Rescue, rehabilitation and reintroduction of orangutans
Over the last year we confiscated several hundred illegal pet or injured wild orangutans. Most have been brought to the the Quarantine and Rehabilitation Centre where they are cared for. The majority has been reintroduced to the wild, gradually establishing two entirely new, genetically viable and self-sustaining wild orangutan populations in Sumatra. The new populations act as a «safety net», should a catastrophe befall the remaining truly wild populations on the island, minimising the risk that we would lose the species forever.
 01 Quarantine adn Rehabilitation CentreGoals
- Improve the welfare and provide a new life for confiscated illegal pet orangutans
- Provide a new life for orangutans displaced due to habitat loss
- Actively create new, genetically viable and self-sustaining wild populations of these critically endangered species
- Minimise the risk of their extinction from the wild
Successes
- More than 430 orangutans given the opportunity of a new life after being kept as illegal pets or displaced from their forest habitat
- 2 entirely new genetically viable and self-sustaining wild orangutan populations being established in Sumatra (more then 190 released so far in Jambi and over 130 in Jantho. Both new populations are now reproducing.
- These new populations expand the geographic range and reduce the risk of orangutans becoming extinct in Sumatra.
- 8 orangutans that cannot be released to the wild will be given a much improved quality of life at the new Orangutan Haven currently being developed.
Quarantine and Rehablilitation Centre
After confiscation, orangutans are brought to the SOCP’s purpose-built Orangutan Quarantine and Rehabilitation Centre in North Sumatra. All orangutans received at the centre undergo a minimum 60-day strict quarantine period, during which general health checks and medical tests are carried out, in particular for Hepatitis B, Tuberculosis and intestinal parasites.
After confiscation, orangutans are brought to the SOCP’s purpose-built Orangutan Quarantine and Rehabilitation Centre in North Sumatra. All orangutans received at the centre undergo a minimum 60-day strict quarantine period, during which general health checks and medical tests are carried out, in particular for Hepatitis B, Tuberculosis and intestinal parasites.
Once they have passed their health checks and quarantine period satisfactorily, they are then transferred to the centre’s large socialization cages and gradually introduced to others. In most cases this is the first time they have met and interacted with other orangutans since their initial capture, when their mother was killed and they first entered the illegal pet trade.
Whilst at the Quarantine and Rehabilitation Centre those that can be handled easily are regularly given a chance to climb and explore in the forested areas of the site, so even some of the very youngest already start to learn that trees bend and branches break, and some insects are nice to eat, whilst others bite back!
Drh. Yenny Saraswati
Senior Veterinarian SOCP
Reintroduction Centre
Once groups of compatible orangutans have been established in the socialization cages, they are transferred to one of the SOCP’s two reintroduction sites; one at the edge of the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in Jambi Province, and the other in the Jantho Pine Forest Nature Reserve in Aceh Province.Â
When settled in their new surroundings, they begin learning about life in the trees for real, in the lush rainforest surrounding both reintroduction sites. They must gain the knowledge and new skills they need before release to have the best possible chance of survival. Staff collect natural foods and nesting materials in the forest for them, so they already know what is food and how to eat it when they are released.Â
SOCP field staff continue to monitor their progress on a daily basis, until satisfied they are managing to cope by themselves.
Mukhlisin
Jantho Reintroduction Centre Manager SOCP
Relocations
The SOCP also rescues and relocates wild orangutans that have become isolated in areas being converted to non-forest uses, such as oil palm plantations. Such drastic interventions are always a last resort since it is usually a difficult, risky and stressful operation for all involved, and are only undertaken if the orangutans will surely die if left where they are. Sadly, such rescues are becoming increasingly necessary as forest patches become ever smaller and more isolated.
If healthy, individuals rescued in this way are relocated to safer habitat, normally at one of the two SOCP Reintroduction Centres. If sick or injured, they are treated first at the Orangutan Quarantine and Rehabilitation Centre, before being released at a later date.
Partner
YEL is our sister foundation on Sumarta. YEL is responsible for the implementation of all SOCP projects on site.Â
The SOCP is operated on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s Directorate General of Natural Resource and Ecosystem Conservation.
