Party for Madju

The Auckland Zoo is preparing to celebrate a special birthday this month when its young orangutan Madju turns four.

The festivities will also mark the start of the zoo’s Don’t Palm Us Off campaign, which is asking Food Standards Australia New Zealand to require all food products containing palm oil to be labelled.

The production of palm oil is a major factor in the destruction of the orangutan’s wild habitats in South East Asia.

Zoo conservation officer Peter Fraser says the lives of up to 50 orangutans a week are being lost in Borneo and Sumatra.

"This is primarily because of the destruction of their rainforest habitat for oil palm plantations and illegal logging.

"At this current rate of deforestation, we’re faced with the alarming reality that orangutans could be extinct in the wild within 12 years," he says.

One in 10 supermarket products contains palm oil in New Zealand, but it rarely appears on ingredient labels.

Orangutan Caring Week also runs until November 14 at the zoo.

Madju’s birthday party starts at 10am on Saturday, and his keepers will sing Happy Birthday and give him his presents and cake at 12.30pm.

For human partygoers normal zoo admission rates apply.

For more information on Auckland Zoo’s orangutan-related events visit www.aucklandzoo.co.nz or phone 360-3805.

- © Fairfax NZ News