By Gisela Kaplan and Lesley Rogers, University of New England press 1994, A4 soft cover with dust jacket, $55
Reviewed by Jane Bennett
Anyone privileged enough to have seen wild orang-utans moving with agility and amazing stealth in their native forest knows what a poor representation of their lives we see from zoo exhibits. The sedentary, slow and generally inscrutable image we have of orang-utans from zoos is dispelled somewhat by the opportunity to see boisterous (and often delinquent) orphaned youngsters at one of the many rehabilitation centres now developed as major tourist attractions in Borneo and Sumatra.
It is certainly heartening to see a book like this one which is so accessible, thought provoking and informative. Especially one published in Australia, where the field of primatology is so small, despite our proximity to the diversity of primate life on our doorstep in Asia. General knowledge about orang-utans tends to be poor: after years spent in Malaysia working with them, I was continually having to explain that I had not been working on gorillas!
Gisela Kaplan describes herself as a social scientist, while Lesley Rogers is a specialist in animal behaviour and neuroscience with a special interest in brain lateralisation. This background influences the emphasis of the book, with detailed chapters on cultural perspectives on orang-utans and brain similarities to humans. There are six chapters in the book, with extensive figures, tables and appendices. There is a comprehensive bibliography and an efficient index, those essential hallmarks of quality academic writing. There are also some minor irritations, such as repeated references to 'CITIES', which should be 'CITES' (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).
This book gives a broad overview of our knowledge of orang-utan ecology, development and sexual behaviour. Read the epilogue first. The authors' motivation for writing the book is made clear, along with impassioned pleas for conservation and humane treatment of orang-utans.
On the whole, the structure of the book is otherwise a little perplexing. The title of the book suggests to me that there ought to be a more in depth look at the conservation status and issues facing orang-utans throughout Borneo. However, I was disappointed to find that information on distribution was non-existent for Kalimantan, out of date for Sarawak, and conservation was dealt with as a broad issue in comparison with the comprehensive reviews accorded to sexual behaviour and brain lateralisation.
Most of the authors' field experience was confined to Sepilok,
a rehabilitation centre and tourist mecca in the east Malaysian
state of Sabah. Although the point is made about the dangers inherent
in extrapolating data on captive or ex-captive behaviour to make
any generalisations, their research must be seen as specific to
that environment. Rehabilitation of orang-utans seems to be regarded,
by visitors to rehabilitation centres at least, as a successful
conservation story.
In fact, orang-utan researchers such as John Mackinnon have disputed
the value of this approach as long ago as 1979. Despite this,
government support and the complexity of the orphan problem has
ensured that rehabilitation continues.
Perhaps the final chapter, 'A brain like humans?', best reflects the authors' interest in these animals. Original research on rehabilitant orang-utans from Sepilok reserve is discussed with the aim of illustrating similarities between humans and orang-utans. This is a recurring theme throughout the book, as it is in research on captive orang-utans. Paradoxically, the book also discusses the importance of acknowledging their intrinsic value as living beings. Promoting their conservation through proving their similarity to humans does an injustice to the orang-utan. Conventions of biodiversity acknowledge the importance of a myriad species without any requirements for ranking 'human-ness'. Orang-utan conservation seems to be hamstrung by conservation agencies' reluctance to support conservation of 'cuddly megafauna' at the risk of being seen as anthropomorphic or unscientific. Peter Singer's Great Ape Project as well as Professor Birute Galdikas' efforts to have orangutans acknowledged as 'honorary humans' reinforce this reluctance.
Whilst this esoteric debate flourishes, orang-utan populations in the wild are plummeting. This glaring fact is usually obscured by the lack of information and the conservation facade of rehabilitation, which probably means that future generations will never have the opportunity to stalk the wild red ape in its own forest for poaching or for peace. So read the book, be informed and spare a thought for our relatives in the forests of Borneo.
Jane Bennett has worked with orang-utan rehabilitation and population distribution in Sarawak since 1987. She is currently based in Hobart.