There is a family of three siamangs living in the Absolutely Apes exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. They are Unkie, the adult male, his mate, Eloise, and their two-year-old daughter, Hitam Lucu (pictured left to right). They share the exhibit and bedroom area with the orangutan group. Since we’ve already met the orangutans and have seen how they spend their morning (see my previous blog, Clyde the Orangutan Comes Out), we’ll now get to know the siamangs a little better.

The siamangs’ living arrangement consists of two large rooms, each with two shelves, ropes, and a hammock. The first room is the main room. Here, the siamangs have access to a crate they can sit in for training, they receive their meals, there’s a back hallway for orangutan visits, and they can view the chute where the orangutans train before going on exhibit. The second room is used mainly for sleeping and has the door that exits onto the exhibit.

Every morning the siamangs receive their breakfast after the orangutans. Unkie tends to sit in the crate, whereas Eloise and Hitam sit at the main door; Eloise sits on the floor under Hitam, who is hanging on the door. Eloise loves to eat, so I make sure to give her a piece of fruit first, and then I let Hitam pick her own fruit out of the paper bag of mixed fruits and biscuits I have prepared for them. Once those two are settled, I give Unkie his whole share of the breakfast. Being the gentleman that he is, he knows not to get between his girls and their food. He’ll eat quietly in the crate.

Meanwhile, Hitam is yelling at me that she is ready for another piece of fruit; I hand her a banana piece, which mom promptly snatches from her hand. It’s every one for themself here! Hitam grabs my arm, trying to bring the breakfast bag closer. She picks the grapes, pineapple, papaya, and banana pieces first. With most of them she just takes a bit or two then drops the rest to her mom. I try to make sure Hitam and Unkie get their fair share of the food; if it was up to Eloise, she’d eat it all. The biscuits are left for last and the siamangs half heartedly pick at them.

After orangutans Indah and Cinta have finished their breakfast, I give them access to an overhead tunnel that connects to the back siamang hallway. This way they can visit each other for at least half an hour every morning without actually being in the same room. Unkie has had a few run ins with Cinta on exhibit, so this permits them to visit and hopefully work out their differences. Lately, Indah and Hitam have been having fun interacting with each other through the mesh, but mostly they just hang out. It’s cute to see the two two-year-olds together.

As you now know, the orangutans start going onto the exhibit at 8:30 and that is because the siamangs usually begin their singing at 9 a.m. Unkie leads the group in song, with Eloise singing backup. Hitam throws in a few hoots here and there but can easily be distracted if I walk by with a piece of fruit. Unkie and Eloise are more professional than that.

After the morning song, Unkie and Eloise groom each other for awhile, then go back to the second room to sleep for awhile, where I tend to leave the light off for just that purpose. Meanwhile, Hitam will play with the training rings that are in her room, throw the branches and cardboard tubes around, and then check to see what I am doing. Eventually she goes to the sleeping room but comes out every once in awhile to see if I am going to interact with her. Some days we do some training (presentation of hands and feet) or pretend that a syringe full of juice is medicine or a shot. Whatever it is, Hitam is ready to participate. Mom and dad pop their heads out and come over, but then decide they’d rather sleep some more.

At 1 p.m., Indah and Cinta come in for the day and the siamangs go on exhibit. That’s really the best time to get to know them!

Yvette Kemp is a senior mammal keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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