MangoVine
Adventures in East Asia
Singapore Zoo Part 2 - Proboscis Monkeys, Orang Utans, Macaques and more - Video
08 September, 2009Tuesday A zoo wouldn't be complete without a few primate communities. There appeared to be two harems of Probosis Monkeys, the unusually large-nosed and pot-belied monkeys that are endemic to the neighbouring country of Borneo.
The nose, larger in males, acts as a resonating chamber amplifying its warning calls. It's also thought to be attractive to females, though when it saw Linh, this fine chap decided another method was required.
Watch this clip below to see the Proboscis Monkeys at Singapore Zoo.
There was also a family of chimps...
And these guys - I can't remember what species they were. Any one? The chap on the right had just spotted a loud group of Australians walking towards them.
One of them then proceeded to heft this large piece of something (coconut or pumpkin?) to safety. It was too much for him eventually but it was funny watching his efforts to move it around.
We froze at one point when we saw these Macaques sitting on a fence in front of us. Since we were eating ice creams, we were wary of being accosted by them..
These Macaques seemed to be living up a nearby tree. We scaled a platform and found this older and wiser looking chap up there.
When we got to the Orang Utans, we discovered they were free ranging in the world's first tree top encounter! With their late celebrity Orang Utan, Ah Meng, it seems that the orange haired primates have a special place in the heart of Singapore Zoo.
The tree top encounter basically allowed visitors to pass along a walk way that takes them up and near the tree top structure that the Orang Utans were climbing on.
As we watched, it appeared that a baby had got itself stuck under the platform, or just wanted to play...
A nearby visitor reached down to pull the baby to "safety", before a zoo keeper came along to take him off her hands.
The zoo keeper then leveled a tall branch in place from the ground level up to the tree tops, and allowed the baby to climb back up, before removing the branch.
It was then I realised that the Orang Utans were free ranging in a strategic tree set up that appeared to be completely open to the rest of the zoo. But they couldn't actually climb out (unless they fell from a particularly high tree that reached out to the zoo walkways) as any trunks that they could use to do so, were netted discreetly at a high vantage point.
And so we leave the primates with a final image on the matter.
Next : Lemurs and Bats
This entry posted in : Attractions. Singapore. Tourism.
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