New hope with orangutan reintroduction project

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.