Now that the clocks have gone back and the temperature is dropping, there’s nothing that 17-year-old Ramon from Blackpool loves more than tucking into a light meal of four warm jacket potatoes and a cup of chamomile tea.
But Ramon isn’t your usual veggie lover, he is a 20-stone critically endangered Bornean orangutan who lives at Blackpool Zoo.
Along with his harem of three female orangutans, he gets through a whopping 200 potatoes and 32 cups of chamomile and peppermint tea every month during winter.
Charlotte Pennie, Primate Keeper at Blackpool Zoo, said: “Everyone needs a little comfort food to give them a boost as the colder months draw in and our orangutans aren’t any different.
We hand feed the warm jacket potatoes and teas, which we love as we get to spend more time with the apes. It certainly brightens up a cold and wintery Monday morning!”
Ramon, who came to Blackpool in 2003 from his birthplace of Leningrad Zoo in St Petersburg, lives with 32-year-old Vicky and her daughters Cherie, aged 19 and Summer who is 14.
Meet the family
Ramon
Date of birth: November 20th 1998
Birthplace: Leningrad Zoo in Russia
Arrived in Blackpool: August 30th 2003
Physical characteristics: He has developed his male facial flanges and has a goaty beard.
Personality: Wise and mature
Hobbies: Ramon likes to climb as high as possible and then sit and watch the world go by.
Favourite food: Jacket potatoes and chamomile tea
Additional information: Ramon’s mother died whilst giving birth to him and he was hand-reared by keepers in Russia.
Vicky
Date of birth: June 17th 1984
Birthplace: Blackpool
Physical characteristics: Largest female
Personality: Intelligent, but very bossy
Favourite food: Yogurt
Hobbies: People watching
Additional information: Vicky is a great mother and has done a fantastic job at rearing her two daughters.
Cherie (daughter of Vicky)
Date of birth: April 9th 1997
Birthplace: Blackpool
Physical characteristics: The longest hair
Personality: Grumpy and apprehensive
Hobbies: Dressing up in clothes that keepers give her for enrichment and building big nests with straw to sleep in
Favourite food: Tree leaves, especially willow
Other information: Cherie was born in the outside paddock at Blackpool Zoo during the day so her birth was witnessed by crowds of people.
Summer (daughter of Vicky)
Date of birth: May 23rd 2002
Birthplace: Blackpool
Physical characteristics: Smallest female
Personality: Playful and inquisitive
Favourite food: Grapes
Hobbies: Loves playing with sacks and clothing
Bornean Orangutans – the facts
The Bornean orangutan was classified as critically endangered in July 2016 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This change means that both species of orangutan now face an ‘extremely high’ risk of extinction in the wild
Scientific tests have shown that orangutans share around 97% of the same DNA as humans. This is also shown by the fact that orangutans use tools for tasks such as poking holes to remove insects. Male orangutans have large cheek pads called flanges, which increase in size as they grow older. These show their dominance over other males as well as their readiness to mate.
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