Saving orangutans not an easy job<\/p>\n
By Carola Frentzen<\/p>\n
BOHOROK, North Sumatra (DPA): Branches crack, leaves fall and
\namong the treetops, red-haired tufts can been seen moving. It's
\nMinah, a female orangutan, climbing through the thick jungle
\nflora.<\/p>\n
She is enormous, agile and very noisy. The ape scratches her
\nhead with leathery hands, takes a bunch of bananas from the
\nranger and sits down with legs spread on the branches of a big
\ntree. It's quite a spectacle.<\/p>\n
\"According to latest estimates, there will be no orangutans
\nlike Minah left in Sumatra within the next 10 years,\" says Chris
\nStone, vice-president of the Florida-based Sumateran Orangutan
\nSociety (SOS).<\/p>\n
Today, there are 5,000 primates living in the Gunung-Leuser
\nNational Park, which spreads across 946,000 hectares in northern
\nSumatra. There were as many as 15,000 just three years ago.<\/p>\n
Orangutans survive only here and in nearby Borneo. This year,
\nthe Sumatran orangutans were finally classified in the
\ninternational list of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as
\n\"critically-endangered\".<\/p>\n
In the Bohorok Rehabilitation Center for Orangutans, deep
\ninside the national park, visitors can take a uniquely close look
\nat the cuddly giants: their eyes reveal intelligence, kindness,
\nmelancholy and humanity.<\/p>\n
\"Without orangutans, the world will be a little more sad,\"
\nsays Kathryn Monk.<\/p>\n
The British researcher has spent five years on the Leuser
\nDevelopment Program, which draws on European Union funds to
\nsafeguard the park's biodiversity and wildlife.<\/p>\n
The orangutans' main enemy is illegal logging in Sumatra's
\nrainforests. Thousands of hectares are burned down each year by
\nlocal farmers, spurred by foreign multinationals, to satisfy
\ninternational demand for wood and make space for more profitable
\npalm oil plantations and rice fields.<\/p>\n
Large sections of forests are permanently on fire,
\nparticularly in the southern end of the fourth-largest island in
\nthe world. During the dry season, the smoke is so thick that it
\ndarkens the sky in Medan, more than 1,000 kilometers to the
\nnorth, making it difficult to breathe for months. Medan's airport
\nis regularly shut down as visibility approaches zero.<\/p>\n
\"The situation is a lot worse than what we feared. Unless
\ncountermeasures are taken by 2005, there will be no forests left
\nin Sumatra,\" says Monk, citing a World Bank report.<\/p>\n
The destruction of forests would not only endanger the animals
\nthat live there. Without trees, rainfall would diminish,
\nthreatening rice production and consequently, the livelihood of
\nhumans.<\/p>\n
Orangutans are not just menaced by the loss of habitat. Humans
\njeopardize their existence in more direct ways. Although hunting
\nthem was made illegal in 1931, there is strong evidence that in
\nMedan alone, at least 50 orangutan babies are kept as pets by
\nlocals.<\/p>\n
\"Behind every one of those pets you can see the ghost of their
\nmothers,\" says Monk.<\/p>\n
Mothers mate just once every eight years and would rather give
\ntheir lives than one of their offspring. Meanwhile the poachers
\nshow no mercy.<\/p>\n
Because of traditional indifference, efforts to crack down on
\nthe illegal trade are only now beginning to produce some results.<\/p>\n
In August, Indonesian police arrested a bird trader who tried
\nto sell a baby orangutan to an animal rights activist posing as a
\nwestern tourist. But the arrest only made the national headlines
\nafter a large group of Indonesian children were shown on
\ntelevision protesting the animal trade in the center of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The word \"orangutan\" originates from the Malese for \"man of
\nthe forest\". Gibbons and macaques, which share their habitat,
\nturn pale with fright when they come across their giant cousins.<\/p>\n
Various organizations across the globe are attempting to save
\nthe primates from extinction. In 1973, two Swiss women set up
\nBohorok's rehabilitation center.<\/p>\n
Originally, the center was directed by a German Zoological
\nSociety and the World Wild Fund for Nature. Its aim was to
\nreintroduce orangutans that had been held as pets for years back
\ninto their natural environment.<\/p>\n
But today, even centers like Bohorok risk doing more harm than
\ngood.<\/p>\n
Since it was taken over by the Indonesian government, in 1980,
\nthe center has received little outside funding and survives on
\nentrance fees paid by visitors. Consequently, the apes have been
\nturned into tourist attractions.<\/p>\n
\"The village of Bukit Lawang, close to the rehabilitation
\ncenter, is a standard feature in every tour of the island\",
\npoints out tour leader Khairul Sikumbang.<\/p>\n
What follows is a vicious circle: without tourist money, the
\ncenter cannot survive. But paying visitors want to see and touch
\norangutans. Such interactions, however, slow down the animal's
\nefforts to reclaim their survival instincts. Moreover, the
\norangutans are susceptible to all kinds of human diseases.<\/p>\n
Orangutan defenders are now working on plans to set up a new
\nrehabilitation center south of Bohorok. They hope that this time
\nit will be well out of tourists' reach.<\/p>",
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