On Saturday, Prague Zoo will celebrate International Orangutan Day. Visitors can observe the reddish-brown great apes during guided encounters and learn more about their lives and conservation through special activities.
On Saturday, 23 August, Prague Zoo (Zoo Praha) invites visitors to celebrate International Orangutan Day. With guided encounters and special “enrichment” activities, guests will learn in a playful way about the lives and protection of these unique animals. The reddish-brown great apes are among the critically endangered species on our planet. In their natural Sumatran habitat, they are threatened by habitat loss, and their numbers are declining. Zoo Praha has been keeping Sumatran orangutans almost continuously since 1961.
Currently, two young orangutans are growing up in the zoo’s Indonesian Jungle House: the one-year-old Harapan and the four-year-old Pustakawan, known to all simply as Kawi. Their ancestors came directly from the forests of Sumatra to the zoo. This makes them highly significant not only for European breeding programmes but also for the preservation of this valuable gene pool. As the population of the world’s largest tree-dwelling mammals declines in Indonesia, keeping them in zoos plays a central role in species conservation.
The Indonesian forests are being destroyed by logging companies and agricultural operations, such as palm oil plantations. Worldwide, orangutans only live on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Due to their isolated habitats and the long birth intervals between offspring, their population is particularly vulnerable.
Orangutan mothers are extremely caring. They carefully protect their initially helpless young and breastfeed them for up to four years. Unlike gorillas or chimpanzees, which live in groups, orangutan mothers must raise their offspring alone. As a result, the development of the animals is slower than that of gorillas. Little Harapan, whose name means “Hope” in Indonesian, is gaining increasing freedom from his mother Diry. Visitors can watch him explore the enclosure independently and bravely climb the highest platforms. By next autumn, he may be playing among the branches, much like the older Kawi on the opposite island.
Both orangutan groups – Mawar with Kawi and Pagy with Diry and Harapan – will gradually experience special enrichment activities in the outdoor enclosure. To reach the hidden sweet fruit inside the special balls, the animals must use their creativity. Visitors are also entertained: they can take part in guided encounters and visit information stations to learn more about the lives of the orangutans and conservation efforts.
Programme for International Orangutan Day – Saturday, 23 August 2025:
- 09:30: Enrichment handover to Mawar and Kawi (Indonesian Jungle House – Outdoor Enclosure)
- 11:00, 12:00, 13:00 and 14:00: Guided encounters with the orangutans (Indonesian Jungle House – Outdoor Enclosure)
- 15:00: Enrichment handover to Pagy, Diry and Harapan (Indonesian Jungle House – Outdoor Enclosure)
- 10:00–16:00: Play station “Jungle Adventure – on the Trail of the Orangutans” (Indonesian Jungle House)
