This little orangutan is called Joko. He is one of many orangutans who were once illegally kept by humans, before finally being confiscated by the East Kalimantan Conservation and Natural Resources Authority (BKSDA) from his captor in Loa Bakung, Samarinda.
Joko, who is estimated to be 3 or 4 years of age, seemed confused upon seeing the presence of new people surrounding his cage. He refused to come out when the BOS Foundation Samboja Lestari team, which consisted of Medical Team (led by Vet Agnes), technician Arif Rahman, and Vet Agus Irwanto, picked him up on November 5, 2013, at BKSDA Sector II Tenggarong. He insisted on staying firmly inside so technician Arif Rahman had to get in to persuade him.
The team first tried to tempt Joko with vitamin lozenges to calm the nervous young orangutan, but to no avail. Joko still refused to come out. Vet Agnes then decided to give him milk and it worked! Joko was finally willing to come out of his cage.
Once outside, Joko drank vigorously: he was obviously a very thirsty little boy. While he was enjoying his milk, Vet’s Agnes and Agus Irwanto performed a standard health check before bringing him to Samboja Lestari.
Joko doesn’t want to let go of his babysitter!
Joko refused to leave his cage
Joko was kept by humans for two years
Joko devouring his milk
Before he was confiscated by the East Kalimantan BKSDA, Joko had been kept as a pet for two years. The little male orangutan was reportedly found in an oil pam plantation in the Sebulu area, and then brought home to be kept by an Army family who were eventually deployed to another location. Joko was entrusted to their relatives in Loa Bakung before finally being confiscated by BKSDA and handed over to Samboja Lestari for care and rehabilitation.
Along the way to Samboja Lestari, Joko who has long hair sat quietly on the lap of Arif Rahman, and once in a while pulled Vet Agnes’s arm, asking her to rub his back.
Arriving in Samboja Lestari, Joko was welcomed by the medical team and a babysitter, who will be responsible for his care and help him throughout the rehabilitation process. Joko will need a lot of love and encouragement to regain confidence and build the survival skills he needs, so that one day he will be ready to be released back into his natural habitat in the wild.
Welcome to Samboja Lestari, Joko!
It is illegal to hold, capture or kill an orangutan. They are an endangered species protected by national and international law. Despite this, all of the orangutans under the BOS Foundation’s care are either rescued from areas of habitat conflict or received as orphans. We have rescued over 2,000 orangutans and more orangutans continue to arrive. Without proper law enforcement, this situation will continue to re-occur.
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.
