Indonesia: Baby orangutans traumatized after smuggling attempt

Apriadi Gunawan The Jakarta Post 3 Jul 19;

Three Sumatran orangutans are undergoing treatment after being saved from smugglers who had taken them out of their habitat in an attempt to take them to Malaysia.

The three primates are in intensive care at a rehabilitation center in Batu Mbelin, Sibolangit district, Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra.

Yenny Saraswati, a veterinarian with the Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari (YEL) foundation, which is involved in the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program (SOCP), said the three orangutans – named Digo, Duma, and Dupa – had been in a stressed condition, dehydrated and dirty when they were admitted to the center .

Digo is a 2-month-old male, while Duma and Dupa are females and 1.5 years of age.

“They are still traumatized and frightened when they see people,” she said. “Their condition is improving as they have begun to eat.”

Yenny said the three baby orangutans were to be smuggled to Malaysia on a speedboat on Monday night, together with other animals, such as albino monkeys and civet, through an unlicensed seaport in Dumai.

A team comprising personnel from the local customs and excise office and the Navy, however, foiled the attempt. The orangutans were then sent to the center for rehabilitation.

“We plan to train them, so that they can go back to the wild,” Yenny said.

She said the center had rehabilitated at least 290 orangutans since 2001; 180 of them were released into their natural habitat in Jambi and the other 110 in Aceh.

“We are currently rehabilitating 54 orangutans. All will be released when the time comes,” Yenny said.

SOCP director Ian Singleton thanked all parties for saving the three orangutans. He expressed hope that the three would have a long life in the wild.

“The International Conservation Union has listed orangutans as endangered animals. That’s why we have to protect them from extinction,” Ian Singleton said, adding that only 13,400 Sumatran orangutans were estimated to be left in the wild.