orangutan update 2

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends of the Orangutan,

 

Many of you will have received my first update from the field a couple of

weeks ago (if not, it appears below). I have now returned from Borneo, and would

like to take this opportunity to update you further.

 

In the just over 3 weeks that I was at the project, 23 rescues took place, and

one of the rescue teams was out again on the day I left. In the early hours of

the morning on which I departed, the first rescue team returned with a baby girl

orangutan, just a few weeks old. We named her Tequila, hoping that it would

instill a fiery spirit in her. There had been other youngsters during my time

there, as well as mother with babies, and juvenile males. All but two were

rescued from the palm oil plantations. (Of the two, one was a voluntary

hand-over and one a confiscation). Our team reported seeing dozens of orangutans

on the edge of the forest where it met the 30 kilometer stretch of palm oil

plantation in which they were rescuing. In the days and weeks to come, these,

too, will need to be rescued—otherwise they face almost certain death if they

venture into the plantation in search of food.

 

Our facility, as previously mentioned, is beyond capacity. The wild orangutans

that we are rescuing must now remain in our care until a new and safe release

site can be secured. Ex-captive orangutans, ready for release into the wild,

also must wait for the decisions of the Indonesian authorities as to whether we

can release in the remote northern regions of Central Kalimantan. Meanwhile,

throughout the region, orangutans’ forests are being decimated for the

conversion to oil palm. The result: more and more victims, and less and less

space to put the survivors.

 

Unless we can secure this release site very soon, and unless we can afford to

put up some more temporary cages to hold the wild orangutans until that time, we

will soon be faced with the devastating situation of having to turn away

orangutans in need. BOS UK hopes to find the funds quickly to put up a large

socialization cage for wild baby orangutans who have already gone through

quarantine, which would open up more quarantine cages for incoming orangutans.

But this, in itself, is not a solution---it is only a temporary measure. The

international community must insist that the Indonesian government approve

secure release sites for displaced and rehabilitated orangutans, and we also

must demand that no further conversion of orangutan habitat take place. (There

are 25 million hectares of already degraded land suitable for oil palm

cultivation).

 

In the 12 years that I have been working in orangutan conservation, one would

think that I would toughen to the things which I witness. But that doesn’t

happen. Especially when the situation becomes more and more desperate and you

feel like you are fighting a losing battle. Lone, the project manager, said to

me on the day I left that she often felt like “no one out there cares.” I know

that there are people who care, but experiencing the sorrows and disappointments

every day takes its toll on a person. It all came home to me when a bandage was

removed from the arm of a wild orangutan baby that had been rescued. One of the

bones was protruding from the skin at a horrifying angle, and the wrist and hand

were almost completely atrophied. It is likely that it will require amputation.

And this was the result of humans who beat him when he and his starving mother

went in search of food in the plantations. Few of us could hold back the tears

or mask our anger.

 

On the flight home, I was offered a packet of crisps produced by a well-known

Western manufacturer. And needless to say, the crisps were fried in palm oil.

What price a bag of crisps? Inner rage ensued as I tried to understand why

manufacturers and retailers who use palm oil do not consider the environmental

damage of unsustainable palm oil to be an issue.

 

Some news on a few of the orangutans mentioned in the last update: Satria, the

tiny baby, is doing wonderfully. He is not at all timid and enjoys the

attention of all the babysitters. He is remarkably coordinated, especially for a

boy orangutan, as the boys seem to take longer to become so. It appears that Don

King has some damage to one of his arms and one of his legs; they have very

limited movement. Gilang has cleared quarantine and has joined his new friends

in baby school. He is very outgoing and settled in immediately. He is also an

incredible climber. I babysat him a few days in his quarantine period, and he

enjoyed climbing the trees and making nests. Mama Maok, the orangutan with the

deep gashes, is all healed up. She eats and drinks well, and “talks” to me when

I approach with a treat. Leli, the orangutan with the crushed arm is still

struggling. Her hand has swelled grotesquely, and the skin on her hand and

wrist is coming away in strips. She can only move her arm

by picking it up with her other hand. Still, she is in good spirits and sits

up to greet me when I come along with her high calcium drinks throughout the

day. She absolutely adores air-popped popcorn (thank you to those who donated

the poppers).

 

We had an orangutan, Dian, who we released on Bangamat Island in December go

missing for several days. We had as many as 20 staff searching the island for

her daily, without success. On the 6th day, she was spotted (thanks to the

binoculars donated by Iolo Williams) high in a nest and almost lifeless. One of

the men climbed the tree and was able to bring her down. Back at the centre, we

found that she had malaria, and it was likely she had not fed for days. A few

days later, and she was still listless, although tests revealed the malaria had

gone. She stopped eating and drinking and was put onto IV. Further blood tests

were inconclusive, but still she did not improve. Karmele, the vet, and I spent

hours on the Internet, soliciting the help of international vets and specialists

to try to advise us on both Dian and Leli, as they were very extreme cases. We

had an outpouring of support. From a team in Bali, we were lent a portable X ray

machine, which helped us to assess the

fractures in Leli and other orangutans. In a few days, 2 specialists will be

arriving to assist with the surgery on the baby orangutan with the protruding

bone, as well as to look at Dian and Leli. I spoke with Lone yesterday about

Dian, and she reported that Dian has had a change of medicine and is starting to

respond. Yesterday she ate for the first time in over 10 days. Let us hope she

has turned the corner.

 

Of the dozens of orangutans under 6 months old, they are all doing quite well.

This is due, I am sure, to the loving attention they receive from the

babysitters 24/7 (and I did a fair bit of babysitting through the night too!) I

am still moved by the outpouring of love our babysitters give to our most

vulnerable charges. I must extend this sentiment to a number of the men who

looked after Dian, day and night. They were so gentle with her, and held her

hand for hours at a time. I sincerely believe that without this kind of

attention, Dian would not have survived.

 

I will return to Borneo in a few weeks time, along with the BBC, to assist

with the making of Orangutan Diary. I hope that at that time, I will have some

small triumphs to report back to you. In the meantime, I thank you all for your

kind support. It is heartening to know that someone does care.

 

Best,

Michelle Desilets \

Director

Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation UK

 

Previous update:

Deluge of Orangutans Reaches Crisis Point at Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Project

 

As I write from the office of the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction

Project in Central Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), a 2-week-old orangutan sleeps

in my arms. Satria, a male, was confiscated and delivered this morning, making

the 8th orangutan to arrive in less than 24 hours.

 

Since my arrival at the project at the start of this month, 16 orangutans have

turned up. Most are victims of the conversion of orangutan habitat into oil

palm. Starving adults, including mothers with infants, left with no other

choice, venture into the plantations where they become easy targets. Few arrive

without serious injuries. One orangutan has had her arm smashed and has lost her

sight in one eye from blows to the head. Another, a mother, suffered deep

gashes on her arms and legs, right to the bone, whilst her son has a broken arm.

Gilang, an orphan whose name means “sparkling or glittering” has the tips of a

finger or toe from each hand and foot cut off, as if received as a punishment.

Rebecca, a very sick little orphan, was voluntarily turned in, on the brink of

death. She is probably 1 ½ years old, but weighs no more than an orangutan of

six months of age. A confiscated infant named Don King (testimony to his

outrageous hairstyle) has spent so long locked up in a tiny

wooden box that he cannot walk, stand up or even sit up. He drags himself along

the floor, but has difficulty keeping his head up, so it invariably bangs on the

floor.

 

I wish I had better news to tell you, but the situation is horrendous. Add to

this the many orangutans suffering from malaria, and two on IV, and you

understand why this is a 24/7 job for people like Lone Droscher Nielsen, manager

of the project, and Karmele Llano, the vet. Orangutans arrive at all hours, day

or night, and rescue teams are being sent out the moment a call is received.

 

The rescue team just back this morning with six wild orangutans including two

infants, reported a 30-kilometer stretch of oil palm plantation chock full of

orangutans in immediate need of rescue. It begs the question, how is it that a

country that has signed the Kinshasa Declaration (to take the steps necessary to

prevent the extinction of great apes) continues to allow this to happen and

continues to grant concessions in forest areas with high levels of biodiversity,

as are evidenced by the existence of a flagship species such as the orangutan?

Why is it that the Indonesian government is still considering converting a 1.8

million hectare stretch of forest along the Malaysian border into oil palm,

whilst 25 million hectares of degraded land remain ready for cultivation?

 

Our facility is beyond capacity. Originally designed for 100 orangutans, it

now houses well over 400. We scramble to survey areas to check suitability for

release sites, but these areas are becoming few and far between. We wait for

news whether an application to the government to secure an area for release in

the remote northern region of Central Kalimantan will be granted. And meanwhile,

orangutans who have spent their lives in the wild are confined to cages, waiting

for “permission” to be released. Dozens of orangutans who have quite

successfully gone through the intensive training programme we provide for

ex-captive orangutans, wait at the penultimate stage of the process, on river

islands. They are ready to return to a life in the wild. We could then move more

“trainees” onto the island, freeing up space in quarantine and socialization

cages as well as in the baby school and midway houses.

 

I fear the day will come soon when we will receive a call to rescue an

orangutan, and we have to refuse because we have no more space. The matter is

made even more urgent by the revelation during a recent environmental impact

assessment of an area slated for oil conversion by the Pt Makin Group that the

area has the highest density of orangutans ever reported anywhere, with an

estimated 1600-2000 orangutans at immediate risk. We have no hope of rescuing

them all---the concession must be halted. The international community must

publicly condemn the conversion of the last remaining habitat of the orangutan.

 

Please, won’t you add your voice to help those that have no voice—the

orangutans?

 

Kindest regards,

 

Michelle Desilets

Director

Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation UK

www.savetheorangutan.org.uk

 

 

 

 

 

Michelle Desilets

BOS UK

www.savetheorangutan.org.uk

www.savetheorangutan.info

" Primates Helping Primates "

 

Please sign our petition to rescue over 100 smuggled orangutans in Thailand:

http://www.thePetitionSite.com/takeaction/822035733

 

 

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