Tuesday, September 3, 2013, was another milestone for nine inhabitants of Hampapak Island, one of the pre-release islands at Nyaru Menteng. Danny, Zena and her son William, Joys, Sarita, Dita, Halt, and Judi and her son Son, have now left the island on the Rungan River for good in order to progress through the final preparations phase needed for all reintroduction candidates.
From Hampapak to Nyaru Menteng 2
A small team comprising Medics, Technicians, and additional support staff started preparations at 7 in the morning. They cruised along the Rungan River for 25 minutes from their starting point at Petuk Katimpun village to Hampapak Island. Once they arrived at Hampapak island, the sedation process commenced immediately for the adult orangutans in order to ease the process of translocation.
By 11 am, all of the adult orangutans had been sedated and they were moved into individual travel cages in order to be safely transported to Petuk Katimpun village by kelotok (Dayak traditional slim boat). From Petuk Katimpun, they were transferred by truck to Nyaru Menteng.
The orangutans who have been chosen as release candidates are those who meet a number of rigorous criteria. Among others, the criteria specify sufficient age, clear health checks and DNA testing to determine to which sub-species they belong, and of course, sufficient abilities to survive in the forest.
Our newest nine candidates will live temporarily at the Nyaru Menteng II Quarantine Complex. The quarantine process is a small but significant part of a reintroduction program. After leaving the pre-release island which was the last step of their rehabilitation process, they have to undergo a two-month quarantine period, during which they will receive thorough medical checks and tracking devices especially made for our orangutans will be implanted to insure their readiness for release and their later successful post-release monitoring.
Zena and William are prepared for the next orangutan release candidate (Photo credit: Indrayana)
Transferring orangutans to the transportation cage (Photo credit: Indrayana)
The sedation process for the adult orangutans in order to ease the process of translocation (Photo credit: Indrayana)
Joyous Story from Hampapak
Hampapak is a library full of touching stories of its inhabitants. Zena’s life story is one of them. This female orangutan was taken away from her natural habitat and kept as a pet in Jakarta. In 2002, when she was only 5 years old, finally Zena came back to Kalimantan thanks to a confiscation operation by the Central Kalimantan Conservation and Natural Resources Authority.
But Zena couldn’t be released back into the wild immediately; being kept for so long by humans, she had lost most of her natural skills and would not be able to survive in the forest without a rehabilitation process. It was not easy for Zena to reclaim her true nature, and she went through a long process in Nyaru Menteng Forest School with help from babysitters and technicians.
She is now 17 years old, independent, and a mother. Her son William (who by the way was named after Prince William in honor of he and Princess Kate’s visit to Indonesia last year) was born on the pre-release island on February 3, 2010. Despite her unfortunate motherless childhood, with the experience she has learnt in Nyaru Menteng, Zena is an amazing mother to her baby boy. With her dedicated care, William is now able to recognise forest fruit, fish for termites, and build nests.
We can’t wait until the day they are released. Soon, Zena and William will enjoy the beauty of freedom in the forest, where they really belong.
An Ongoing Process
After this translocation from Hampapak Island to our Nyaru Menteng II Quarantine Complex, we are planning to move some orangutans from Nyaru Menteng to Palas Island so that they too can complete their final step within the rehabilitation process, on natural islands.
A heartfelt congratulations to our new release candidates and we hope for the best for our next release event!
The BOS Foundation, together with the KLHK and the BKSDA of Central Kalimantan will soon conduct the 44th orangutan release from the Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Centre to the Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park (TNBBBR).
Every year on April 22, we celebrate Earth Day to honour the planet that is home to us all.
It was a usual day at the Nyaru Menteng forest school, where young orangutans were learning from one another while their human surrogate mothers looked on from below.
