Rescued orangutans to go home to RI

Rescued orangutans to go home to RI

MALAYSIA: Seven orangutans snatched from the Indonesian jungle and forced to work in Malaysia as show animals have been rescued and are returning home, a news report said on Friday.

The Star newspaper said the orangutans were expected to return on Saturday, with the help of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program, an Indonesia-based organization run in partnership with the Zoological Society of Frankfurt.

The apes' return marks a great stride toward regional cooperation to combat illegal wildlife trafficking, Ian Singleton, scientific director of SOCP, told The Star.

"The fact that Malaysia acknowledged the illegality of the collection and made the decision to return the apes is sending out a strong message that such acts will not be tolerated," Singleton was quoted as saying.

Malaysian officials or representatives of SOCP could not immediately be reached for comment.

The seven apes -- member of a highly endangered species -- will be flown to Jakarta in a Malaysia Airlines flight and transferred to a Garuda Airlines flight to Medan the same day, the report said. In Medan, the animals would undergo a three- month rehabilitation program, the report said.

Afterward, they would be reintroduced to the wild at the Bukit Tigapluluh National Park in central Sumatra, where they will join 53 orangutans that were rescued from illegal trade in Indonesia and released there since 2003, the report said. -- AP