The Star 28 Mar 10;
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Government is baffled over a statement on the supposed overcrowding of primates at the internationally renowned orang utan sanctuary in the east coast Sandakan district.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the 4,000ha virgin forest reserve at Sepilok that was part of the sanctuary was more than enough to support the 250 orang utan there.
“There are enough wild fruit trees for the primates, more than they need. To say that Sepilok is congested and does not have enough food to sustain the orang utan population there is like saying 10 mice are dying of hunger in a 400ha unharvested rice field,” he said.
Masidi also reiterated the state’s stand not to provide any of the primates for a proposed orang utan sanctuary near Kuala Lumpur.
Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit said earlier this week that several of Sepilok’s orang utan would be transferred to the proposed sanctuary.
He said the orang utan population at Sepilok had exceeded its capacity which made it difficult for the primates to get enough food.
On Friday, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said a committee had been set up to carry out a feasibility study on the proposed “semi-artificial” orang utan centre near Kuala Lumpur.
