In full swing: assessment of trade in orang-utans and ... - WWF UK

Clearly, as orang-utans do not naturally occur on Java or Bali and successful captive-breeding is a very rare occurrence,
they have been imported to the islands. Also, for the gibbons, when broken down by the islands of origin, it becomes
clear that over 75% of the gibbons encountered on Java and Bali have been imported. Thus, of the 531 individuals for
which the island of origin can be inferred, 78 individuals (of one species) originate from Java, 234 from Sumatra (5
species) and 219 from Indonesian Borneo (3 species).
In general, species that are rarely encountered at bird markets are also rarely present in zoos or wildlife rescue centres
(Figure 10). Müller’s Gibbon, however, is relatively frequently encountered at bird markets and zoos, but they are rather
scarce in the wildlife rescue centres, whereas the converse can be said of Siamangs. Both species of orang-utan are
relatively common in zoos, but for the Bornean Orang-utan, this is partially skewed due to the very large number
present in Ragunan zoo. Most of these animals are scheduled to be transferred to one of the reintroduction programmes
in Sumatra or Kalimantan.
Table 10.
Summary of species composition of gibbons and orang-utans observed in bird markets, wildlife rescue centres, zoological
gardens and in private hands on Java and Bali.
Bird markets Wildlife rescue centres Zoos Private hands Total
H. moloch 7 15 55 1 78
H. agilis 19 19 36 0 74
H. albibarbis 3 9 23 0 35
H. lar 1 0 0 0 1
H. muelleri 10 1 19 0 30
H. klossi 3 1 1 0 5
Hylobates spp. 25 0 0 1 26
S. syndactylus 21 43 55 23 142
P. pygmaeus 18 29 107 0 154
P. abelii 0 1 12 0 13
Pongo spp. 0 0 0 1 1
Total 107 118 308 26 559
IN FULL SWING:ASSESSMENT OF TRADE IN ORANGUTANS AND GIBBONS ON JAVA AND BALI,INDONESIA 32