Smuggled orangutans start new life after repatriation to Indonesia

By Yudi Saputra

 

An orangutan, which was seized from the Thailand-Malaysia border 3 years ago, looks from a cage at Sultan Thaha Saifuddin Airport in Jambi before being released into the forest, in Indonesia December 18, 2020. Antara Foto/Danendra via REUTERS

 

JAMBI (Reuters) - A pair of critically endangered orangutans, rescued from smugglers on the Thai-Malaysian border in 2017, have arrived in Indonesia to undergo rehabilitation so they can finally be released back into their native forest habitat.

 

Believed to be between the ages of four to six the orangutans, Ung Aing and Natalee, spent three years at Khao Pratab Chang Wildlife Breeding Center in central Ratchaburi province, Thailand.

 

On Friday they arrived in western Indonesia's Jambi province for medical checks, which will include COVID-19 swabs, before a rehabilitation process to prepare them for their jungle home.

 

"We will do a medical checkup and study their behaviour and habits before sending them to a forest rehabilitation centre at the Danau Alo sanctuary," head of local Natural Resources Coservation Agency (BKSDA), Rahmad Saleh told reporters, after the great apes were wheeled out in two metal cages at Jambi’s Sultan Thaha airport before media and officials.

 

Video footage showed the female orangutans eagerly climbed out of their carriers and into a temporary holding facility.

It is unclear how long the pair will stay in the orangutan sanctuary before being released into the wild.

 

Orangutans are poached illegally for food, breeding to supply the domestic and international pet trade, and for traditional medicine.

 

Logging and deforestation, including forest clearance to make way for cash crops such as palm oil, has reduced the habitat of the critically endangered species.

 

There are an estimated 100,000 Bornean orangutans left in the wild, and only about 7,500 Sumatran orangutans, according to data from the World Wildlife Fund.

 

A total of 71 orangutans have been sent back from Thailand to Indonesia since 2006, according to a joint statement released by the two countries.

 

(Writing by Angie Teo; Editing by Masako IIjima and Michael Perry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-12-19

 

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at a rehabilitation center in Kalimantan:
after letting the ladies pass,
I was vetted to make sure I am not competition.
Took some persuasion until he let me go ????
Intelligent, loveable, and unique creatures.

Kudos to the people that made the repatriation possible.

They are the closest to human genetically, and their behaviours are amazing.

Do not mess with a 140kg one in the wild, not likely to be friendly towards other males of any species.

I hope this pair have a sucessful rehab and release. They will never forget any kindness shown them I am sure