New hope with orangutan reintroduction project

Mikael Onny Setiawan, Contributor, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan

It is before dawn at Pasir Ridge in Balikpapan but volunteers are already in their vehicles heading to the orangutan research center, Wanariset Samboja, some 38 km northwest of the East Kalimantan capital.

More vehicles were waiting in Wanariset Samboja, along with 40 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). All of them were preparing to head for the Meratus Mountain Forest Reserve.

"In terms of the number of orangutans being released, this is the biggest operation ever in this area. To date we have released 400 orangutans into the jungle," said Peter Karsono, executive director of the Balikpapan Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) and the person in charge of the orangutan release program.

"All of the released orangutans have been carefully selected, free from any human diseases. They are ready to survive," Peter said.

That day, in early November, 40 orangutans aged between five and six years, weighing from 14 to 28 kg, became the 9th group to be released in the forest reserve in Pasir regency.

The orangutan population living in the wild has decreased sharply over the last 20 years, mainly due to the disappearance of its natural habitat thanks to illegal logging, slash-and-burn land clearing techniques and the illegal poaching of the protected species. Now, there are only about 15,000 orangutans in Kalimantan and some 9,000 in Sumatra.

The orangutan reintroduction project has brought new hope. Established in January 1991, it was initially a part of the M.o.F/TROPENBOS-Kalimantan Orangutan research project. The project started with the release of just four orangutans. Now, some 400 orangutans have been reintroduced to their natural habitat by teams from the orangutan research center, Wanariset Samboja. Wanariset has so far conducted 15 separate releases.

The orangutan reintroduction project is based on extensive research by Dr. Herman Rijksen, who defined a new approach for rehabilitating orangutans that had been exposed to humans by returning them to their natural habitat. Using his approach, the animals are reintroduced in locations that do not have a wild orangutan population.

One of the project's goals is to assist the Forestry Minister in implementing laws and regulations designed to protect orangutans.

The other goals are to improve people's understanding of the need for nature conservation and to study orangutans' ability to adapt to new environments as well as studying the animals' impact on forest composition. This is especially important because orangutans are useful agents for spreading tree seedlings in the rain forest.

The reintroduction process is performed in three phases: quarantine, socialization and release.

"All orangutans coming to the rehabilitation center are physically checked, finger printed and examined for any hepatitis B, C, TB and other human diseases. The phase takes two or three months to complete," said BOSF's public relations officer Jeane Mandala.

After being checked, the healthy orangutans must go through the socialization phase before they can be considered fit to survive in their natural habitat.

"We study locations prior to the release. We have to make sure fruit trees are available, that there are no wild orangutans in the area and that the location is geographically closed off from wild populations," said Jeane.

So far, the study has identified two potential areas for the reintroduction project: Wain River and Meratus Mountain forest.

Wain River is a 11,000-hectare swamp forest that is also the water catchment area for Balikpapan city. The water supply to Balikpapan can only be maintained if the rest of the forest is preserved.

Meratus Mountain forest covers a 28,000-hectare area. The releases are conducted in the lowest part of the hilly area. The forest is ideal because there are numerous fruit trees, swamps and water traps.

"We felt great relief after learning that seven orangutans had been born in the reintroduction forest. It means our efforts have been fruitful and confirms that we are on the right track," said Willie Smits, chairman of BOSF's board of directors.

Each orangutan treated at Wanariset costs the center over Rp 6 million, covering, among other things, vaccinations, meals and veterinarian costs. "We have introduced various programs and received support from national and international sponsors," said Peter Karsono.

In the near future, a training compound will be built in the Wanariset area to teach domesticated orangutans how to survive in the jungle, their natural habitat.

"The costs increase from time to time. Therefore we need more sponsors, both individually and in groups, to support our efforts," Peter said.