Reintroducing orangutans to their habitat<\/p>\n
Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Wanariset Samboja,
\nEast Kalimantan<\/p>\n
Sugeng, a six-year-old male orangutan, is unique among his kind
\nin Wanariset Samboja. Bald, this orangutan is rather naughty,
\nspitting at anybody that comes close to him.<\/p>\n
There is a long story behind Sugeng's arrival at the Samboja
\nOrangutan Reintroduction Center. He used to live like a sailor,
\nsailing from one island to another. He was kept by a sailor and
\njust like his master, he was fond of smoking and getting drunk.<\/p>\n
In 1999 he was confiscated at Pontianak port in West
\nKalimantan and was taken to this center.<\/p>\n
\"He was troubled by his smoking and drinking habit. We had to
\nmake him kick the habit,\" said Citra Kasih, project manager of
\nthe center.<\/p>\n
\"Although it was at first difficult for him to overcome his
\naddictions, Sugeng soon enough became like a real orangutan. Now
\nhe is in the final stage before being released into the
\nwilderness.\"<\/p>\n
Sugeng's story is only one of hundreds of orangutans trained
\nat Wanariset. There is a female orangutan aged two and a half
\nyears called Inge. She came from Balikpapan. This orangutan was
\nused to a life of luxury, enjoying nice meals and sleeping on a
\nsoft sofa. When she was confiscated and taken to Wanariset, she
\nsuffered from great stress. She was like a spoilt child having to
\nadjust herself to new surroundings.<\/p>\n
\"Even today there are still signs that she used to be a spoilt
\norangutan. She refuses to look at or stay in a dirty place,\" said
\nKasih, illustrating how the orangutans under her care behave like
\nhuman beings.<\/p>\n
\"Look at Si Dul. He can only drink from carton drinks.
\nRespati, now in Socialization Cage 2, loves chewing lollipops.\"<\/p>\n
Most of these confiscated orangutans staying at the center
\nhave human habits. They show little of their own identity as
\norangutans because they have been kept by human beings since they
\nwere babies. Unconsciously, they have been introduced to a human
\nenvironment and their former owners must have thought that
\npampering the orangutans would make them happy.<\/p>\n
It takes time and a special approach to reintroduce these
\norangutans to their original habitat so that they can reclaim
\ntheir own identity. The Semboja center has been assigned to take
\ncare of these unfortunate orangutans.<\/p>\n
\"We, the personnel of this center, are just like babysitters
\nfor the orangutans. They are just like human babies. They need a
\nmother's love. Just go to the playground and you will see how
\nclose these baby orangutans are to their nannies. Still, no
\nmatter how close we are to them, we should never fall in love
\nwith them. This emotional relationship will harm both the animals
\nand their nannies. If the nanny is absent, they will reject other
\npeople. We must love all orangutans equally to prevent any envy,\"
\nsaid Kasih, who said she used to take home baby orangutans when
\nshe was first employed at the center.<\/p>\n
Semboja Orangutan Reintroduction Center is part of the
\nBalikpapan Orangutan Survival Foundation. It was set up in 1991
\nand has rehabilitated some 400 orangutans and reintroduced them
\nto their original habitats, Meratus forest and River Wain forest.<\/p>\n
It is difficult and costly to reeducate these orangutans.
\nExecutive Director of the foundation, Peter Karsono, said that
\neach baby orangutan would need some US$4,500 for its training in
\nthe center. This sum will be spent on the orangutan's care,
\nmedicine and meals for three years.<\/p>\n
\"We have regular donations from the Gibbon Foundation and also
\nfrom other donors to cover the expenses. Donors act as foster
\nparents for the baby orangutans. If you donate $4,500 you can be
\na foster parent of an orangutan and will be entitled to give it a
\nname. Then you will get a periodic report on its development.\"<\/p>\n
At present the center is training 208 orangutans aged between
\none and eight years. They are divided based on age and health.
\nThose aged under two (there are 12 of them) are put in the
\nplayground cage. Orangutans between two and a half years and four
\nyears of age (there are 20 of them) are placed in the
\nSocialization Cage 1. Those aged between four years and six years
\n(19 of them) can be found in the Socialization Cage 2 while 48
\norangutans aged between six years and seven years are found in
\nSocialization Cage 3. The remaining orangutans are placed in
\nquarantine as most of them are suffering from hepatitis.<\/p>\n
Great patience is needed in educating baby orangutans,
\nespecially when they have been alienated from their own habitat.
\nIn its own habitat, a baby orangutan depends on its mother until
\nthe age of eight. Only when they are eight years old or older
\nwill they forage for their own food.<\/p>\n
Confiscated baby orangutans are educated as if they were in
\ntheir real habitat. They must go through a selection and a
\ntraining program to prepare them for life in the forest. Left
\nalone in the wilderness, they are unlikely to survive.<\/p>\n
The main task of the center is to take care of the health of
\nthe orangutans and limit their interaction with human beings. The
\ncenter also develops their motor skills and jungle survival
\nskills. Then the center also prepares a plot of land, for the
\nreintroduction of the orangutans to life in the forest.<\/p>\n
Orangutans in socialization cage 3 are first released into a
\nhalfway house before finally being released into a forest.<\/p>\n
\"This halfway house is an artificial forest where we continue
\nmonitoring them to find out whether these orangutans are really
\nready for a forest life. It is at this stage that their destiny
\nwill be determined: whether they need further education or are
\nready for a real forest life,\" said Kasih.<\/p>\n
Indeed, baby orangutans have a long way to go before they
\nfinally return to their original habitat. They are usually
\nseparated from their mothers while in the forest. Hunters kill
\ntheir mothers before taking them away. After the uncertainties of
\nthe illegal market, they are kept by human beings in an alien
\nhabitat.<\/p>\n
Then they are kept by people in the cities and must comply
\nwith the wishes of their masters. Finally, after being
\nconfiscated and trained at the orangutan reintroduction center,
\nthey are again allowed to lead a free life in the forest.<\/p>",
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