Hybrid orangutan
A hybrid orangutan or cocktail orangutan is usually an orangutan derived from interbreeding between any of the three Orangutan species: Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli, but the term "hybrid orangutan" could also refer to hybrids of the three known Bornean subspecies. As of 2015, there are approximately 134 living Bornean x Sumatran hybrid orangutans in captivity.
Hybrids in captivity
Before Bornean and Sumatran orangutans were described as separate species in the early 2000s, orangutans from differing species were paired in captivity, and produced hybrid offspring. In 1985, the Orangutan SSP within the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums issued a moratorium on the breeding of Sumatran x Bornean hybrids. In 1994, it was recommended that those hybrids should be sterilised if they are housed in a situation where breeding may happen.The Tapanuli orangutan was not described as a separate species until 2017, which led to some interbreeding between Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutans in captivity. In 2022, an orangutan named Bubbles, who was previously thought to be Sumatran, was found to be Tapanuli, making her offspring hybrids of both the Sumatran and Tapanuli species. It is possible that there are still many undiscovered Sumatran x Tapanuli hybrids in captivity.
Bornean orangutans have three known subspecies: P. p morio, P. p pygmaeus and P.p wurmbii. In captivity, these subspecies are housed together and not managed at a subspecies level. After many generations of hybridisation, there are likely very few “pure” individuals left.