Aceh BKSDA rescues orangutan from plantation area

The Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) together with partners has rescued one Sumatran orangutan (pongo abelii) from a plantation in Nagan Raya Regency. Head of the Aceh BKSDA Ujang Wisnu Barata in Banda Aceh on Wednesday said the rescue was carried out jointly with a team from the Sustainable Ecosystem Foundation. The orangutan is male with an estimated age of eight years. “The orangutan was rescued from an area of other use which is a plantation company’s cultivation rights title area in the Tripa Makmur Subdistrict, Nagan Raya Regency, Aceh Province,” he said. The rescue began with information about the presence of a Sumatran orangutan in the area on Friday (19/6). Based on that information, the Aceh BKSDA team together with the Sustainable Ecosystem Foundation moved to the location. The team eventually found the protected wild animal. Based on a veterinary examination, the male orangutan was suffering from dehydration or fluid deficiency. In addition, the orangutan’s body condition was thin due to malnutrition and it had a wound on its left leg causing limited movement. With this condition, the orangutan requires intensive treatment. “From the results of the health examination in the field, the orangutan is recommended to be taken to the Quarantine and Rehabilitation Centre in Sibolangit, North Sumatra, to receive further care,” said Ujang Wisnu Barata. The Sumatran orangutan is a protected animal. Based on the world conservation body’s species rarity list, the animal, which is only found on the island of Sumatra, is critically endangered and at high risk of extinction in the wild. Therefore, the public is urged to jointly safeguard the conservation of the Sumatran orangutan by not destroying forests which are the habitat of various types of protected wildlife. As well as not capturing, injuring, killing, storing, possessing, keeping, transporting, and trading protected animals whether alive or dead. Furthermore, not installing snares, poison, or high-voltage electric fences that can cause the death of protected wild animals. Illegal acts causing the death of protected animals are subject to criminal sanctions in accordance with laws and regulations.