Prague Zoo’s Male Orangutan Named Harapan

The name of the orangutan male was revealed by the Deputy Mayor of Prague, Jana Komrsková, British Ambassador, Matt Field, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Lipavský. From left: moderator Jan Kovařík and Prague Zoo’s director Miroslav Bobek. Photo Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

In front of the Indonesian Jungle Pavilion, the name of the little male orangutan was jointly unveiled by Prague Zoo’s director, Miroslav Bobek, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Lipavský, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Matt Field, and Deputy Mayor of Prague, Jana Komrsková.

Miroslav Bobek said, “This year has been absolutely extraordinary for its abundance of births. What’s more, the male Sumatran orangutan, grandson of the famous Kama, whose parents came from the wild, is also extremely valuable genetically. We asked the public to put forward suggestions for his name and we received an unbelievably large number of them. We shortlisted them and in the end we chose the name Harapan, which not only symbolizes hope for orangutans, but also corresponds with the zoo’s aim, which is to bring hope to animals in the wild.”

Prague Zoo’s projects to protect animals in their natural habitat were also praised by Jan Lipavský the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who said, “I would like to thank the director for the way he develops relationships around the world. We are glad that Czech diplomacy can be of help to you in this, and we really do have a lot to be proud of. I wish the little orangutan all the best and hope that his progress will make not only his mother, Diri, and father, Pagy, happy, but the entire zoo staff and, of course, the visitors as well.”

The one-month-old male Sumatran orangutan in the arms of his mother, 11-year-old Diri. The keepers will shorten the name Harapan to Hari. The advantage being that it does not sound similar to the names of the other orangutans kept at Prague Zoo. Photo Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

The British Ambassador, Matt Field, made his speech in excellent Czech and also recalled primatologist Jane Goodall’s recent visit to Prague. “As apes, orangutans are our family - you may even have noticed the similarities between me and my new godson. By protecting great apes we protect ourselves and nature and I am delighted to be able to support Prague Zoo’s excellent work. As Jane Goodall said, the greatest danger to our future is apathy. Thank you, Prague Zoo, for fighting apathy and protecting our future.”

Speaking on behalf of the zoo’s founder, Jana Komrsková, Deputy Mayor of Prague, added, “First of all, I would like to wish our youngster good health and hope that he enjoys his stay at Prague Zoo. I believe that he will bring joy to young and old alike. The director recently told me that the half a million visitors mark has already been passed, so I hope that the long-standing visitor record could be broken this year. Our young gorilla girls and the recently born orangutan will certainly play a major part in making that happen.”