Violet - A chance to be free again.

We found Violet in a chicken coop. She was chained around her neck, covered in dirt, and scars, and she smelt. Her skin was dry and she had discharge from her eyes and a bloated abdomen. She had been fed the same food as the family who kept her: rice, tofu, vegetable and sweet tea. The owners claimed that they had “found the orangutan in their field six months ago.” At first they did not want to give her up because “they loved the orangutan”.

Violet with chain in chicken cage

Violet with the chickens

Violet being rescued by the mobile education team

Ironically, it was the mobile Education Team who found her. They had gone to the village of Bukit Raya, Central Kalimantan to raise awareness about orangutan conservation amongst the people. The cage they found Violet in was, at most, 1 x 0.5 meters and her mother had almost certainly been killed. The Education Team told the family the law and Violet was duly passed over. That same afternoon, she was brought to our Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine Facility (OCCQ).

Violet stayed three week in Quarantine at OCCQ. Veterinary tests showed she was suffering from anemia caused by parasitic infestation: amoebic dysentery, to you and me. She was given the medication that she needed and plenty of food.

Photos, taken last year, of Violet at the OCCQ

Three and a half years on, and she is almost unrecognizable. These days, Violet lives in “Pondok Medang” along with 32 other orangutans. Every second day she is taken to the forest where she is allowed to climb and play in the trees. She can not go to the forest everyday because we try to separate male and female orangutans – we are happy if they have babies in the forest, but we do not want more babies at the Care Centre.

Violet clearly wants to live in the forest full time. On the days she goes into the forest, she climbs high into the trees and is reluctant to come down – even in the rain. This doesn’t make her too popular with her carers but they are pleased with her forest skills.

Violet up in the OCCQ forest

Rather worryingly, Violet has become bored with bananas. As you can imagine, they are a bit if a staple at the Care Centre. However, it is now mango season and Violet still loves mangos. When I last saw her, she was sat on a basket of fruit, which was meant for the other orangutans, greedily stuffing mango after mango into her mouth!

Two weeks ago, I wrote that I was going to the Care Centre and promised you a story. Violet’s is that story. There are over 300 orphaned orangutans at the Care Centre; it is impossible to follow all their progress. Some, however, touch you and Violet’s story is so tragic, but heart-warming, she is the orangutan for our Foster Programme.

I had gone to the Care Centre, for a meeting, to discuss the 10th anniversary of the creation of the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, our Government designated release site. So far, 153 orangutans have been returned to a life in the wild in Lamandau’s forests. This year, we’re pushing for it to be Violet’s turn.

Violet now - soon she'll be given the chance to live in the wild once again.

I know I should have sent this blog to you as soon as I wrote it. As so often, we found ourselves juggling priorities and I never reached the “send stage”. Tonight – blissfully with electricity – I am also happy to say we had a steady drizzle for two hours, on the back of some heavy but localized showers last week. The rain is not enough to fill the swamps and rivers; two days ago I went passed our food store where we have a high and low jetty – the low jetty is still four feet above water level. However, the rain is enough to drop the fire risk, which is a relief. The beaters are almost ready; today we collected the rubber flanges. If the rain does not continue, with your help, we will at least be better prepared.

Again, I apologize for the lack of news but I am truly grateful for the support you give us. Keep your rain dancing shoes on!

Fire Appeal and Thank You

Stephen has been at the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve for the last few days but he sent a message saying that the streets in Pangkalan Bun, where the Orangutan Foundation office is, are hazy with smoke and there is still a very high risk to the forests. For those of you who haven't seen Stephen's last post (Fires in Tanjung Puting National Park), because of the maintenance work on this website, please have a read. A big thank you to everyone who has donated to our appeal for buying fire beaters. Unfortunately the "lastest donations box" isn't working yet so we can't see who has donated but we will be thanking you as soon as we receive notification. Please help us with this appeal. Stephen has asked for a $2 donation from each reader. The beaters costs around $1.50 and the extra money will go towards buying hand sprayers which are used for dousing beaten, but still hot, embers. We need to be prepared so that if more forest catches on fire we can tackle them as quickly and effectively as possible. Thank you. On to more positive aspects of orangutan conservation! Please see the information and photos below from Togu Simorangkir of Yayorin (our Indonesian partner organisation) about the sustainable rubber cultivation that the Belantikan team have been establishing.

Over to Togu...

"We do not have a full-scale rubber cultivation. What we do is agroforestry with rubber as main plants. In the agroforestry system, we mix different plants in one area like vegetables, fruit tree, gaharu and rubber. This way, the community can enjoy the harvest from short and long harvest.

First, we provide training for community and after that we make one demonstration plot. Now some farmers already duplicate the system in their own lands. Attach are the pictures of training, nursery and maintenance of the agroforestry.

Training session

Nursery

Maintenance

Fires in Tanjung Puting National Park

I know you are still waiting to hear an orangutan story – for that I apologise. The post is written and will follow this one but I have been caught up in rather more immediate events. I wrote some weeks ago how little rain we have received, well we are now into our third week without a decent shower and have suffered our first fire (see photos below) in Tanjung Puting National Park.

Six and a half hectares went up behind Pondok Ambung Research Station. The fire burned through scrub and secondary forest – it was held at the edge of the primary forest which was a relief but, sadly, this is only a sign of things to come.

We are caught up in “La Nina” weather phenomena which is effecting the Pacific bringing rain storms to north eastern Australia and drought to south-eastern Australia and, bizarrely, to us. Here, I have lived through two El Nino events, in 2002 and 2006. On both occasions the extended dry season resulted in wide spread fires and chocking haze. The fires of 2006 catapulted Indonesia into third place on the list of the largest emitters of green house gases. El Ninos are bad. I have to say, I am not impressed by its sister La Nina either. To be so dry at this time of the year is beyond exceptional. And it will impact on the orangutans. Already, the evening sky is filling with smoke.

Small blazes are tackled directly, encircled by lots of people who tamp down the spreading edges and are backed up by the hand sprayers. Larger blazes require the making of a cut line across the fire front, which is typically a metre (3’) wide scar of bare soil; in 2006 the cut line in Tanjung Puting was 12 km long (see photo below).

The cut line is then patrolled until the fire arrives and is then prevented from crossing. For small fires, our staff is usually first on the scene. For larger fires, everyone is called in including people from the surrounding villages.

Now I am going to break with tradition and ask directly for support. I have no idea whether this request is allowable under Wildlife Direct rules; all I can do is vouch for its sincerity. We need to equip our staff with fire fighting tools. The principal tool is a “beater”, which consists of a bamboo pole with a cut car tire ‘tongue’ at the end. We need to buy lots of these beaters so that we are ready to tackle the fires. I am asking for a $2 donation from each reader. The beaters costs around $1.50 and the extra money will go towards buying hand sprayers which are used for dousing beaten, but still hot, embers (see photo below).

Thank you for your support and I will keep you updated.

Reply to recent comments

A quick post about comments. The EU directive banning flying on all of Indonesia's airlines is in view of the recent aeroplane crashes which involved a number of EU personnel. The EU are requesting that Indonesian airlines meet international standards.

Theresa, I will try and get some photos of the rubber cultivation and will then explain about the process. OFI do an Orangutan of the Month but the Orangutan Foundation don't actually do that we just have one orangutan, called Violet, for our Foster Programme. I will try and include more information about individual orangutans, including Violet, in my blog. As always, thanks for the encouraging comments and interesting questions.

Rattan & Eco-tourism. Finding alternatives uses for the Belantikan Forests

Thank you for your interesting questions about Belantikan Conservation Programme (BCP). You are right, Belantikan does need protection and we are looking for protected status, but we want this under local management with the involvement of the village communities. Protected status would then stop all legal logging and mineral extraction. We are working with the village communities of the Belantikan, who are highly dependent upon the forests, to identify and implement sustainable ways to generate an income. The working relationship between the communities and the BCP team is an honest and open one and this really helps to facilitate our work here.

The BCP has a strong focus on sustainable agriculture with an emphasis on rattan harvesting. The Balai Belajar is the training centre for this and monthly meetings are also held here to evaluate the projects. Since the project started the number of people engaged in rattan harvesting has increased sharply from only one or two people per village, harvesting rattan occasionally, to over 20 people now deriving an income from it. The BCP has identified markets and traders and put the communities in touch with them and in recent months, the communities twice sold rattan at a profit with no intervention from project staff. Rubber cultivation is also being established and training sessions are again held in the Balai Belajar.

The Balai Belajar

An eco-tourism programme has been designed in consultation with the villages and we hope this will also generate alternative income. We are looking to run the first trip later this year. Participants will visit and stay at the villages and will have a unique opportunity to witness the local rituals and ceremonies, not to mention experience Belantikan’s incredible wildlife and natural wonders.

However, things are never simple. For those of you who are from Europe you might be aware that there is currently a European Union directive that bans flying on all of Indonesia’s airlines. This makes eco-tourism difficult, as it is virtually impossible to get travel insurance and our Study Tours to Tanjung Puting National Park have had to be postponed as a result. We still plan to establish eco-tourism in Belantikan and we will have to find a way around the EU directive!

More on Belantikan and its treasures soon…

Thank you.

Protecting the Belantikan forests and its orangutans.

Thank you Theresa S. and Faye B. for your most recent donations - your ongoing support is much appreciated. In the last few weeks we have received a few reports from the team in Belantikan on various fauna and flora that have been surveyed. They are really interesting so I'll post about these soon but first I would like to give you a proper introduction to this region and our work there as I have only mentioned Belantikan briefly before.

It is only in the last few years that the true extent of the Belantikan’s incredible biodiversity has been revealed. A survey, by Togu Simorangkir, in 2003, found an estimated 6,000 orangutans and a very high level of biodiversity– this is the third largest orangutan population in the world and the largest population outside of a protected area. These facts make Belantikan a high priority site for orangutan conservation.

Upland forest of the Belantikan Hulu

The Belantikan forests spread from the foothills of the Schwaner Mountains between the Arut region and the border of West Kalimantan (see map).

(Sorry about the quality of the map!!)

It is a spectacular place with steep cliffs and waterfalls. There are many rivers flowing through the valleys, including the main Belantikan River that flows into the Lamandau River. There are a variety of habitat types that includes lowland forests, swamp and upland forests thus creating a diverse range of ecosystems with abundant species of flora and fauna. Research into the biodiversity of the region has so far found; ten primate species (includes orangutans), seven of these species are listed as protected and four are endemic to Kalimantan (found nowhere else); 31 non-primate mammals species; 207 bird species; 32 amphibian species; 38 reptile species and 59 fish species. It is thought that there are many more species in Belantikan that haven’t yet been found. Installing camera traps in this area could help to reveal more species and previously undiscovered ones.

The forests of Belantikan are a biodiversity hotspot and an estimated 6,000 orangutans are found there.

The Belantikan region belongs administratively to 13 villages, the Belantikan Raya District and the Central Kalimantan Province. The communties of Belantikan depend on the forest products, both timber and non-timber, for their livelihoods. They have a strong spiritual bond with the forest and unique traditional rituals and cultures.

Unfortunately Belantikan is under threat. It is not a protected area and currently most of the forested area of Belantikan is a logging concession. Gold mining used to occur but has now stopped, however, its impacts are still seen and felt by the local communities with some rivers having been badly polluted. Iron ore mining is now posing a real threat with licences for exploration having been awarded. If it goes ahead the consequences could be disastrous for this forest and its wildlife - this is a real worry and we are monitoring the situation very closely.

The Belantikan Conservation Programme (BCP) is a partnership between Yayorin (local NGO) and the Orangutan Foundation, and with an EC /UNEP/Great Ape Survival Project (GRASP) grant, we are actively involved in the conservation of this area and its large orangutan population. As I have mentioned Belantikan is owned by the local village communities, and ultimately, the fate of these forests are in their hands. We try to influence how the communities use and manage the forests by offering advice and demonstrating alternative income-generating solutions. Within the communities we are increasing conservation awareness and the recognition, of Belantikan, as an important resource for their future.

Rattan -being processed. Rattan is one of the main sources of income for local communities.

Balai Belajar -the training centre where the BCP team demonstrate sustainable agriculture and advise on other income generating techniques for the local communities.

This important orangutan population has just been found, and now we know it is there, we have to ensure its long-term survival and protect this invaluable ecosystem.

All creatures great and small

I see the number of comments my posts are attracting has shot up. However, the comments also make me think you are a strange lot. Here I am supposed to be writing about orangutans, I tell a nightmare story about spiders and I get a deluge of replies! If you want more horrible spider stories, stand by because here's another one. Thank you F. J. PECHIR for telling me the spider, an arachnophobic's worst nightmare, that I had in my bathroom, was in fact harmless. It is reassuring but I have to question the use of the word "little"? I could joke that I too would handle them with a telephone directory, but I totally accept your point that spiders are part of a healthy ecosystem. I just wish they weren't part of mine!

A couple of years ago, on an orangutan survey, I felt something on my arm. To my horror I discovered it was one of the long legged spiders shown in the photo below (can you identify it F.J. PECHIR?).

Now, in a perverse kind of way, I had always wanted to know what I would do if I had a big spider on me: would I freak out, throw a blue fit and probably get bitten? Or would I freeze? That experiment has now been conducted and I can tell you the instinctive reaction is to freeze. At least until your friendly, local field assistant flicks it off. I would like to be able to tell you I then cracked a joke and carried on just as Indiana Jones would do. That, however, is a club I am not a member of.

One of the sayings (gross generalisations?) you hear about spiders in Borneo is "if they climb walls or sit in webs, they are harmless. If they run on the ground or have burrows, they are bad". Photo number 2 is a bird-eating spider. You guessed it: it lives in a burrow, is incredibly aggressive and is huge. The first one I ever saw was picked up in the car headlights as it crossed a road! I do not know how many birds they catch but they are certainly partial to mice.

The photo of the stag beetle is thrown into as a challenge to any palmetto bugs out there!

I also thought you might be interested to see some pictures of Camp Leakey, the original study site of Dr Galdikas. When you are in Camp Leakey you do get a sense of history; some of the orangutans she talks about in her autobiography "Reflections of Eden" are still there today.

The release of rehabilitated orangutans at Camp Leakey ceased in 1995 but many of the ex-captive orangutans, or their offspring, still wander in and out of Camp. Observing the ex-captive orangutan’s behaviour provides an insight into orangutan intelligence that couldn’t be gained from wild orangutans. The apparent ease with which they imitate human behaviour (washing laundry, opening locks on doors) confirms just how intelligent this great ape really is!

It's all about team work!

I know I promised I said I'd write more about orangutans soon. Tomorrow I'll make good on that promise, as this afternoon I have to go to the Orangutan Care Centre Quarantine. There will be a story soon!

Reply to recent comments

Thanks as always for your encouraging comments. I'm just going to respond to a couple questions from my last few posts -sorry to be brief. I haven't seen Orangutan Island but I can see why its so popular. Orangutans are fascinating to watch - highly intelligent and very charismatic! We aren't affiliates of Orangutan Island, it is located about 400km east of us and is the only other rehabilitation centre in Kalimantan.

Chris, thank you very much for your support of our work, I agree Wildlife Direct is great way to keep people (and our members) informed. Thank you for your questions and I'll try to answer them. I would like to keep my blog just about my Orangutan Foundation work. Orangutans are much more interesting after all!

For those who might not know Dr Biruté Galdikas, here's a brief introduction. In 1971 Dr. Biruté Galdikas commenced her study of wild orangutans in Tanjung Puting National Park, with the encouragement of the late, renowned Dr. Louis Leakey. Dr Galdikas is one of the world's leading experts on orangutans with her study well in to its third decade now.

Dr. Galdikas founded the Orangutan Foundation International (OFI) in 1986. The Orangutan Foundation (who I work for), was established a few years later in 1991, as an international chapter of the OFI. The Orangutan Foundation is a separate, independent organisation, working closely in certain areas with OFI for example; the protection of Tanjung Puting National Park and the Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine facility.

Dr Galdikas is a professor at the Universitas Nasional in Jakarta and at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. When she is back in the field we meet up to discuss shared work plans, whether it be organising orangutan releases or the protection of Tanjung Puting National Park. However, a lot of my work is separate from OFI, such as the Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership and our work in the Belantikin Hulu region.

Stephen

Tough Times

I apologise for the lack of orangutan news recently. I was at my desk for all of last week because every year, during January, we have to write up the previous year’s activities and prepare the work plan for the year ahead. These reports are then submitted to the Government. It is not without its interesting moments, but essentially it’s a bureaucratic exercise that certainly doesn’t involve watching orangutans. And it hasn’t been the easiest time to do all this. The reality of life here is that if it is not a power cut it is a fuel shortage. I am typing (thank you laptop) this by candlelight – we have had no electricity since 5pm and it is now 9 pm. There is virtually no diesel in town, which is why the electricity generating station is only operating part time and kerosene has already run out. Indeed, even in Jakarta families are being rationed to 1 litre per week which is nothing when kerosene is the main cooking fuel. In our camps and guard posts the Assistants are having to cook on wood fires, something we hate having to do. The lack of diesel is providing a challenge for our forest patrols. Only journeys that are essential can be made so we have to prioritise our work carefully in order that we can maintain our high profile monitoring and vigilance. The forests need protection fuel or no fuel.

The fuel shortages don't just affect my work life but my home life too. Recently I was asked about snakes. Snakes, while certainly not my favourite animal, I can cope with. Spiders, however, give me the heebie-jeebies. The other day I went into my bathroom and saw a huge black huntsman above the door. I fled – naturally. Then there was a power cut -great timing. That night, I went back into the bathroom, with a candle, to wash and wouldn’t you know it the spider had disappeared. And that’s what I hate about spiders: they just appear and then disappear. And my bathroom is next door to the bedroom and trying to find a spider with candle in hand isn't fun. I still haven't found it!

The spider!!

We not only have fuel shortages but we are also experiencing high seas and so very few supplies are getting through. The price of nearly everything; rice, soy sauce and even cement has increased. The weather has been completely unseasonable with very little rain falling this month. The rivers are unbelievably low. February normally heralds the start of the fruit season, but without rain the fruit will wither on the branches. Life is tough in the field, inflation is on the way up and, for the orangutans, there could be lean times ahead with the rehabilitants having to rely on supplied food, which is funded entirely by the Orangutan Foundation.

We’re laying plans and there is a general upbeat mood; to be honest things can really only get easier!

More real orangutan news soon.

What to do with illegal logs?

Dear Sherri Your point about using illegally felled wood is a good one and is something we have debated at length. There are essentially three options when dealing with illegal loggers:

1. Evict them and thus the fallen wood is left behind 2. Evict them and render the wood useless by sawing it into unusable pieces that can't be used. 3. Arrest and process the loggers. After their trial the timber, which is classed as evidence, can then be auctioned.

Option three is by far and away the best. Wood bought at a Police auction is transparently 'clean' and could be used for a good purpose. Unfortunately, this option requires full police involvement and happens infrequently. Our staff have general powers of "citizens arrest" but that isn't enough. The Police really need to be there at the time of the arrest but, not un-understandably, they are frequently reluctant to press charges against small time loggers who, after all, are just local people. Also, the wood needs to be sold, not given away, as the Police need the proceeds to cover the cost of the trial.

What we find - illegal logging raft

Option one is the worst, though this was the strategy we had to use when we were overwhelmed by illegal logging a few years ago. While the wood remains in the forest, someone will be tempted to get it out. Being hardwood the timber remains useable for years after being felled but there is no way either we or the Government could use it. It would appear we were either profiting from the illegal logger's efforts or, bizarrely, even robbing them. In the local context, where arguably double standards apply, we have to be whiter than white. We simply could not use illegal felled wood directly without someone holding it against us.

Cutting the wood into unusable pieces with police support

Option two is the method most commonly used. By chopping up the wood, the logger's efforts are in vain, resulting in a net loss to them (they hire the chain saws, borrow money for food and equipment etc.) However, without the teeth of a more severe punishment, some people may accept being evicted as a risk worth taking. That's where Jak comes in. He pushes the Police to at least hold the loggers in custody for some time, even if they do not actually end up in court. People here are scared of the Police and going to jail for an unspecified period of time is a terrifying prospect.

This year, we will be trying to fund large signboards along the major rivers, which the Police have requested, saying logging is forbidden and warning of the consequences. The Police always accompany us when the illegally felled wood is destroyed (see photo) but, when it comes to arresting people, they want to be in a position where it is 100% clear; there can be no excuses for logging in these places.

Do we admit the system is imperfect? Yes, completely. But is it about as good as we can get it at the present time? Probably.

Kind regards

Stephen

Protection Works

The Orangutan Foundation’s protection of the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve and Tanjung Puting National Park has been extremely effective in reducing the level of illegal activities. Because of the protective measures that we have in place, in 2007, we recorded just 12 incidents of illegal logging in Lamandau. This may seem high but without our monitoring and constant presence illegal activities would, without a doubt, be much more prevalent.

Jak the LECP Patrol Manager

Jak, short for Jakiruddin, Patrol Manager of Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership (LECP), who I have mentioned a few times in my blog, has only been working in this role since April 2007. Jak is excellent at his job. His strong leadership skills not only mean he is very effective at leading his team but he has also earned the respect and the confidence of external institutions that the Foundation works with, such as local Ministry of Forestry Department’s Office for the Conservation of Natural Resources.

Jak supervises the Foundation assistants who are assigned for the mobile patrols and to the guard posts, which are located on the rivers (the only way in and out of Lamandau, for us and illegal loggers). Every Thursday Jak brings logistical supplies and necessities to the network of guard posts for the week. He uses the VHF radio to organize his personnel in the different locations. It is fortunate that Jak is determined as he has received numerous threats from illegal loggers. Nevertheless, he continues to perform his task professionally and he will not step back just because of the intimidation.

The local Ministry of Forestry on patrol

Last year, on the Mangkong River, Jak and his team found a large quantity of illegal logs, an estimated one thousand cubic metres. The logs, which had been cut into approximate lengths of 2 to 4 metres, included the valuable timber species, Kempas and Meranti. The logs had already been made into a raft and were waiting to be floated away by the illegal loggers.

Photo above - the illegally cut logs made into a raft were found by Jak and his team

Police support - standing upon the rails made by the illegal loggers so that they can roll the logs out to the river.

The logs were destroyed by the local Ministry of Forestry and the Police in order to send a clear signal that illegal logging will not be tolerated. All access to the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve will continue to be guarded. The combined forces of the local Ministry of Forestry and LECP will add extra personnel for each of the current seven guard posts.

The mission of the Orangutan Foundation, and of Jak, is to see Lamandau totally free from illegal activities. With the participation of the surrounding communities we are determined to keep Lamandau's forest intact so it continues to provide a viable habitat for orangutans and a sustainable livelihood for the local people.

Snakes and a big thank you!

Dear Theresa and, of course, other readers Thank you very much for your very generous donation. It is much appreciated. You will be pleased to hear Mumsie was returned to Camp Gemini yesterday. She was ready to leave the Orangutan Care Centre & Quarantine on Monday, but because of the fuel shortage we decided not to make a special journey to take her back but rather to wait until the weekly supply run. Normally we push to get orangutans out of the OCCQ as quickly as possible so this was an exception. However I am sure, in the big scheme of things, a few extra days at the OCCQ won't have done her any harm.

Interesting question about snakes. It is something many people ask about. As would be expected there are lots here but they are very rarely seen. In the forest are reticulated pythons that can grow to enormous lengths (well I consider 5m/16' enormous!

Same photo of the python but the lower photo has markers to show the snake (photo by Steven Frankham).

There are poisonous snakes: cobras, kraits, vipers and keelbacks. Then there are the non-poisonous snakes ranging from the thin racers, through bronzebacks, whip snakes (all fairly common) to water snakes.

The interesting thing is I have seen more snakes in town than I have in the forest; I came home once to find a (harmless) racer on my doorstep. They are drawn to town by frogs, toads, rats and mice. Racers are one thing, cobras another - and I have only seen them in two places: palm oil plantations and in town. They like these "unnatural" places because of the unnatural abundance of prey to be found there.

Cobra (photo by Peter Ellen)

Cobras are pretty specialised nocturnal hunters and, in town, move around the storm drains. I can not pretend they are commonly seen (once or twice a year maybe?) but we have had two staff members bitten by them in the time I have been here - both when they were walking at night. One was very serious - she required eight days in hospital. The other was less serious and it is believed the snake was surprised and struck before it had filled its venom sacks. Nevertheless he felt queasy and vomited for two days. Unfortunately, we can't carry antivenin because it needs to be chilled. It is however available at the local hospital.

Again, thanks and best wishes,

Stephen

A few photos..

As promised, here are a couple of pictures of Boni, one of the four orangutans that we released into lamandau at the end of last year.

Boni - up in tree at OCCQ forest (photo by Jodie Sheridan)

On their way to freedom!! Boni is on the right. (Photo by Jodie Sheridan)

This photo should really have gone with my last post - Working in Borneo. My fellow office workers. From left to right there is Jak, Ully, Devis and Astri.

Working in Borneo

Wildlife Direct suggested I give you more information about my life working in conservation with orangutans, what it's like working as a conservationist, in the field, in Borneo compared with Africa. I will try to give you a better picture of what it is like working in Borneo, a "typical day" if you can call it that. Despite the impression you may have gathered from this blog, like many people in the world, I work in an office in the town of Pangkalan Bun and it feels like 90% of my time is devoted to emails and Excel spreadsheets. The Orangutan Foundation has a conscious policy of capacity building and investing in Indonesians, so I am the only expatriate employee. Indeed, I am the only westerner in town! I am responsible for project supervision and all English language communication, particularly reporting to donors. I have to make regular reports from the field to the overseas offices, disseminate information from those offices to the relevant people in Indonesia, and help with proposal writing and forward planning.

Naturally part of my job involves fundraising. I think like most field based people I get so convinced by the worth of the cause I struggle a bit to complete grant applications, especially those using buzz words, for example “Tell us about the multiplier effects of your planned project” (huh, we’re trying to multiply orangutans aren’t we?!) Crucially we have recently received large grants towards habitat protection work. For instance, the United Nations Environment Program with European Union funding supports our work in the Belantikan Hulu; this region contains the largest population of wild orangutans outside of a protected area. However, all of our orangutan rehabilitation work is funded from private donations and last year that cost over US$100,000. As the UK office has grown tired of telling me “Stephen, buying lottery tickets is not a sustainable fundraising strategy!”

The Orangutan Foundation office has a friendly relaxed atmosphere and is a lovely place to work from. There is a garden with a fish pond and mango, rambutan and banana trees, producing the most delicious fruit. The whole operations of the Foundation are co-ordinated from the office, we communicate by radio to all our field posts and my colleagues do a truly fantastic job. In the office there is Ully, the Office Manager; Astri, the Liaison Officer, who also helps me with this blog; Jak, the Patrol Manager; Teguh, the Guard Post Supervisor; Devis from Pondok Ambung and finally the Belantikan Conservation Programme team also work from the office. Tigor, who runs the Lamandau Rehabilitation Camps, works out of the Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine facility (OCCQ). There are numerous powercuts in Pangkalan Bun and so those lucky enough to have a laptop, Jak, Asti and I, often giggle at the moans coming from the others when the power cuts out! When around the orangutans, or on patrol, we wear a uniform which helps the orangutans to recognise and distinguish between Foundation staff and other people who might pose a threat.

Top photo - outside of the office. This photo -inside of the office

Teguh and I are the only Christians. The rest of the people in the office are Moslem & our field staff are a mix of Christian, Moslem and Dayak – which is useful as it means someone is always willing to work on one or other of the religious holidays. Jak and Teguh are married with two children each, Astri is married, Devis is too young, or so we tell him, and everyone is forever teasing Ully about when she’ll get married. However, given her IQ is about the twice that of the rest of us (probably combined) when the time comes, I have no doubt she’ll be the one doing the choosing.

Today was a fairly typical day: I was at the OCCQ just after 8 am, as I had to give the vets some darts (injectable syringes for their blow pipe) that have just been donated.

I also wanted to check on a female orangutan, Mumsie, who had been brought down from Lamandau suffering from suspected anaemia - blood loss possibly with malaria. Thankfully she is fine and, all being well, will be returned to the forest in a few days. I then went back to the office. For most of the day I continued writing up our 2007 Annual Report which, as it also has to be in Indonesian, Astri and I did together. The head of one of Tanjung Puting National Park’s management units stopped by to discuss plans for 2008. It was then back to my desk briefly before heading out in the afternoon with Jak to check on a new guard post we are building in Lamandau.

The new post site

This post, which will stop people using a river to enter the Reserve, is part funded by the Australian Orangutan Project and I need to update them on progress. We got back to town at 6.30pm and, after having fed myself, I am typing this at 8pm. I’ll stop soon!

Apart from us here in Indonesia, there is the UK Office without whose support none of this would be possible. I give them more problems than they deserve and still they continue to back us up 100%. For that I can not thank them often enough.

There are two other things that are probably worth saying about my work with orangutans; firstly, unlike just a few short years ago, the sense we have now is no longer of trying to stop orangutans from falling over the brink into extinction but in pulling them further away from the brink. Not everywhere – certainly not across their entire range – but in specific places we are well on the way to saving orangutans, and we should all feel good about that. Vigilance and on-going dedication is still needed; the fires of late 2006 threatened to undo all the gains we had made. Nevertheless, better to focus on the positives than the negatives.

Orangutan in Tanjung Puting National Park (photo by Mark Fellows)

The second thing is that, partisan as I may be, the Orangutan Foundation is honest, and that is almost entirely due to the culture Ashley Leiman, the Orangutan Foundation Founder and Director, has established for the organisation. Of course, we’ll tell you our successes, but we’ll also be honest in saying when things don’t go well: in the middle of last year we managed to stop a palm-oil plantation from being established along Lamandau’s borders. But the year before, we failed to stop Tanjung Puting from losing some 5,000 + hectares.

In my blog I talk about my work with orangutans but it is not just saving orangutans. What is really great to think about is the incredible biodiversity (proboscis monkeys, gibbons, kingfishers and hornbills -I could go on and on!) found in their habitat that is also protected as a direct result of conserving a flagship species, the orangutan.

Thank you

Dear Theresa thank you very, very much for your offer of a donation for malarial medicines. At the risk of sounding silly though, I have to confess I am not exactly sure how the donation side of things works. (I was gong to add "I just do the work", but know I would be told "No, you just write the stories"!) I am pretty certain a bank check payable to Orangutan Foundation would work. However, to be on the safe side, I will get the Orangutan Foundation UK office to contact you to confirm the best method. BTW, I know as a condition of having space on Wildlife Direct, a dedicated bank account was set up, which is managed by the UK office. This is where your donation will be banked. I also see there were a couple of questions on climbing up the radio mast. Neither going up nor going down was pleasant. The antenna is sited maybe 60 – 70 feet up (approx.20m) the mast. I have to say though, the first ever antenna to go up was at Camp Leakey, TPNP. That one was at the very top of the mast, 33m up and I kid you not, besides dropping spanners and nuts I had the horror of having an orangutan climb up after me. Those towers weren't made for two. Fortunately she stopped about half way up and I just waited until she could be enticed away.

Jodie tells me she has a photo of Boni which I will try to get from her. In the meantime, here's another of her and Peter's photos from the OCCQ, which I love; Ibu (Mrs) Ida taking the babies out for their forest time.

As always, thank you for your interest and support

Stephen

Going to great heights for orangutans!!

I think I wrote before that all Orangutan Foundation guard posts are equipped with solar power and radios. The solar power sets we buy locally are brilliant. The panel is made overseas but the battery, charger, cables and lights are all made ‘in country’. The battery should last three to five years and the lights as long. Setting up the system takes less than two hours and is literally as easy as wiring a plug. Indeed, one set was put up using nothing more than a pocket multi-tool!

Solar power set

Radios have been installed at the Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine, the Foundation office in Pangkalan Bun, and in all the Tanjung Puting National Park and Lamandau Wildlife Reserve camps and guard posts, making a tight network that helps us to effectively monitor the protected forests and support both the people and, in case a vet needs to be called, the orangutans too. The Field Assistants have daily (and sometime hourly!) contact with the other camps and guard posts. The system is very robust, practical and sustainable.

Late last year, the Foundation refurbished TPNP’s guard post on the Buluh Besar River. The final task was installing the solar power and radio sets. Mr Teguh, the Post supervisor, and I went down there on the Foundation’s new “kelotok” (traditional motorised long-boat); a longer but much more pleasant journey than the one we had in the speedboat during Teguh’s look-see interview (see post: Wet & Wild and that's just getting to the guard posts).

Buluh Besar River - TPNP (note the radio mast in the background!)

The solar power set was installed quickly and easily on the afternoon we arrived. The night there was great too; playing cards with the Assistants, bathing in the river and watching proboscis monkeys on the river bank. The location is unbelievably scenic.

The problem was the next day’s job was nowhere near as much fun. A radio needs an antenna and the antenna needs to be up high. Frequently we put the antenna on top of a tree but, on the Buluh Besar, the National Park had previously installed a radio mast, which is naturally where the antenna had to go. The only question was who was going to climb up. The guys justified their selection of me on the basis of my being the only one without family!

Things I do for orangutans!!

More orangutans back in the wild

At the very end of last year, we released four more orangutans into the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. It was a great way to end the year for me, and I hope it was for the orangutans as well. They certainly took to the forest with enthusiasm. For two of the orangutans, it was not their first taste of life in the wild. Boni and Sawit were returned to the Care Centre earlier in the year with medical problems. Boni miscarried and our staff feared there were complications. However, after a period of recuperation she was back to normal and ready for re-release. I don’t go on every release but, as this would be the last release of the year, it seemed auspicious.

As an aside, though my photos of her won’t do her justice, Boni is actually a particularly attractive orangutan. I know some people are uncomfortable with the idea of judging orangutans but we might as well be honest: just like people, there are fat ones, thin ones, light coloured, dark, long-haired types, balding, heavy browed, floppy-lipped orangutans and a whole lot more. I am not pretending to run a beauty competition but I will say Boni is Hollywood’s idea of what an orangutan should look like! And I don’t think I am alone.

Orangutans as they arrive (Boni is the darker orangutan in the middle)

As soon as she was let go, she ran straight up to a sub-adult male who had come in to meet the new arrivals. They noisily disappeared into the trees and did not even come down for the food which was laid out for them.

Andi was one of the first time releases. Normally we release orangutans when they are between six and eight years old, roughly their natural independence age. Andi however is only four. At the Care Centre he had been adopted by Sawit and it was only right that they were released together. Despite the number of orphans at the Care Centre surprisingly few adoptions actually work. Older females will be happy cage-mates with young orangutans but their relationship won’t develop to the extent of sharing food, carrying, protective behaviour or sleeping together all of which a natural mother would do. In Andi and Sawit’s case the relationship was complete. They were in separable, as I learnt to my cost.

Andi at full stretch!

The orangutans were released at Camp Rasak which is where Kath and Jutak were released in November. I am pleased to report that Kath has moved away from the release site into the forest and this is not surprising as she was an older orangutan. Jutak makes the occasional appearance but is not seen every day. The Assistants feel she is still wary of the sub-adult males but she may be seen more frequently as her confidence increases.

Camp Rasak was built by our volunteer teams in 2005 and it is a great camp, incredibly peaceful and, perhaps best of all, it is built on dry ground which is hard to find in swampy Lamandau. It is a refreshing experience to be able to walk normally rather than sloshing through water. I therefore did not mind slinging Sawit on my back for the short walk to the release site.

Short walk? Feeding sites are moved regularly because of the pressure the orangutans exert on the area; they break trees and branches, and often nest nearby. Changing the feeding location stops one particular area being degraded too heavily. Our diligent staff had moved the feeding platform a further 300m away from Camp. And, of course, I wasn’t just carrying Sawit on my back – Andi was on hers!

So in moving the platform the staff were being conscientious which I am sure I would have found pleasing had I not been lugging a combined 57kg of red ape; couldn’t someone have told me?!

Settling in to their new home, the forests of Lamandau.

More on pitcher plants and palm oil free cookies…

Dear Sheryl, Teresa and F J Pechir, Thank you for your questions.

The water in pitcher plant holds a variety of detritus and insects, however it appears the plants only digest the insects, as it is the protein they are seeking. Pitcher plants are typically found in areas of poor soils and scientist believe the eating of insects evolved as a means of ‘topping up’ the plant's nutrient intake. It is a good question about what happens to the water; I have never thought about it. I have never seen a pitcher full to the brim, so my guess is the bowl is not completely water tight and excess water is allowed to seep out. Pitcher plants are not poisonous. Monkeys eat their leaves but nothing appears to eat the pitchers themselves - which probably reflects the poor nutrient quality. Certainly orangutans have never been seen eating them. However, it is a common "dare" amongst the Field Assistants to drink the water. I can vouch for the fact it is harmless.

Sheryl's comment on the lady not selling cookies until they find bakers who are environmentally responsible was interesting. The Orangutan Foundation is working with one such company in the UK, Paterson Arran, who are leading the UK biscuit industry in finding replacements for palm oil. They use olive and rapeseed oil in its place. As they told us, the transition wasn’t easy. On the first attempt at a palm oil free chocolate chip cookie, all the chocolate chips fell out! Fortunately, they persevered and managed to overcome the problem. Interestingly, Paterson Arran are always quick to point out the switch isn’t just good for orangutans; they calculated changing from palm oil resulted in a 60-70% reduction in saturated fat….

Unfortunately we don't have any more information about the situation in Bukit Tigapuluh at the moment other than that in the report by WWF. A number of local NGO's in Jambi/Riau are working hard on this issue and if we do hear from our colleagues we will keep you updated.

Tropical pitchers and questions answered!

Mr Devis has sent an update from Pondok Ambung Reseach Station, TPNP about tropical pitcher plants - a fascinating carnivorous plant species. First though we have received quite a few comments and questions from our last post 'Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership - community meeting'. We'll deal with those before "handing over" to Mr Devis. Thank you F.J.Pechir for your comment and question about the survey of the orangutans in Sabah. Without seeing the study and knowing more about it it is hard to comment on. There was a study published in December 2004 by Marc Ancrenaz et al. which also used aerial surveys for estimating the distribution and population sizes of orangutans in Sabah (perhaps it is this study which you are referring to?). Before this study the previous estimates for Sabah ranged from less than 2,000 to 20,000 orangutans, the M. Ancrenaz study estimated the population at around 11,000 orangutans and we think is an accurate figure.

Thank you Theresa Siskind for your question about eco-tourism in Lamandau. The Orangutan Foundation doesn’t run an eco-tourism programme to the Lamandau Reserve because it is an orangutan release site. With the Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership we want to develop long-term sustainable incomes for the local communities and in our experience eco-tourism isn't a source of income to be relied upon because it is often influenced by global issues, for example, terrorism. Some products made by the local communities, rattan baskets or mats, are on sale to tourists who come to visit Tanjung Puting National Park. We do value and realise the potential of eco-tourism to help protect wildlife and it has certainly done this in TPNP. Please visit our eco-tourism page on the Orangutan Foundation website.

The tropical pitcher is a very interesting carnivorous plant species and the uniqueness of its shape and colour has captured the interest of Mr. Devis who has been studying the tropical pitcher plant at Pondok Ambung. Over to Mr Devis....

Our survey began in the peat swamp forest around Sungai Sekonyer Kanan. Exploration has to be limited to the dry season because during the rainy season the rising water levels make it almost possible! We have so far discovered two types of tropical pitcher plant; Nepenthes ampullaria which looks like the pitcher cup and Nepenthes reinwardtiana which looks like a cylinder tube (see photos below).

We noticed that Nepenthes ampullaria grows in large quantities, in a centralized position in one particular spot. Our second survey was in the swamp forest around Pondok Ambung and this time three species of tropical pitcher were discovered. Two were species found in the first survey. The third species, Nepenthes rafflesiana (Raffles' Pitcher Plant) which has lower pitchers are generally round, squat and winged, while the upper pitchers are narrower at their base. We discovered that Rafflesiana grows well as a colony with Nepenthes ampullaria.

Three pitchers have been discovered so far Nepenthes reinwardtiana, Nepenthes ampullaria and Nepenthes rafflesiana. We need continuous surveys so we can uncover other types of tropical pitcher and learn more about their distribution so that conservation efforts can be taken.

I am hoping that there will be others researchers who have a similar interest in Tropical Pitcher research. Fellow researchers - I wait for your arrival here in Pondok Ambung!!

Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership (LECP)- community meeting

A few weeks ago the Orangutan Foundation participated in a community meeting held in Terantang village, which is located on the boundary of the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.

Local communities have the right to the sustainable use of non-timber products from Lamandau. This meeting was organised to enable stakeholders to raise and discuss any problems or issues. The meeting was facilitated through the Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership (LECP).

Mr. Ade Suharso (Local Head of the Forestry Department’s Office for the Conservation of Natural Resources) and representatives from the police department and community leaders were invited to contribute to the meeting.

The Chairman of Terantang Consultative Assembly, admitted the community, including himself, is aware that cutting-down trees, especially in the conservation area, is forbidden. However, he demanded that law enforcement needs to be fair. He said that police officers should not have arrested only minor illegal tree-cutters but also the illegal logging syndicates.

The Chairman of Kumpai Batu Bawah Consultative Assembly, has given his support to forest conservation. He added that some villages near Lamandau Reserve, such as Terantang and Mendawai have experienced flooding during the rainy season. He believes this is due to an environmental imbalance that is being created through deforestation of the local area. In the discussion representatives from Kumpai Batu Bawah Village requested the government do more to empower the local community in safeguarding the natural resources. A resident of the village asked for help so the local communities can be assisted to find alternative sources of earning income besides cutting-down trees in the forest.

All the speakers agreed to try and resolve the issues that had been exposed during the meeting. Help has been promised to develop the local community’s economy so that alternatives to illegal logging can be found. Brigadir Harto, from the police department assured villagers that the law enforcement officers will act professionally and fairly as demanded. Mr. Ade Suharso will  continue to collaborate with the community so this conservation area can be protected.