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?
Nowadays, orangutans face possible extinction. There’s a crisis exists for orangutans. While exact orangutan population counts are always a challenge – various estimates put current counts at between 50,000-65,000 orangutans left in the wild – we do know with certainty that 2,000 to 3,000 orangutans are killed every year. At this rate of loss, many experts believe orangutans could be extinct in the wild in less than 50 years. The main threats in today to the survival or orangutans are: loss of habitat through deforestation, palm oil plantations, illegal hunting, and illegal pet trade.
ReplyDeleteThe orangutan population has shrunk more than 50% in Sumatra since 1993, a study by AFP shows. The situation in Borneo is not better, the study noted, referring to the only other place where the orangutans can be found in the wild. We, as the younger generations of Indonesia have to start taking care of our environment. Floras and faunas in Indonesia have its own uniqueness and we have to be able to preserve it.
I am not wandering if orangutan do the same attitude or things as what they do like humans. On the other hand, I also feel sad because this animal is going to be extinct soon. It is because of the environment which do not support them and the cruelty of humans that is forcing to kill them just to only take their skin etc. “Smoking is not a normal behavior for orangutans”, personally I don’t really agree with this perceptions or statements because this base on the fact that orangutan have similar attitude and thoughts like humans due to their body shape is similar, their attitude is not much different and also how the orangutans act towards one another is similar like how the humans interact each other. There’s a research in which orangutans has the same gene like humans also how they give birth to their child and the way how they breastfeed and care are similar.
ReplyDeleteOrangutan is an animal which it is said that it is pretty similiar with human, but not as much as chimpanzee. It is one of the most smart and caring primate in this world. The case of Orangutan smoked in severel zoo in around the world, is caused by human. The zoo report this problem to institution in charge. This of course can cause some habit to the orangutan if the visitors of the zoo keep doing it, and it can cause several diseases of course for the orangutan. The diseases are just like human's. Bronchitis, lung cancer, and many more. If a orangutan already addicted to smoke, even though they are not given smoke anymore, it can feel stress or depressed. Of course it is a bad thing because it can harm the healthiness of the orangutan. So, it is better for the authorities to do decisive action right after the incident occured, or maybe before the incident, so it will not danger the orangutans any longer.
ReplyDeleteOrangutans are one of the most recognizable species in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia and Malaysia. In Indonesia, Orangutans are found on the island of Sumatra and Borneo, they are known as an endangered species. Rainforests are essential for orangutans to live, the reason that they are close to extinction is none other than habitat loss. With its species faced against extinction, it is certainly not right for them to smoke cigarettes. The habit of smoking among Indonesians is very common, and what’s worse is that people tend to smoke in all places, ignoring given smoking areas to smoke. Zoos should have strict rules on smoking, it is dangerous for animals when they are exposed to cigarette smoke. This does not apply only to zoos, but many public places as well. There should be smoking areas provided in many public places.
ReplyDeleteReading this article shocked me as this is my first time knowing about an orangutan who smoke cigarette. An orangutan was said to be similar to humans and I cannot be more agree to it. It is still controversial between orangutan and chimpanzee, which animal is closest to human being. With them being the closest animal to human being, they have the ability to imitate or do what they saw. The orangutan who smokes might be imitating a visitor who smoked in front of him. It is unfortunate that an orangutan died due to smoking cigarette, I personally think it is the fault of the staff of the zoo since they let visitor smoke inside. Orangutan is facing extinction and we cannot afford to lose one more due to carelessness. An immediate action should be taken to protect animals that are facing extinction and zoo rules should be stricter as what we do in the zoo might be copied by the animals.
ReplyDeleteReading the article above makes me sad. The fact that Orangutan is facing extinction right now really hurts me and the fact that humans giving them cigarettes hurts me even more. Even though orangutans have similar genes as humans, it doesn’t make it right on giving them things that is used by humans but don’t exist on their natural environment. What makes us different from them is that we can think on which is good and which is bad while they can’t. By giving them cigarettes and stopped midway, it will surely made them stress out because of the sense of losing something that made pleasure to them. By being stress they could easily become sick and slowly die. This will fasten the extinction phase of orangutan and will definitely take lives of every orangutans in the world if not stopped immediately. We should focus on preventing orangutans to extinct rather than being ignorant by giving things to them that are bad for their health.
ReplyDeleteSmoking, is something that’s dangerous for humans and if Orangutan’s smoking it’s also dangerous for the animal itself since it’s known that orang-utan’s having similar organs and structures with humans, similar here didn’t mean exactly the same since chimps also been said to be similar as well. Smoking cause diseases in which in the long run will lead to deaths, and Orang-Utan’s quantity is already reaching the point where it’s about to extinct, and by means of allowing the orang-utan to smoke, it implies that the zoo, place where animals are considered as their safe zones, are cause extinction as well by allowing orang-utan to smoke cigars. It will in the long run lead to deaths of orang-utan due to diseases resulted from smoking and in the long run will eventually lead to the point where orang-utans are extinct already. By this factor, we know another factor that causes to deaths of orang-utans besides from illegal hunting end keeping as pets for humans which also causes the massive decrease in amount of orang-utans roaming freely in South-Eastern part of Asia such as Indonesia.
ReplyDeleteIt is already unhealthy for human to smoke, moreover for animal to smoke. Smoking is dangerous because it can cause lung disease by damaging your airways and the small air sacs found in your lungs. Lung diseases caused by smoking include COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Cigarette smoking causes most cases of lung cancer. Animals endurance is definitely not as big as human’s endurance. When even human can be dead because of smoking, so does animals. Animals can be dead because of smoking. We know that animal’s life is not as long as human’s life, so when animals such as this orangutan smoke, this will reduce their life that has already not that long enough. As human, we should be the one that prevent this to happen. First that we can do is to not giving animals such thing as cigarette. Second is to make a habit to not smoke so that animals won’t do the same thing.
ReplyDeleteIt is a pathetic fact that sometimes we are not really pay attention to the regulation of visiting zoo. Even though, Orang Utan considered as a mammals who act like human, they are still animals. They see what the visitors doing and they imitate. I bet, they do not really know what they are doing on smoking. They do not know the effect of smoking which might cause some health issues. Besides, I think it is also the zoo’s responsibility to take care of the Orang Utan, although they could not really watch every visitor who is coming the zoo and brought something necessary or unnecessary. As a visitor, sometimes we forget the responsibility to keep the animals healthy and the situation stable. But, I think we are still lack of awareness toward animals’ life. I used to live in Kalimantan, I saw Orang Utan there, and the ones I saw were the friendly Orang Utan. So, I hope we could maintain their existence together!
ReplyDeleteReading this article and watching the videos is very heartbreaking. Orangutans is an animal that is similar with human. Orangutans population is on threats and it is possible for them to face a complete extinction within 10 years since Orangutans population are decreasing quickly. When I read this article and found out about Orangutans smoking made me mad. Smoking itself is very unhealthy for human and who might knows the bad impact that might possibly happen on animals when they smoke. Since orangutans is a species that similar with human, they could imitate something easily. When they see people smoking and there are someone who gave them cigarettes it make them curious and they might try it. If orangutans are addicted with cigarettes and we try to stop it, it will be hard and they might stressed out. Zoo is supposed to be a safe place to protect animals while in reality it is not even safe anymore for animals.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first heard about the smoking orangutan from the news, I was utterly shocked because I think it’s just so ridiculous. Although orangutans are said to be the most similar beings to humans, having 97% DNA in common, they have different anatomy and physiology, this includes their brain structure and function so I think it would be impossible for an orangutan to start smoking without being taught how to. But again, orangutans are clever beings so they could possibly observe and imitate the acts of the visitors passing by. Indonesia has one of the highest smoking rates in the world and a bad record of animal protection. Feeding the animals out of their diet could harm their body, cigarettes, none that need be spoken, is proven to be harmful to humans and even the cigarette smoke are detrimental, including to animals. The act of giving cigarettes to animals are punishable by law and the perpetrator can be convicted and sentenced to article 302 of the Criminal Code for minor maltreatment and animal abuse. Furthermore, orangutans are endangered species and it’s a shame that Indonesian zoos are mistreating and torturing them, instead of taking a good care and giving protection to them. Instead of being tortured in captivity in those zoos, I think it would be better that the animals be rehomed to another qualified zoo or trained to be released to back to nature.
ReplyDeleteOrangutan is a very fascinating species and they are endemic to Borneo and Sumatra Island in Indonesia. In Malay, Orang means person and Utan means forest. In this case, Orangutan also means people of the forest. Orangutans share approximately 97% of their DNA with human. Sadly, orangutan population has shown a significant decline as their status is now critically endangered. This article is very saddening as it shows how inhumane and unethical humans can be. This is truly a reminder on how flawed the animal rights laws can be in Indonesia. The fact that it happened also showed how ignorant people can be when it comes to animals. I believe that Zoos should be strict enough to prevent similar events from occurring. I also believe that the zoo is not the one to blame for visitors should be educated enough to acknowledge how some actions might negatively impact the species (especially knowing that the species is critically endangered). Rules and regulation should be made more strict and education should be improved to raise awareness.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day the people who we are blaming of causing these actions being done by orangutans are people with little to no education. We should blame the urgency that is set up in these nations about education, especially education about endangered species. We cannot keep blaming these people who have no choice but to live with their lives that has little to no education. Because the ones that can change their lives are us. In the end, they do not know the urgency to educate themselves because in a view, money is more important than education although with a little knowledge, we would realize that to gain a lot of money, we need education. To improve, I reckon that these people should stop blaming but start doing something on the alarming rate of education levels between the societies. Because an educated person would not find hurting a being funny or entertaining. For example, we would not realize that dolphins do not enjoy being in a circus until we have studies that says so. Not to mention, we need to study to receive access to these studies.
ReplyDeleteIndonesia have always had a severe smoking problem. A person can walk no more than a couple of feet and reach a warung (a small shopping spot where cigarettes are sold) and pay a child’s allowance to to get a pack of cigarettes. The sheer accessibility of it all cause the normalization of smoking as a habit. A shop owner could sell his cigarettes for a child of nine years old and no one would bat an eye, it is that serious.
ReplyDeleteThis video just goes to show how insignificant smoking is to the eyes of people in Indonesia. They think giving out cigarettes for orangutans is funny because they don’t think it’s dangerous. No one in the right mind would argue that it is okay for an orangutan to smoke, there needs to be more security rules and some real securities to stop this to ever happen again. This video is a small reflection on how bad smoking is in Indonesia.
I think an act of social campaign must be present here in Indonesia to avoid this tragedy from happening. Not actually avoiding it from happening because I guess it is nearly impossible to do that here in Indonesia. It is nearly impossible because Orangutans are present in many zoo's that are actually not inadequate to be called as a zoo. in that kind of zoo, the attention given to animals are minimal. Zookepers probably does not care about the health conditions of the Orangutans, all they do is give food because it is part of their job, not taking care of it. A social campaign is needed to gather people and to make people aware about this case. This is a serious matter because handing cigarettes to animals is considered animal cruelty. The social campaign must be about stopping Orangutan cruelty, specifically the case of handing cigarettes. In that case, to make the social campaign effective, the government should intervene.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of this news a long time ago. The first time I saw it was heartbreaking. Orangutans are an endangered species that face many threats to their survival, all of which are caused by humans. This video is captured in a zoo which has orangutans and shows an incredible degree of human incompetence. Smoking is not a natural behavior in orangutans, or any animal in that matter; the only way an orangutan like this would learn about smoking is through observing and imitating human behavior. The most likely scenario is that the zookeepers are smokers who constantly indulge in their habit frequently at the workplace. When the zookeepers saw this behavior, it should be a distressing sign that they’re not doing their job well. For some reason, they chose not to do anything about it; I wouldn’t be surprised if they even somehow encouraged that behavior. Orangutans are the only arboreal species of the great apes, and now they face extinction. With many of their rainforest habitat cleared to make room for plantations and their young poached for the pet trade, they have a lot in their plate against their survival. Now the orangutans in captivity face the challenges of poor living conditions and human neglect.
ReplyDeleteOrangutan is one of the most endangered species from the island of Borneo. It’s used to be one of the animal pride of Indonesia before some Indonesian itself threaten orangutans’ existence. The fact that orangutan may only be found in Indonesia and East Malaysia, it has become one of the icon of the Borneo island. The orangutan population has increased gradually from time to time. It’s almost become extinct. Orangutan are often hunted, its habitat are destroyed, and its nourishment become scarce. All this time, I only saw orangutan at the zoo. I would like to see them in their habitat, live freely without a cage that limits their movement. I am seeking the opportunity to do so before orangutan extinct. I urge the government to protect orangutan with everything that the government has. I believe that this beautiful diverse country is not only for the humankind only, but also for all the biodiversity that exist within.
ReplyDeleteSmoking has been known as one of the things that could bring bad effects on people’s health. So many people are addicted to smoking, especially in Indonesia. In that zoo, the staffs should really make the regulation and harsh punishments for people who throw trash and other things inside the cages that could make they wouldn’t even think to do it again. This act is really harmful towards the animals and to other people. The poor orangutan faced one of the consequences that those bad people did. The staffs did a good job when they try to move and rehabilitate the orangutan, but I think they should do it more quickly. The orangutan is already addicted to the cigarette and it’s already being used to smoking. The fact that orangutans are one of the endangered animal species makes it more devastating. The bad behaviour and demeanour of these people could make the number of living orangutans lessened.
ReplyDeleteA fact says that orangutans are similar to humans physically as well as in a way they act. Orangutans also imitate what humans do; if they see someone smoke, there is no reason for them not to smoke cigarettes. In addition, by having the same organs as humans, smoking will affect their health just like people, which will kill them, while orangutans are threatened to extinction. With the similarities of organs, it makes sense if they also agree that smoking is addictive, just as humans feel of it. If they have experienced and continuously smoking, it is reasonable if they would feel depressed or stressed out. Therefore, in my opinion, we should not introduce cigarettes to orangutans in the first place. Zoo visitors should obey the regulations given in the zoo, one of which is not to smoke, so that orangutans should never know what cigarette is at first, and thus won’t be addicted to cigarettes.
ReplyDeleteScientists suggest that orangutans are the most likely ancestors of modern humans, which explains the ability of imitating human behaviours. The orangutans might as well enjoy cigarettes the way humans enjoy the demerit good. In correlation with the article, Sixty-seven percent of Indonesian men and fourty-one percent of 13 to 15 year-old boys smoke. Indonesia is one of the few countries in the world that hasn’t signed the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This means cigarettes are still extremely cheap (about one dollar a pack) and cigarette advertising is not forbidden. The ads are on Television, in newspapers and magazines, and plastered on trees lining the roads. Indonesian cities are choked with giant billboards promising “pleasure, style and confidence.” Cigarette companies sponsor almost all of the country’s concerts and sports events, not to mention refugee camps. People have little conscience regarding its use, in which it is being allegorised in the form of smoking orangutans.
ReplyDeleteOrang Utan are known for having a behavior that are very similar to human beings. Orang Utan are one of the most intelligent animal out there. They are able to do things, a lot of animals aren’t able to do. Like for example, just what the article has stated which is smoking. Reading this article both stunned and saddened me. It is really interesting to know that some Orang Utan loves to smoke as much as human does. What makes me sad is the fact that Orang Utan is considered as an endangered species which means they have the potential to go extinct. With that being a concern, there are some Orang Utan who are risking their lives even more by smoking. Just like the infamous quote “Smoking Kills”, I am scared for Orang Utan that are addicted to smoking. Not only that they are already endangered in the first place, they are out here risking their lives even more by smoking.
ReplyDeleteOrangutan is indeed one of the most unique animal yet also one of those animal who close to extinction. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), it is estimated that the remaining orangutan left in the world is currently around 105,000. Therefore i feel like the action of letting Orangutan smoke is truly unacceptable and disgraceful. It is true that Orangutan is one of those species who considered to be highly intelligent compare to other animal and they are often be compared with human in term of their behaviour. However, one major thing that differentiate Orangutan with human is that they couldn’t determine whats right and whats wrong. Therefore giving a cigarettes to this animal is the same as giving a poison to them without them knowing that it killed them slowly. If this action continues, i’m afraid that the extinction of Orangutan is getting nearer and we’re going to lose one of the most intelligent species the world ever knew.
ReplyDeleteI already heard of this before, that orangutans in captivity or in a zoo were smoking. It is really sad how humans let this bad things, and even teach the orangutans how to smoke. I think the government or the zoo officials need to improve or stricken the rules and sanctions. For example, I think the zookeeper need to behave themselves and stop giving the orangutans cigarettes, and maybe if they already stop giving cigarettes, or maybe if they do not, they should now be more stricter to the visitor of the zoo, so they do not give the animals foreign items. The zoo officials also should put a lot of warnings to not give the animals foreign items, they should also put a lot of written rules on the walls or signs. Lastly, the government should be more stricter about the sanctions that are given to the people who did not obey the rules.
ReplyDeleteIt’s unfortunate to see orangutan smoke a cigarette, and being shown to the people who visited the zoo. When I watch the video I was surprised when I see orangutan developed a bad smoking habit and the zookepers didn’t do anything to stop his/her bad habit for 9 years. This problem might be occur because orangutan imitate a visitor who smoked in front of him. And its unfortunate the zookepers let the orangutan developed this bad habit because we already know that smoking a cigarette is bad for our health and can cause organ damage, and Orang Utan is facing an extinction. For me it’s 100% the zookepers and the staffs fault because they let the orangutan developed this bad habit and they didn’t take any action to stop his/her habit for 9 years. I think the zookepers and the staffs must be rensponsible to this problem by stop giving the orangutan a cigarette and put the orangutan into rehabilitation.
ReplyDeleteDespite Kalimantan is included in the world heritage status, it is under continued threat from deforestation by palm-oil plantations, affecting both the fragile ecosystem and critically endangered iconic wildlife. The rainforests are the natural habitat of the Sumatran orangutan. A large proportion of the population lives in the borders of Leuser, with the highest density in the lower peat-swamp regions of Tripa, Kleut and Sinkhil - primary tropical forest with canopies up to 40ft (12m) high. When a palm-oil company moves into an area, large swathes of forests are felled to make way for plantations. To plant on the waterlogged peat-land the companies have to create drainage canals. The orangutans are displaced as the trees of old-growth forests are burned. Palm oil is used in approximately 50% of supermarket products, from food and snack manufacturing to cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. if ecosystem could not be protected from the palm-oil companies and further industrialisation, the Sumatran orangutan would become extinct in the wild.
ReplyDeleteOrangutan is one out of the many species that are endangered right now in the wild. We need to pay close to the orangutan because it is a species which is unique and unlike no other. The fact that it is found in zoos that orangutans are smoking upsets me very much. It emphasizes the lack of attention that is given by animal watch groups and especially zookeepers to their animals. It is important for us to pay attention because there are still so many things that we need to learn from the orangutan. On the other hand it is just plain unethical for people to let the orangutan smoke. They are animals and do not have the cognitive ability to process if tobacco is bad for you or not. So it is like we are letting the orangutan smoke to kill themselves. It is also not safe because there are a lot of kids in zoos and it exposes them to the dangers and a bad example.
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