Well oiled operation for Dinar, 126kg Perth Zoo orangutan Even great apes need a gentle hand when the are about to go under a general anaesthetic. Picture: Perth Zoo Source: Supplied TWO well-prepared teams swung into action today at Perth Zoo as a 126kg orangutan underwent a full health check including a dental check, ultrasound and tetanus vaccination. The 26-year-old male Sumatran Orangutan was anaesthetised in his night quarters and then carried on a stretcher by a team of eight people to a waiting mini-van for the short trip to the Zoo's on-site veterinary hospital. At the hospital, Perth Zoo's veterinary team made the great ape comfortable in the theatre before getting down to business. "As with humans, it is important to minimise the length of time a patient is anaesthetised so there were quite a few people involved to undertake the various tasks as quickly as possible," Perth Zoo's senior veterinarian Dr Simone Vitali said. Perth Zoo orangutan Dinar goes under general anaesthetic to undergo a full health check. Picture: Perth Zoo The veterinary team worked on Dinar from head to toe, making the most of the opportunity to check him over thoroughly. We took blood samples, checked his mouth and teeth, and gave him his tetanus vaccination. We also brought in a sonographer to ultrasound Dinar's heart as part of his check up. Dinar, a Perth Zoo orangutan, gets a full medical check, including a dental clean-up, from the veterinary team. Dinar appears to be in great condition which is terrific news given his key role in our Sumatran Orangutan breeding program. Dinar has already made a significant contribution to his species' long term survival having sired three offspring at Perth Zoo as part of the Zoo's world famous breeding program for the critically endangered Sumatran Orangutan. Since 1970, Perth Zoo has successfully bred 29 orangutans and released two of these orangutans into protected rainforest in Sumatra as part of a reintroduction program to help re-establish a population of this most threatened species in the wild. The Perth Zoo veterinary team go to work on Dinar, the orangutan. Perth Zoo's orangutan conservation work includes involvement and support for the reintroduction program and wildlife protection units in Sumatra. Donations to Perth Zoo's Wildlife Conservation Action program, supporting Sumatran Orangutans and other threatened species in the wild, can be made at www.perthzoo.wa.gov.au/act/make-a-donation-for-conservation/