How we safeguard orangutans outside of protected areas

Habitat loss is the single biggest threat to orangutans and their tropical forest environment. In under 40 years it’s estimated that almost 40% of Borneo’s original forest cover has been lost due to increased plantations, forest fires, mining, and logging. 80% of orangutans live outside of protected areas which means there are thousands of orangutans at risk due to their habitat being encroached upon and lost.

At the Orangutan Foundation we help safeguard protected orangutan habitats, the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve and Tanjung Puting National Park, however the need to support orangutans outside of these safe havens remains paramount. We do this is by engaging with local government, private sector and communities to share knowledge about orangutans and emphasise the importance of preserving their tropical forest habitats. The Foundation holds a number of workshops and training sessions for the survival of orangutans outside of protected areas. These have included:

Biodiveristy and Socio-Economic Survey Training

There’s nothing more important than field practice. This week in collaboration with the Arcus Foundation and local NGO Yayorin, we held technical training sessions to help local people monitor orangutan populations within oil-palm concessions, logging concessions, and community lands. During the two-day course, participants practiced GPS, socio-economic assessments, and learnt survey techniques for vegetation, orangutans and other species. Using these techniques can help improve our understanding of populations and demographics in regions which are more threatened by habitat loss.

Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Workshops

The aim of these workshops is to find ways in which local communities can co-exist safely with wildlife species whilst still maintaining a sustainable livelihood. With the help of partners TOP, we hope improved knowledge about orangutans and their forest habitats will help landowners avoid human-wildlife conflict, and lead to fewer rescues and translocations of orangutans in plantations and community lands.

Fire Prevention Workshops

Fires are a continuous threat during each dry season. The Foundation takes seriously the importance of outreach to all relevant stakeholders on the dangers of starting fires which destroy orangutan and wildlife habitat.

Fire-Fighting Training

The Foundation together with the government agencies, hold fire-fighting training throughout the year. Here groups are taught fire prevention and fire-fighting techniques, using GPS to help record outbreaks of fire so that they can be extinguished more rapidly.

By engaging with local stakeholders in sustainable land management decisions, we are giving a future for orangutans outside of protected conservation areas.

Donate to the Orangutan Foundation today to help us continue this vital work.

Orangutan Rescued From Oil Palm Plantation

Last Sunday the Orangutan Foundation responded to reports of a young female orangutan isolated in a tree in an oil palm plantation.

 

The young  female orangutan climbed the fig tree when we arrived in the oil palm plantation area at Pandu senjaya village, Pangkalan Lada.

Uduk and Yatno  climbed the tree, but the orangutan moved to the top of the tree. At 17.30 the orangutan made the third nest and prepared to sleep. It started to get dark, so Uduk climbed down from the tree. We decided to stop the rescue and drove back to Pangkalan Bun. A labourer from the oil palm plantation stayed and watched the orangutan during the night.

The next day at 05.00 Dr Fiqri, the Vet of Orangutan Foundation's Reintroduction Programme arrived and the orangutan was still in the tree. The labourer had started work that made the orangutan scared to come down.

The plantation labourer moved to a different area and the orangutan began to climb down. Dr Fiqri tried to catch her but she was very fast and moved to another tree, climbing right to the top.

The second rescue team arrived at 08.00, started to moved in on the second tree where the orangutan was.

At 10.00 the orangutan climbed down and the rescue team succeeded to catch her with a net.

Dr Fiqri immediately checked the orangutan and he found worms in the orangutan's faeces but on a whole the orangutan was in good condition.

The young  female orangutan inside the transportation cage.

We then had to carefully transfer the cage to the truck.

The young female orangutan on the back of the truck with Dr Fiqri always keeping a close eye on the whole translocation process for safe and good handling.

The young  female orangutan's view as she leaves the oil palm plantation. She will be freed in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, a safer and healthier habitat, after she has received treatment for the worms in the Orangutan care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) facility.

Dr Fiqri said approximately 3 or 4 days after treatment the female orangutan is ready to be translocated to the reserve where she will be monitored and protected. Please make a donation today to support our work in the Lamandau reserve - these orangutans deserve a life in the forest and the forests deserve orangutans.

Special thanks  go to; Eko Novi, the head of of Section II Nature Resources Conservation Agency of Central Kalimantan; Haryo, who gave the information about the young  female orangutan in the oil palm plantation; Sia and Polis (OCCQ  Staff) for good collaboration rescue ; Tigor (Orangutan Reintroduction Manager), Uduk (Orangutan Reintroduction Camp Coordinator), Fiqri (Orangutan Reintroduction Vet) and Yatno (Orangutan Reintroduction Driver) for the good work and dedication.

Thank you,

Hudi W Dewe

Orangutan Foundation - Programme Co-ordinator

Fire breakout near border of Wildlife Reserve

At the end of April, there was another fire breakout, near the Pos Danau Burung (or Bird Lake Post) that borders the western section of Sungai Lamandau Reserve.

Map showing Bird Lake Post on the Reserve Border.

Thankfully, at that time, our Programme Coordinator, Pak Hudi, was visiting the area with the Section Head (II) of the Central Kalimantan Agency for Conservation of Natural Resources (BKSDA), Pak Eko Novi. Along with our ever-ready Patrol Manager, Pak Jak, they raced to assist our field staff at Pos Danau Burung.

Field staff from Pos Danau Burung who made up the fire-fighting team

Face to face with the fire wall

Trying to stop the fire - forest in the background

Caught unaware they had to grab whatever was at hand to beat the fire.

They slogged to beat out the fires for many hours under the hot sun. We appreciate the hard work of our field staff, whose primary role is to replant the western part of the Reserve but would not hesistate to switch roles as fire-fighters when needed.

Tears for nature - tired and emotional.

Pak Eko Novi was also very appreciative of our staff’s dedication that he organized a special ceremony for the field staff, in which he presented pins from the Fire-Fighting section (Manggala Agni) of BKSDA Section II. It was truly an honour, and much appreciated!

It does not stop there for our hard-working Programme Coordinator, Pak Hudi. Today (13th May), under a special invitation from Pak Eko Novi, he will be giving a team-building exercise for the Fire-fighting team of BKSDA Section II, Central Kalimantan.

Hopefully, we will have a post from Pak Hudi himself about this experience!

Thanks,

June

Programmes Manager