We are very fortunate at the San Diego Zoo to have the ability to exhibit siamangs and orangutans together in a state-of-the-art exhibit . The animals have plenty of room to swing, brachiate, climb, lounge, and explore on a daily basis. Within this group of animals are two older female orangutans named Josephine and Janey. Janey is a Bornean orangutan who is 45 years old and Josephine is a 47-year-old Sumatran orangutan. They are both very significant because they are 2 of the 10 oldest orangutans in North American zoos. One of the oldest orangutans is a 53-year-old female who lives at Miami Metrozoo.
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Part 1 in a series about the Bird Breeding Complex (BBC) at the Wild Animal Park.

Here at the Wild Animal Park, several hundred birds live off-exhibit in our secured and monitored Bird Breeding Complex (BBC). Most of them are in breeding pairs, and some are in holding (usually sharing pens with other birds) for shipments to other institutions. BBC is divided into three areas, or “strings.” As a relief keeper, I have had the opportunity to help all of the string keepers here and learn about the birds in each area. I’ll start with BBC I.
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Camels, like all creatures, need nutrients to survive. But in the desert, food and water are scarce. So how is it that camels can survive in a harsh climate? They store fat in their humps and live off it in tough times. Certain unique plants and trees from desert or seasonal rainy regions have adapted ways of storing much-needed water in their trunks, and we call these plants caudiciforms. They can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and belong to a wide range of plant families. One exciting characteristic of these plants is that their trunks, branches, and bases tend to be swollen, which helps the plant out in times of drought, but also makes odd-looking plant specimens that people collect and treasure.
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