Zoo Edition
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Career Corner
View Past Editions
Fall 2011
Excerpts from an interview with Andy Antilla, WPZ Zookeeper
WPZ: What is your official title?
AA: I am a zookeeper and I work in the orangutan unit taking care of the orangutans, the siamangs and the liontailed macaques.
WPZ: Can you tell us about a time that one of our orangutans here at the zoo did something interesting, silly and/or impressive?
AA: I am impressed by the orangutans on almost a daily basis. They are so intelligent and are so aware of their world and have a distinct way of communicating with their keepers. It can be gestures, facial expressions, vocalizations, pointing, or even their own focus that can tip us off to something they are trying to tell us. One great example of communication was when I was putting lotion on the orangutans’ feet in the winter. They often get dry skin in the winter time and we apply lotion or oil to their feet and hands. I was applying the lotion to Towan’s feet when he grabbed Bela’s finger and he looked at it then showed it to me. Bela had an old wound on her finger where the skin was really dry and he wanted me to apply lotion there. I applied the lotion and then he looked at it and rubbed it in some more with his lip and then showed it to me again. I applied more lotion and he rubbed it in again and then was satisfied and let go of her hand. It was a great exchange.
WPZ: Have you ever seen orangutans in the wild? What was that like? What were they doing?
AA: I received a Conservation Education Grant from Woodland Park Zoo in 1999, which allowed me to volunteer at an orangutan rehab center in Indonesia on the island of Borneo for six months. There were approximately 250 orangutans at the center during my stay. During this time I followed some of the staff on an orangutan rescue. We drove north to a tree plantation to look for orangutans that had come out of the nearby Kutai National Forest. The rescue was amazing but also a little disheartening. The orangutans were coming out of the national forest because it was so degraded due to encroachment and forest fires. The orangutans would go into the tree plantation area to look for food but there were hardly any tall trees left for them to live in or to find food in. The rescue team brought back five orangutans on that rescue and they were all eventually relocated to another forest. The experience showed me how tough orangutans are and that they can persevere even when the times are tough for them.
WPZ: What kinds of things can students and teachers do to help conserve orangutans?
AA: There are many things people can do to help conserve orangutans. The main thing is to educate yourself about orangutans. I think you will find how interesting and intelligent they are and you can then educate others about them. It’s estimated that there are fewer than 60,000 orangutans left in the wild so they need all the help they can get. We also tend to tell people about conservation in your own backyard. Be aware of your environment and take care of it, either by recycling, buying locally made products, or even by using public transportation more. There are also many orangutan conservation groups that are always looking for volunteers or interested parties to hold fundraisers and create awareness about orangutans.