On the 1st of November a member of a local village reported to BKSDA that there was orangutan in the land behind his house. This is a quite a residential location with not many trees within a small degraded swamp area, so BKSDA and the Foundation staff where a little surprised to hear about this lost individual! The team traveled there immediately but still arrived late in the evening and in the dark. According to the owner of the house, that is the only time he’s ever seen an orangutan nearby – it is certain that this individual traveled there because of the amount of encroachment and decreasing suitable areas of good forest habitat.
On arrival the team conducted a site analysis – getting to know the area and the terrain before trying to get to the orangutan. As it was dark and rather swampy, the team had to return early the next morning whilst the orangutan was just waking up, so they could locate the individual – orangutans tend to move more in the middle and at the end of the day so that is always a good plan! So at 4am the team were back with a torch and made note of some routes through the trees so that they can get to – and if needed chase – the orangutan safely. At 5.30 the orangutan was found just waking up, so the team started to encourage the orangutan toward a more isolated section of trees to ensure the individual wouldn't be able to get away or cause the rescue to be any longer than needed. By 8.15 in the morning, the team had got the orangutan into a suitable tree and when at a suitable height in the tree, were able to dart the orangutan.
After a quick vet check at a base camp, noting the orangutan was a male around 10 years old, the individual was released into a proper forest home. From only a few tall trees to a whole forest of them – that’s got to result in one happy orangutan.
