N. Adri The Jakarta Post 11 Apr 17;
Conservation group Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) released six orangutans into the Kehje Sewen forests in East Kutai, East Kalimantan, on Tuesday.
“This is our 12th release, conducted via land route. The team drove from Samboja Lestari to Muara Wahau and then continued traveling to a location near the forests,” said BOSF spokesperson Paulina Laurensia.
East Kutai is located around 850 kilometers north of Balikpapan. Every two hours, the team stopped to check the condition of the East Kalimantan orangutans and give them food and water.
Paulina said the orangutans, two males and four females, were rehabilitated at the BOSF Forest School in Samboja Lestari. Each orangutan has a name to make it easier for their keepers to identify them.
“The two male orangutans are Justin, 10, and Robert, 11, while the females are Ung, 14, Reckie, 9, Tree, 11, and Heli, 9,” said Paulina. She said the six orangutans were released in the southern part of Kehje Sewen, where 24 orangutans had been previously released.
Before releasing them fully into the wild, BOSF will first make sure that the orangutans are able to live independently in their natural habitat, Paulina said.
BOSF chose the Kehje Sewen tropical forests as the location to release orangutans in 2012. In total, 69 orangutans have been released into the forests. Two baby orangutans have been born from the orangutans released there. (ebf)
