AND
BATU GODEK
SITTING IN A TREE H
ave you seen Godek and Batu on the Trail of Vines? The young orangutans are now living together after being introduced earlier in summer 2021. The Orangutan Species Survival Plan identified Batu as a future breeding mate for Godek, our 12-year-old, male Sumatran orangutan who has lived at the zoo since 2017. Batu, also 12, arrived in May from Philadelphia Zoo. Species Survival Plans are conservation breeding programs across accredited zoos to help ensure healthy, self-sustaining populations of threatened and endangered species. While Godek showed interest in Batu, she was tentative at first. After thoughtful introductions, animal keepers looked to Batu to tell them when she was ready for more time with Godek; the two are now quite smitten. Batu is described by her animal keepers as confident, inquisitive and playful. “Batu means ‘rock’ in Malay, and she is going to be that to us here at Woodland Park Zoo as we begin our new foundation of a Sumatran breeding program for future generations,” says orangutan keeper Carolyn Sellar.
20 MYZOO Member Magazine | Spring 2022 | zoo.org
