Malaysia: Killed in the past, orang utans are now swinging with hope

New Straits Times 2 Aug 11;

KOTA KINABALU: If things had remained the same, an orang utan named Ten-Ten may have ended up dead in the jungles of Pensiangan.

Instead, it is growing up at the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sandakan after it was rescued by the Sabah Wildlife Department. Ten-Ten, barely a month old then, was rescued on Oct 10 in Keningau, just days after it was found abandoned in the interior jungles of Pensiangan.

In the past, it would have been ignored, chased away or even killed.

In a few years, after it learns how to feed itself in the jungle, Ten-Ten will join the 11,000 orang utan population in 16 protected forests in Sabah.

State Wildlife director Dr Laurentius Ambu said the perception, or rather, appreciation of orang utans, which carry an iconic status as a flagship tourism product, had changed for the better.

"The government, villagers, corporations and non-governmental organisations are all for the protection of the species."

Ambu said the orang utan population was healthy in Sabah and "it shows that management of our resources are on the right track, along with sound policies".

He attributed the success to the department's 4,300ha centre, which pioneered animal preservation efforts since it was opened in 1964.

Orang utans are also kept in captivity at the Lok Kawi Zoological Park but most of them are those that were domesticated or abandoned.

"One key factor are government policies on the preservation of flora and fauna.

"According to standards set by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, at least 10 per cent of the land mass should be protected.

"In Sabah, we protect 15.5 per cent of our land mass, which is dedicated to the preservation of flora and fauna."

On threats of agricultural land clearing against the species, he said the issue did not arise because all 16 locations where the primates were concentrated were forest reserves.

"On top of that, orang utans are versatile animals because they can survive in secondary forests and they can eat many plants, including oil palm kernels.

"There are some orang utans outside the main habitats, say, at the edge of a village in one of the districts where, in the past, they would have been chased away.

"But, with people now more aware of orang utans, they'd get top class attention and protection."