Orangutans sick in E. Kalimantan

BALIKPAPAN, East Kalimantan: Ailments afflicting orangutans in East Kalimantan include the common flu, hepatitis, intestinal worms and tuberculosis, the head of a forestry research center has said.

Boen Purnama referred to orangutans here during a workshop on forest fire coverage.

Speaking at a workshop on forest fire coverage, Boen Purnama said that many of the affected orangutans, who are cared for at the Wana Riset Semboja rehabilitation center could be cured, including one suffering from Hepatitis C.

He said he regretted that a trade in orangutan continued, with animals fetching prices of up to Rp 500,000. "To catch a young orangutan, a hunter must kill its mother," Boen said.

Boen said psychologists skilled in dealing with primates were needed to care for and rehabilitate orangutans at the center, which is located 38 kilometers south of Balikpapan.

The center, which currently holds 200 orangutans, needs at least Rp 3 million to care for each orangutan over a three-year period, the agency said. This year it has released 40 orangutans back into the wild. (anr)