo is the largest and oldest zoo in Korea with 2,500 animals of 263 species.
The zoo at the current location opened in 1984, moving from Changgyeong Palace in central Seoul. The first zoo was opened during the Japanese colonial period by the Japanese who built a zoo, botanic garden and a museum in the old palace compound.
After the independence, the zoo was kept going on donations from rich Koreans and gifts from foreign zoos. In 1984, it was relocated to its current site.
If you want to see Baekseoggi, the zoo opens every day and operating hours are between 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during winter and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. during summer.
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| Baekseoggi plays with zoo keeper Jung Hyo-ju at Seoul Zoo in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Monday./ Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
