INDONESIA, Jakarta (The Blaze/AP) — Orangutans are often said to be similar human beings in their actions. New reports appear to indicate that these mammals enjoy smoking cigarettes as much as some people do.
Over the years, critics have taken aim at Southeast Asian zoos and their willingness to allow the animals to use and abuse tobacco. One wildlife activist is claiming that zoo officials in Indonesia are taking no steps to stop orangutans from smoking cigarettes.Visitors to the Taru Jurug Zoo in Solo, a city on Java island, have been giving cigarettes to the endangered red apes for years. One young male was captured on video shortly before his death in 2009 smoking with his 5-year-old son.
Hardi Baktiantoro, director of the Center for Orangutan Protection, said Friday the youngster can still be seen puffing away at the zoo today as keepers look on.
While some may find such a prospect entertaining in theory, one shouldn’t underestimate the health risks involved in the use of the drug among these animals. Plus, many would contend that distributing cigarettes constitutes a form of animal abuse.
In Malaysia, the situation has been handled much differently. According to the Associated Press, wildlife officials are saying that a captive orangutan often spotted smoking cigarettes given to her by zoo visitors is being forced to kick the habit.Government authorities seized the adult ape named Shirley from a state-run zoo in Malaysia’s southern Johor state last week after she and several other animals there were deemed to be living in poor conditions.
Shirley is now being quarantined at another zoo in a neighboring state and is expected to be sent to a Malaysian wildlife center on Borneo island within weeks.“I would say she is not addicted … but she might have formed a habit after mimicking human beings who were smoking around her,” Ahmad told The Associated Press.
Melaka Zoo Director Ahmad Azhar Mohammed said Shirley is not being provided with any more cigarettes because “smoking is not normal behavior for orangutans.”
Shirley was so far displaying a regular appetite for food and no obvious signs of depression or illness, Ahmad said. Results from her blood tests and other detailed health examinations were not yet available.
Nature Alert, a British-based activist group, wrote to Malaysian officials about Shirley earlier this year, saying conservationists who visited the Johor zoo often saw people throwing lit cigarettes to her in a pit-like enclosure.
The group said Shirley seemed to suffer severe mood swings, sometimes looking drowsy and on other occasions appearing “very agitated” without a cigarette.Authorities last week also reportedly seized a tiger and a baby elephant that was kept chained at the Johor zoo.
It is not clear when Shirley started smoking. Officials have estimated she is around 20 years old. Orangutans, which are native to rainforests in Borneo and Indonesia’s Sumatra island, can live up to about 60 years in captivity.
Other countries such as South Africa and Russia have also reported cases of primates learning to smoke after zoo visitors ignored warnings and tossed cigarettes into the cages of chimpanzees. Below, we’ll leave you with footage of an orangutan who, when thrown a lit cigarette, apparently said “no”.
Any thoughts on this anybody?
Some time ago i read news about some kid smoke like 40 cigarettes a day at the age of 5, and he would cry if his parents won't give it. So cigarette is like milk to him...
ReplyDeleteNow this... what has the world become...
The officials at the zoo should tighten their security around it and always watch the behaviors of the animals in it. And the visitors shouldn't smoke within the area of the zoo too. Or maybe the officials should make smoking area in it.
I myself don't smoke. i don't like the fact that it makes my breath smells bad and because i think the world already have too much people dying from lung cancer.
Although it would be cool to watch orangutan smoke hhahahahaha. hypocrite yes i know hahaha.
@Gilang: Thank you for well thought out response. Other members of U214 Crew take note!
ReplyDeleteThey shouldn't smoking.
ReplyDeleteit may affect their health, and they may die quickly.
from what i read, female orangutans only give birth once every 7-8 years. It's a very long time to recover the extinction.
not to mention the publicity for the smoke
ReplyDeletevisitors of the zoo itself are mainly consisted of underage kids, which are highly vulnerable to these kinds of activity conducted by the orangutans.
Kids these age proven capable in absorbing and interpreting information faster than adults, and since they have no basic knowledge regarding the danger of smoking they may put it in account where I assume they would imagine it in such details as :
"Smoking is not bad, that George do it as well"
(and by George it's the one from Curious George) same effect they get when they see their parents smoking, only in a much fancier way. The imagination they have is a strong one and such examples may conduct their behavior in the future.
in this case, I think we need to stop this trends before it gets its hands into other crucial subjects.
Oh man.. that's Gagas's sister, why did she just smoke in there? hahahah....
ReplyDeleteI think smoking, even on animal being, is not a good habit. They should just sit around for the bananas rather than smoking...
Maybe Mr. Akhmad wants to make a research about orangutan's lung capacity, but to allow Shirley to do that, owh such a terrible idea.
and I still can't write my name in my comment box, why should I do?
Habib
in my opinion,since orangutan is really easy to interact with human,it make them also easy to copy what human did,so they do smoke because they saw it before.maybe the zoo have to make some rules about visitor.
ReplyDeleteThe zoo should tighten its security. There should be some guards to prevent visitors from giving cigarettes to the orangutans. Smoking is not good for health. Basically you suck 'poisons' and it may lead to illnesses such as anemia, lung cancer and coronary heart disease. The illnesses can make you die faster. Orangutans are endangered species. Making them smoke somehow can be considered as killing them slowly & leading them to extinction
ReplyDeleteWho is teaching an orangutan smoking?hahaha well, smoking isn't good for a man, but I never heard any adv that mention about the consequences of smoking for orang utan. Do they have such a same body stimulation as ours?
ReplyDeleteSmoking isn't good for health but some people don't pay attention on that. I mean, they really don't care whether they are healty or not. As long as smoking fulfill their need, it seems fine. People have different side if view.
I don't smoke, but I'm not bothered by smokers. But if t is come to an orang utan, I just don't know what to say..............
At first I was laughing seeing the picture and reading the first paragraph. But when it came to the next paragraph, it became sad :( It's sad to read that there are people out there sharing their cigarettes with the apes. Whether it is good or bad for the orangutan's health, for me something abnormal sounds never correct. The zoo should be really aware with this case. The visitors as well. It will be not funny hearing Shirley die because of consuming to much tobaccos :(
ReplyDelete