Asahiyama Zoo's Jack, Lianne and 3-year-old Morito have whispy red fur, long graceful hands and eyes that are as searchingly intelligent as many a pair on the other side of their cage. These Borneo orangutans are likely the most frequently viewed members of their species in Japan — yet until last year, the zoo had no direct link with Borneo itself. Then they received a visit from Toshinori Tsubouchi, director of the nonprofit Borneo Conservation Trust Japan.
"We were talking about how a lot of people saw the Borneo orangutans here," recalled zoo director Gen Bando. "He asked me, 'Is the point of a zoo just to entertain people? The zoo is doing nothing for orangutans.'
"I was really troubled by that point. We'd become very famous, but financial success isn't what we had originally been after. So I told him, 'I don't know how much we can do, but we'll try.' "