We are delighted to announce the arrival of another baby orangutan born into the protected Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, Indonesian Borneo.
Our staff believe the orangutan was born on 26th January. Mother, Holahonolulu (Hola for short) was seen with her new infant at Camp Gemini's feeding site. We think the father is likely to be Bangkal, the dominant male, as they were seen mating on several occasions.
Both Hola and her baby looked healthy. Hola ate a lot of fruit, the extra energy needed for milk production. As yet, our staff could not tell what sex the baby was.
Hola was born in the wild in December 2004 and her mother was Huber. Huber was rehabilitated by OFI and was released into the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve in December 1999, but she has since passed away.
Our staff have yet to name Hola's new baby so we thought we would ask for your help. Send us your suggestions (leave a comment), it must start with an H and be a unisex name. We will decide on Monday 5th February.
Help us to ensure these orangutans remain in the wild and that their forest home stays protected. Click here to donate today!
Orangutan Foundation - a future for orangutans, forests & people
It is Orangutan Awareness Week and each day we will bring you a story about the orangutans in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. Thanks to your support we are protecting their forest home the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve and keeping them wild and free.
Kotim
Kotim was rescued in 2014. She was handed over to Orangutan Foundation after being illegally kept as pet. Sadly, we can only assume that her mother was killed.
At three-years-old Kotim was too young to be released back into the wild and so entered into the care of our Soft-Release Programme, at Camp Rasak in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, Indonesian Borneo. Kotim joined another infant orphan, Torup. They became playmates and together practised their nest-building and climbing skills.
By April 2016, Kotim was deemed to have all the skills needed to survive in the forest and was successfully released. She is still occasionally seen by Orangutan Foundation staff. In December 2016, Kotim was seen with adult female orangutan Acuy and her infant, Ariel.
Support Kotim during Orangutan Awareness Week. Please donate to help us protect her tropical forest home. Keep forests standing and orangutans in the wild.
If you want something done, ask a busy person. This expression is especially true for Orangutan Foundation Director, Ashley Leiman OBE, who has just returned from a field visit to our programmes in Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. One of the highlights was a tree planting ceremony to celebrate the planting out of over 22,000 seedlings in degraded forest habitat in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.
The most memorable day though involved the return to the wild of seven different species. Captured from the wild and kept as pets, these animals had been confiscated by the Wildlife Department of Central Kalimantan (BKSDA Kalteng). The day was also a chance for Ashley to meet Bapak Adib Gunawan, the new Head of Wildlife for Central Kalimantan, who was overseeing the releases.
The animals due for release included two changeable hawk eagles, a hornbill, a pangolin, a slow loris, two reticulated pythons, a sun bear and a young orangutan.
The orangutan, a handsome young male of around one-and-a-half years old, had been kept as a pet in a nearby town. He was named Adib, after the new Head of Wildlife, and has joined our Soft-Release Programme at Camp JL, in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, where he’ll learn the skills to survive in the forests.
A playful sun bear, named Paddington (also a pet), was taken to Camp Siswoyo, where Orangutan Foundation staff will care for him until he is old enough to live independently. The slow loris, being a nocturnal primate, was released after nightfall.
The changeable hawk eagles and hornbill were released from a guard post in the reserve, and Ashley opened the slide door to the crate of the pythons.
Over 3 meters in length, Ashley questioned why anyone would want to keep the snakes as a pet! We’ll post a separate blog on the pangolin, so watch this space.
Ashley pointed out that our work for these animals has only just begun. Through our habitat protection work we must ensure that the forests stay standing, so the wildlife stays in the wild.
This video shows the challenges faced by our staff when rescuing orangutans:
On the 3rd July, our staff received reports from the Wildlife Department (BKSDA) of yet another orangutan that had been found in community land. At that stage they had no idea of the difficulty of the terrain and where or what condition they would find the orangutan in. After preparing the anesthesia, our staff set off to the rescue location.
It soon became clear this was going to be difficult. They had to cut through dense undergrowth to reach the orangutan, which was high up in a tree. Our anaesthetist had to climb up a tree to get a clear sight of the ape before firing the dart gun. The staff, ready at the bottom of the tree with a net, caught the orangutan as it fell. Our vet was waiting to assess the orangutan, who was a female of around 20 years. Sadly though, he discovered previous injuries to her back and chest, which would require treatment.
The orangutan was named Karin and on returning from the rescue location she was examined and given treatment for her wounds.
After recovering from her ordeal, Karin was taken to Camp Gemini, an orangutan release site, in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve (Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo). Once Karin’s wound has healed she will be free to live back in the wild again.
The loss of forest is causing orangutans to come into contact with humans as never before. Support the protection of Karin’s future forest home and become a Guardian of the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.
In September 2015, Central Kalimantan was hit by major forest fires. Many orangutans needed rescuing from areas of burning forest and community land.
One such orangutan was Vania, a 29 year old female orangutan, named after a student who was doing research on orangutans in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve at the time. Vania and her 6 year old offspring (named Venty) were rescued from an oil palm plantation and released by Camp Buluh in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.
Both are now in good health and are still frequently seen in the area. As shared yesterday, field staff have informed us that Vania gave birth on 25th May to an infant they have named Volvo.
Vania has been seen around camp since the birth to show off her new arrival.
Welcome Volvo to the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve!
Would you like to play an active part in the protection of Volvo's tropical forest home?
Become a guardian of Lamandau and help us ensure a future for orangutans, forests and people. Click here for more information.
In this blog entry we focus on Camp Rasak, where orangutans in the final stage of the soft-release programme before their release into the wild are monitored.
The Lamandau Wildlife Reserve in Indonesian Borneo is a protected reintroduction site, where rescued orangutans can be released safely.
From this Reserve we run our Soft-Release Programme for rescued orangutans too young to return to this wild. Watch this short clip to find out how this programme equips these orangutans for a life in the forest:
Reintroduction Camps
There are 5 Camps located in Lamandau:
Depending on the age and development of the orangutan they are placed into one of the camps which is best suited for their needs. Camp staff monitor all rescued orangutans.
Currently we have 10 orangutans within our soft-release programme.
Meet the orangutans being cared for at Camp Rasak…
Endut
Endut is a 3 year old male who was rescued last March, named after his rather round belly. Endut is improving his climbing skills and has become much braver in the past couple of months, but is still has a way to go in order to be ready for release.
Ketty
Daughter of Korin, a reintroduced orangutan who inhabited the forest around Camp Gemini. Korin sadly disappeared in 2013 and Ketty was found alone. Since joining the Programme Ketty has come along in leaps and bounds, or should we say, climbs and swings!
At 5 years of age,she's always displayed skills more advanced than the orangutans being cared for alongside her, which is likely a result of spending some time with her mother in her early years.
Jessica
Jessica was rescued from a local town where she was being kept as a pet in 2016. In spite of this she retained her natural instincts well and didn't take long to adapt to life in the trees. At 5 years of age, she is advanced in her progress, displaying excellent survival skills.
What Next…?
After keeping a close watch on Ketty and Jessica, staff are now confident that they have the skills required to live in the wild: nest-building, finding food, and climbing to the top of the canopy.
The Soft-Release Programme exists within the same area of forest where orangutans are released. As past experience has shown, once released orangutans are often seen in the forest around camp so we are able to continue to keep a watchful eye on them.
Following release, orangutans are monitored for two weeks so that staff can ensure they are adapting well to living independently. Once released, we hope all will go on to live fulfilling lives in the wild, away from the threat of habitat loss and human activity.
Next week we follow the release of Ketty and Jessica!
Support our Soft-Release Programme and adopt an orangutan today.
All proceeds from our Adoption Scheme go towards medical treatment, food and care of these orangutans during their time in soft-release.
In this blog post we focus on Camp Buluh, where orangutans in the intermediate stage between being very young and those soon to be released fully into the wild are cared for.
The Lamandau Wildlife Reserve in Indonesian Borneo is a protected reintroduction site, where rescued orangutans can be released safely.
From this Reserve we run our Soft-Release Programme for rescued orangutans too young to return to this wild. Watch this short clip to find out how this programme equips these orangutans for a life in the forest:
Reintroduction Camps
There are 5 Camps located in Lamandau:
From our 5 reintroduction camps staff monitor all rescued and rehabilitated orangutans. Depending on the age and development of the orangutan they are placed into one of the camps which is best suited for their needs.
Currently we have 10 orangutans within our soft-release programme.
Meet the orangutans being cared for at Camp Buluh…
Okto
Okto is perhaps the most notorious of the orangutans currently in our care! Starring in Sky 1 and Offspring Film’s “Monkeys – An Amazing Animal Family” and the face of our Adoption Scheme; Okto is a confident yet mischievous 5 year old male.
Shifa
Shifa is a female orangutan who was rescued in September 2016 after being kept as a pet for about a year. She initially had problems with hair loss, possibly as a result of stress, but is being treated by the Foundation’s vet and has visibly improved.
Support our Soft-Release Programme and adopt Okto today.
All proceeds from our Adoption Scheme go towards medical treatment, food and care of these orangutans as they grow and develop.
The Lamandau Wildlife Reserve in Indonesian Borneo is a protected reintroduction site, where rescued orangutans can be released safely.
From this Reserve we run our Soft-Release Programme for rescued orangutans too young to return to this wild. Watch this short clip to find out how this programme equips these orangutans for a life in the forest:
Reintroduction Camps
There are 5 Camps located in Lamandau:
These camps monitor all rescued and rehabilitated orangutans. Depending on the age and development of the orangutan they are placed into one of the camps which is best suited for their needs.
Currently we have 10 orangutans within our soft-release programme.
Camp JL is where the very youngest orangutans are placed.
Meet Timtom
Timtom was just nine months old when she was rescued last January. Not surprisingly, she was not too confident at first as at this age she should still be in the care of her mother, but has now begun to show great improvement. Once cautious, she now climbs happily to the top of a tree.
Meet Mona
Mona is a female orangutan, just 2 years old. She was recently rescued in March 2017 from a family in a local village who were keeping her as a pet. With no mother she looks to Nyunyu for company, who was rescued around the same time.
Meet Nyunyu
Nyunyu, female around 3 years old. She displays more wild behaviour than Mona, despite being kept as a pet for about 2 years. She was found tied up in a garden, but now shows her adventurous side when climbing.
Meet Boy
Boy is the most recent orangutan to join the Programme, a male aged about 3 years. He had been kept as a pet for 3 months and was given up by locals of a nearby village.
Another young orangutan is being cared for at Camp Siswoyo.
Meet Satria
Satria is a male orangutan rescued last June, around 2 and a half years old. He has now started foraging, but is still very young and has a lot to learn.
Next week we look forward to introducing you to more of our soft-release orangutans!
We have just received a report from our reintroduction manager, Azhari, about a recently rescued orangutan.
Herni is a young female orangutan with a tremendous wild spirit. She was handed over to the Indonesian authorities by a local community, near Sampit (Indonesian Borneo), at the end of June. Herni was taken to the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, an area which the Orangutan Foundation actively protect with guard posts and patrols. For three weeks Herni was looked after at Camp Siswoyo, one of six orangutan release camps, in the Reserve.
Camp staff report that she doesn’t make the tidiest nests to sleep in and sometimes she adds branches to old nests to fix them and make them stronger. As you would expect from an orangutan, she travels well through the trees rarely descending to the forest floor. On the 26th August, the Orangutan Foundation staff decided that Herni was ready for soft release. This means being monitored and followed by the camp staff from dawn to dusk for 20 days. Not as easy as it sounds!
Reports so far show that Herni is doing really well, eating the correct foods and following adult females to learn from them what foods to eat. The daily ranging that Herni is doing is between 600m and 1km. The good news is while Herni follows the other orangutans, she rarely goes down to the ground. Sometimes, the staff lost her because she likes to move in the forest canopy, just like an orangutan should, whilst the staff are having to climb over tree roots and wade through swamps. Our staff are experts in the forests and so she doesn't get lost for long.
Please consider making a donation to support our ongoing work protecting this important forest reserve and its precious inhabitants.
Tomorrow sees the start of a 3 day workshop on orangutan rehabilitation and reintroduction at the Bogor Agricultural University, on the island of Java, Indonesia. The workshop will be attended by all stakeholders related to orangutan conservation issues but with a particular focus on those involved with rehabilitation and reintroduction. This includes, government agencies, private sector, academics, N.G.O.’s and individuals.
Pak Hudi, (our Programme Coordinator), Pak Tigor (Lamandau Orangutan Reintroduction Manager), Dr Fiqri (Lamandau Orangutan Reintroduction Vet) and Pak Uduk (Lamandau Orangutan Reintroduction Camp Coordinator) left Kalimantan today to attend on behalf of the Orangutan Foundation. They will share the Foundation’s experience of successfully reintroducing and translocating orangutans into the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve. We are also sponsoring the participation of Pak Eko Novi (Head of section II of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency of Central Kalimantan) whom we work closely with in the Lamandau reserve.
Hudi will bring news on how the workshop went. We'd like to thank Lisa B for her donation of $50 and Matthew K for your monthly donation of $35 - thank you for your continued support!
Huge thanks to Rachel and Kees for donating and personally delivering two digital cameras and err...some fudge (very tasty!). The cameras are now being used in Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve by Dr Fikri, our vet and Mr Tigor, Manager of Orangutan Re-introduction Programme (see photos below of orangutan Lady Di and her infant).From left to right: Dr Fiqri (vet), Rees, Pak Uduk (helps to manage the orangutan release camps) and Rachel.
Bornean female orangutan, Lady Di with bandaged arm.
A mother's love - Lady Di and her infant
Lady Di with bandage removed from her arm -now fully recovered and roaming free
Thanks,
June
p/s lighting actually struck the office the other day, luckily we had our plugs pulled at that time. Terrible rainstorm which means less computer productivity but on the bright side it lessens the risk of forest fires.
