Orangutan care center planned

PANGKALAN BUN, Central Kalimantan: An Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine will be set up by the International Orangutan Foundation and Indonesia's Forestry Ministry in Kotawaringin Barat district, Central Kalimantan.

The Rp 400 million (US$45,455) center, to be built on one- hectare in Pasir Panjang village, is expected to serve as a support facility for other ape rehabilitation centers in the world, according to orangutan expert, Birute MF Galdikas.

The plan to establish the center was initiated by a group of orangutan lovers from the United States and Britain to prevent it from becoming extinct.

Only 3,000 orangutans can now be found living in Tanjung Puting here.

Galdikas, an American who married a Dayak, said the center would employ at least 40 workers. She said locals would be recruited for some positions but veterinarians and other experts would come from abroad.

The center will be the first of its kind in the country and will become a model for orangutan centers to be set up in East Kalimantan and Bohorok, North Sumatra.

A center for orangutan trainers will also be established in the next two years. (mds)