Dudley Zoo visitors raise hundreds for International Orangutan Day
Visitors to Dudley Zoo helped to raise more than £500during International Orangutan Day.
Primate keepers manned an information stand, as they raised awareness about the threats facing the critically endangered Bornean orangutan.
The cash was raised through orang-themed raffles and sales of nectar pots in Lorikeet Lookout .
The zoo is splitting it between the UK-based charity, Orangutan Foundation, which is working with the local communities in Borneo and Sumatra to help save the wild orangutans, and its own on-site Orangutan Appeal to build a new outdoor enclosure for the four great apes.
Section leader, Pat Stevens, said:“Orangutans are rapidly disappearing from our planet and could potentially face extinction within 20 years due to habitat loss due to palm oil plantations, illegal poaching and hunting.
“It was great to be able to speak to so many visitors and raise our important conservation message, not only about the plights of the great apes, the work of the Orangutan Foundation charity, but also to talk about our plans for the new enclosure.
"We’ve launched an ambitious £800,000 appeal to build a new outdoor area for Benji, Jorong, Jazz and Sprout and aim to begin work within three years."
