Captive and wild orangutan ( Pongo sp.) survivorship

A comparison and the influence of management

Bibliographic Data

ID19386925
AuthorsSerge A Wich (0000-0003-3954-5174, corresponding author), Robert W Shumaker, L Perkins (Zoo Atlanta), H De Vries (0000-0002-4012-2913, Utrecht University)
Year2009
Volume71
Issue8
Pages680-686
Publication date2009-08-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Primatology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0275-2565 • E-ISSN: 1098-2345
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajp.20704
PMID19434629
OpenAlexW1983498346
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited36

For managers of captive populations it is important to know whether their management provides a species with the physical and social environment that maximizes its survivorship. To determine this, survivorship comparisons with wild populations and long‐term evaluations of captive populations are important. Here we provide both for orangutans. We show that survivorship has increased during the past 60 years for captive orangutan populations in zoos. In addition, we show that survivorship of captive orangutans in the past used to be lower than for wild orangutans, but that for recently born (1986–2005) orangutans survivorship is not significantly different from the wild. This indicates that captive management in the past was suboptimal for orangutan survivorship, but that modern management of captive orangutans has increased their survivorship. We discuss the possible factors of modern management that could have influenced this. Am. J. Primatol. 71:680–686, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc

Biology · Captivity · Pongo pygmaeus · Population · Sociology · Survivorship curve · Zoology · Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies · Demography · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation · Ecology

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