Hi there, Thanks for getting in touch and your concern for the animals here at Melbourne Zoo. As you no doubt already know, Zoos Victoria is one of the leading conservation organisations in the country and we are absolutely dedicated to the animals in our care. As you have recognised, one of our Sumatran tigers is displaying behaviours that we would classify as abnormal repetitive behaviours. In captivity, these behaviours can manifest due to a number of reasons. One of these reasons could be that they are anticipating something that they find rewarding. The tiger off-limits area is adjacent to the enclosure you were viewing, and this is where the keepers prepare food and enrichment for the tigers, which is a very rewarding experience for the tigers as you can imagine. When the tigers are aware of the keepers, or they are anticipating something could soon be happening, they can start to display these pacing behaviours. However, we recognise that more work is needed to fully understand why our tiger is displaying these behaviours, and how we can reduce these by promoting and encouraging more natural behaviours. As such, we are currently undertaking extensive research to investigate how different husbandry practices influence the behaviour and welfare of all three of our tigers. Using outcomes from this research program will allow us to continuously develop and improve our animal care practices, and provide the best welfare outcomes for our tigers. In regards to the Orang-utan enclosure, there is a larger section underneath the viewing platform where the Orang-utans can go off display (as they wish). Our keepers provide enrichment activities for them daily to ensure positive stimulation occurs. We will pass this feedback on to the team. At Zoos Victoria, positive animal welfare is an institutional priority, and we are proud to have a team of PhD-qualified animal welfare scientists who lead research and intervention work to ensure all animals in our care are being reviewed for stress and are moved towards a positive welfare state. We appreciate your feedback and will pass it onto the relevant teams. Kind regards, Zoos Victoria