Janey is an artist extraordinaire who draws pictures using paint and edible chalk during enrichment sessions.
Several of her paintings were auctioned off at the San Diego Zoo and online. All money generated from the artwork auction was used to support field conservation efforts to save great apes from extinction.
Music
The Monkees, Gorillaz
Movies
"Gorillas in the Mist"; PBS’s "In the Wild: Orangutans with Julia Roberts"; "Every Which Way But Loose"; "Planet of the Apes" (the original with Roddy McDowell); "Instinct"
Television
"Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp"; National Geographic Channel
Books
The Great Apes: Between Two Worlds by Michael Nichols; Reflections of Eden: My Years With the Orangutans of Borneo by Birute M. F. Galdikas; Curious George by Margaret and H.A. Rey; The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling; National Geographic Magazine
Heroes
Birute Galdikas, Jane Goodall, George Schaller
Janey the Artiste's Details
Status:
Single
Here for:
Friends
Hometown:
San Diego CA
Body type:
More to love!
Ethnicity:
Asian
Zodiac Sign:
Gemini
Janey the Artiste is in your extended network view more
Artsy doesn’t even begin to describe Janey – a Bornean orangutan at the San Diego Zoo. She draws. She paints. She weaves. She does her own makeup. She pantomimes. She entertains the crowd. And most of all, she loves doing all this for human visitors! Janey is the most intelligent of the group of orangutans at the San Diego Zoo, and the most social as well – always the center of attention.
Janey was born in Borneo sometime in 1962 and had been a family “pet.” She was donated to the Zoo in 1984, along with other orangutans and gorillas, from a private animal collection owned by the late Gordon Mills, the agent to Welsh singer Tom Jones. Janey is extremely fond of humans, spending much of her day by the viewing window while interacting with people and mimicking them. She is inventive, curious and a handful for keepers because she will dismantle just about anything within reach. For those out of reach objects, Janey weaves her nesting material into a rope, which she then uses as a lasso!
Janey loves painting and has had several of her paintings auctioned at the Zoo to raise money for great ape field research and conservation projects like supporting rescue centers in Congo and Borneo that care for apes orphaned due to the bushmeat trade and poaching.
While supplies last, four of Janey's original pieces have been made into limited edition giclee prints on canvas. These high-quality reproductions are made with archival ink on cotton canvas with a silkscreened UV varnish for protection. Visit www.shopzoo.com to see her artwork and purchase one for your very own. This artwork benefits the ongoing worldwide conservation initiatives of the non-profit San Diego Zoo.
Who I'd like to meet: You! Janey loves to meet new people. She is especially fond of people who care about protecting her native Borneo and neighboring Sumatra. These islands in Indonesia are the only two places in the wild where orangutans live, but Janey’s wild relatives are threatened with extinction because of rapid deforestation, palm oil plantations and the illegal pet trade!
You can visit her in person at the San Diego Zoo, too!
Hey I was at the zoo last month, on he 29th, and I think it was you I saw, were you the one who likes to throw things over the wall to all your fans, or was that another orangutan? Lova ya janey
Hi Janey! Here is a photo of you that I took yesterday morning. You were quietly sitting there watching the waterfall and appeared as if you were contemplating something very important. I hope you like it!
Did you hear the news about your relative "Ujan", who lives here in a german zoo (Heidelberg)? He can pipe little songs and he is one of the few orang-utans in the world - like you - who also paints pictures!!! Great, or?! >:)
JANEY GIRL, HOW R U? I WANTED YOU TO SEE A BEAUTIFUL VIDEO ABOUT FRIENDS, HUMAN AN ANIMAL ONES. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BEING MY FRIEND... PUT IT FULL SCREEN AND ENJOY THE MIRACLE OF FRIENDSHIP. HUGZ KALI XO
Hi Janey! Hope you and your Absolutely Apes family are doing great! George and I are coming to visit you on Sunday. I'm excited because it's been so long. Talk to you then!
Artsy doesn’t even begin to describe Janey – a Bornean orangutan at the San Diego Zoo. She draws. She paints. She weaves. She does her own makeup. She pantomimes. She entertains the crowd. And most of all, she loves doing all this for human visitors! Janey is the most intelligent of the group of orangutans at the San Diego Zoo, and the most social as well – always the center of attention. 
Janey loves painting and has had several of her paintings auctioned at the Zoo to raise money for great ape field research and conservation projects like supporting rescue centers in Congo and Borneo that care for apes orphaned due to the bushmeat trade and poaching. 
Online Now!
