Colchester Zoo orangutans 'ok' after habitat is left damaged

Rajang's Forest - where the orangutans live - is currently closed due to storm damage to the roof and it is not yet known how long it will take for the repairs to be completed.

The Sea Lion tunnel remains open but due to the location of the damage being close the main driveway, visitors may also experience some delays by the entry and exit to the zoo.  

In a post, the zoo said: "ADVANCED WARNING”

"Please be aware that Rajang's Forest is currently CLOSED due to storm damage to the roof. The Sea lion tunnel remains open, but our orangutan habitat will not be accessible whilst essential maintenance and repairs take place. 

"It is not yet known how long the repairs will take to complete but please be assured our team are doing their utmost to reopen this area for visitors as soon as possible.

"Due to the location of damage being close to the main driveway, you may also experience some delays on entry and exit of the zoo whilst this work takes place.

"In the meantime, please rest assured that Orangutans, Tiga, Mali and Tatau are OK and are quite intrigued watching the maintenance team fix their roof!

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience and understanding."

Safe - Colchester Zoo's Mali and Tatau in 2020 (Image: Submitted)

This is not the first time Colchester Zoo and its orangutans have been impacted by storms.

In October 2013, severe wind tore off part of the roof at the zoo's orangutan enclosure causing the zoo to lose close to £100,000. 

None of the animals escaped or were hurt in the storm. 

However, gale force winds did blow off roofs and caused 12 trees to fall, damaging buildings around the site.

Meanwhile yesterday more than 1000 homes near Colchester were without power due to the storm.

UK Power Networks said the outage affected 1,096 homes across the CO10 0, CO10 5, CO6 4, CO8 5 postcode areas.