Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) has successfully released 46 orangutans back into the wild. These orangutans had been rescued from starvation, injury, illness or captivity by BOSF’s Nyaru Menteng Rescue and Introduction Project, and have now been returned to a tropical rainforest in the remote heart of Borneo, where they should be safe from human persecution – and the devastation of their habitat by the palm oil industry.
The Nyaru Menteng Rescue and Reintroduction Center is the largest primate rescue project in the world. Founded in 1999 by Lone Drӧscher Nielsen, which had rescued over 1,000 orangutans. Around 600 of these are young orphans whose mothers were killed when their rainforest habitat was destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations. These orphans will not be released until they’ve been completely rehabilitated which is a process which can take up to 10 to 12 years to complete. The 46 who have just been released were at Nyaru Menteng to recuperate, and to undergo medical treatment and observation until they were deemed fit enough to live in the wild again. Finding a safe place to release them has, however, been difficult.
“Our job is only complete when we return orangutans to the forest,” says Lone, “but nearly all suitable habitat for orangutans in Borneo is being illegally logged, converted to plantations or is already full with wild orangutans. There were many times when I wondered if we would ever find a suitable location.” After poring over maps, painstaking ground surveys and helicopter flyovers, in 2007 Lone and her team finally found the place they were looking for – many hours from Nyaru Menteng, in the heart of the island of Borneo.
The release process started back in the Center, firstly identifying those among the rescued adult and sub-adult orangutans who were sufficiently independent to be released, and then making sure that they were healthy and not carrying any disease that could spread through the new population. Those orangutans were then flown to a holding camp near the release site, where they waited for their final journey back to the wild. BOS veterinarian, Dr Agus Irwanto, and paramedic, Bram Sumantri, were on hand throughout the entire operation, making sure that the apes didn’t suffer too much from the stresses of the journey.
For all of the orangutans released this week, they started this journey when their forest was cleared for palm oil plantations. There are estimated 35,000 orangutans remaining in the wild in Borneo, and all are in danger from illegal logging, wildfires and hunting, but the biggest threat by far today is the conversion of forest to palm oil plantations. Palm oil is used in a huge range of products, including foods, soaps, cosmetics and machine lubricants, and – more recently – as an alternative source of fuel. Increased demand for this kind of ‘biofuel’ has led to a huge expansion of oil palm plantations across Borneo, and thus widespread clearance of tropical rainforest, home to thousands of orangutans.
Most orangutans that lose their habitat die of starvation, or get shot when they’re forced to raid the newly-planted palm trees, or are captured when they have no option but to venture into villages to find food. But those who are fortunate enough to be rescued are taken to the Nyaru Menteng Rescue and Reintroduction Center, where they are cared for and brought back to health by the Center’s dedicated staff, before being released back to the wild. For 46 of them, this moment came in the last week of August.
Posted by : Caylie
