A Beautiful Male Rescued and Released in Central Kalimantan

Following a report from a local farmer who had spotted an orangutan at his plantation, the Nyaru Menteng rescue team was dispatched to Taringen village, Central Kalimantan. Monday December 3rd 2012, equipped with orangutan rescue gear, we left the camp at 7 AM. Two hours later, we arrived at the location.

We were divided into two teams; one team went mobile to search around the area and the other to observe and keep an eye on the spot where the orangutan was said to regularly go to. We didn’t find many obstacles, as the area was of gum and jackfruit grove. Compared to any other areas we have been to, it was considered an easy terrain.

In the forest, we found a gunk of three-hour old orangutan feces, and finally, the observing team spotted an adult male orangutan in a meadow, ready to devour some delicious fruits.

Highly alerted, the orangutan could sense the humans around him and sprinted away into the forest. We followed him, while another team member contacted the other team regarding the situation.

We found him already up in a tree away from the field. Our vet then prepared the sedative and the technicians prepared to sedate the orangutan using a tranquilizer gun and we launched our first attempt to tranquilize him.

We waited for a while, but it seemed like this strong orangutan didn’t even feel the slightest effect, so we decided to give him another dose.

Finally, slowly he climbed down the tree as the sedative started working on him. After he was fully sedated and slept on the ground, the vet checked his condition to see if he was injured and had any abnormalities. He was a 20 year old orangutan, weighed around 90 kgs. He was not light, as you can imagine, and since we had to go through the forest to move him to the transport cage, we had to carry him on a net.

After a while, we finally arrived where the transport enclosure was located. Making the enclosure as comfortable as possible, we put him inside but had to wait until the next morning to release him to a safer forest since it was already too dark to do so.

The forest surrounding the villager’s field, unfortunately, had been converted into palm oil plantation. There is not much left of it. So we couldn’t release him in a nearby forest.

First thing in the morning, we prepared for his release. With the help of a local who knew the area like the back of his hand, we finally released the big guy in a more suitable and healthier forest where he could roam safely.

This type of operation is called Rescue and Release or also commonly called translocation where the orangutan is a wild adult individual who no longer needs to be rehabilitated/taught to be wild and, most importantly, a suitable forest is available, allowing him/her to be released right away. The Rescue and Release operation today was concluded successfully.

The team, consisting of vet Barlian, staff of Conservation and Natural Resources Authority Nandang and Sudaya, and technicians Dedi and Toni, returned to Nyaru Menteng feeling relieved but also saddened with a realization that many more orangutans are still facing the same problem of habitat loss and are probably not as lucky as this particular rescued male. We all share their hope that a strict habitat protection law is soon developed, passed and enforced with stern concequences.