I was recently in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve to visit the guard posts and I dropped by Camp Rusak to check on orangutan Joanna and her new adopted baby last Friday (16th April 2010). Dr. Fiqri (the Foundation's vet) and Tigor (Orangutan Reintroduction manager) had told me that they were planning to release Joanna and her baby that day, and invited me to drop by - so I felt that it was a good opportunity to report back to this blog.
All photos were taken by Pak Jakir, our guard post supervisor.
female orangutan, Joanna and her new adopted baby © Orangutan Foundation
It only took one month for Joanna and the orangutan baby to bond - Dr Fiqri is very happy and felt confident that they would do well on their own. She is very protective of her baby, yet also comfortable with Dr Fiqri and the rest of the camp staff . When the orangutan baby first arrived from BKSDA, who had confiscated it from the owner, it only weighed 2 kg and it was 2 years old! It was malnourished, however, it thrived under Joanna's and Dr Fiqri's care, and as you can see, it has put on weight.
© Orangutan Foundation
Being released into the forest © Orangutan Foundation
We will continue to do our best to secure a safe future for Joanna and her new baby and we will be keeping a close eye on how they get on.
Please consider supporting our protectmeandmytree appeal - helping to keep orangutans in the wild.
Thank you,
June Rubis
Programme's Manager
