Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation UK News from the Field

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends of the Orangutan,

Please see below the latest news from the BOS Nyaru Menteng Orangutan

Reintroduction Project.

Kind regards,

 

Michelle Desilets

Director

Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation UK

 

Wooden Crates

 

21st June 2006

Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project

 

Moments ago, a small wooden crate was delivered to the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan

Reintroduction Project. Hundreds of similar crates have come through the gates

of the project since it opened in 1999. Nothing remarkable in that—some carry

fruit, others carry vegetables. But most, sadly, carry infant orangutans.

 

The crate that arrived today was half the size of a fruit crate, and

inexpertly constructed. The slits between the planks were too narrow to see

through into the crate, and no noise came from within. The staff quickly pried

off one of the planks, and the baby orangutan emerged, wide-eyed and screaming

with terror. How was he to know he was finally in safe hands? The last human

hands he had seen had killed his mother in front of his eyes, pulled him and his

grasping hands from her body, and shut him up in this dark, airless box.

 

******************

Sometimes, when I sit down to try to write what is happening here in Borneo to

the orangutans, what we experience at the project, keeping supporters updated,

trying to tell the world what we are dealing with…sometimes I have no idea what

to write. How many times can I tell you that traumatized orphan orangutans are

coming to us in wooden crates? That hundreds if not thousands are dying in the

palm oil plantations, and that if we are lucky we will rescue a few hundred this

year before it is too late? Here’s another orangutan with machete wounds…here’s

another one blinded…here’s another one starving to death…. How many of the

readers of my updates will be exasperated with the same tales told over and

over, and decide that it is no longer interesting? Will this be the message they

delete and follow with a “please me” message?

 

I can tell you that sometimes we, here at the project, would very much like to

“” ourselves. But we can’t. After all, to us, each of these repeated

tales represents another individual, deserving of all the help we can give. And

as long as the wooden crates keep coming in, we will keep opening them and

reaching out to the orangutans.

 

*************

 

We are into the second week of the second shoot of Orangutan Diary for the

BBC. Fortunately, there has been some good news for the film crew to report on.

The virus that had affected so many of our orangutans is now totally eradicated.

All the infants in nursery are healthy and happily learning to climb out in the

forest. Aming not only came off the oxygen and got better, he graduated to

Forest School One! Ellie has come out of her shell and is very confident now to

climb very high in the trees. Grendon had had a little tummy trouble, but is

now almost fully recovered. Lomon remains the biggest success story. He is very

happy to be out in the forest, and there he eats, and eats, and eats. The film

crew is becoming quite exasperated with him, because this is all he does. His

belly is as round and full as an orangutan belly can be, and still he eats more.

In the short breaks he takes from eating, he lies back on the ground and stares

up into the sky, looking for all the

world like a hairy bowling ball with arms and legs. He does not climb very much

at all, despite a lot of encouragement. We build nests partway up the trees and

plop him in there. He sits there for just under a minute and then makes his way

back down to the ground. For the late afternoon play sessions on the lawn, Lomon

was separated from the more boisterous, larger orangutans and instead placed

with the gentlest smaller orangutans in another part of the project. But time

and time again, he would make his way to the lawn with the bigger orangutans,

weaving in and out of them like an American football player trying to make a

touchdown, to the feeding area (what else?) We no longer separate him, and he is

not afraid of other orangutans any more. If they dare to give him a hard time,

he just pushes them away. He is still very much a loner, and will sit in the

same spot in the feeding area sometimes until well after all the food has gone.

But every now and then, he does

have a little roll around with one of the gentler orangutans.

 

Today, we taught Lomon’s group to find honey. Or, should I say, we tried to.

We poured the honey into holes in a tree trunk and modelled extracting it with a

stick. Kesi and Vanilla were most interested in the lesson, and watched

intently, but when it came time for them to use the stick they preferred to

purse their lips over the holes and suck out the honey. Lomon was not at all

impressed…it turns out that the one thing that Lomon won’t eat is honey!

 

We have made several journeys into the heart of darkness, otherwise known as

Forest School Two. The swamp there is still very deep and very muddy, and the

orangutans will oblige you by putting more mud on you, just for good measure.

While the film crew climbed trees and tried to avoid orangutans set on

destroying expensive equipment, I was left below to mind the additional

equipment and fend off any sticky fingered orangutans on the ground. No easy

task, I tell you.

 

Deri and Unjung have been moved to Palas Island, and it is likely that Labin

will soon join them. If the water is low enough at Bangamat Island in the next

week or so, Zorro, Tomboy and Hercules will be moved there.

 

At the same time, we have filmed several wild orangutans that have been

rescued. In one day, we had 5 wild orangutans brought in—3 infants and one

starving mother and infant. I am certain that if we hadn’t rescued this mother

and infant, both would have died within the next day or two. Now that they are

here, they are eating heartily and regaining strength. Three days later, it was

déjà vu—another 3 infants and one starving mother and infant were brought in.

Late last night, an adult female weighing just 15 kg was brought in from the

palm oil plantations. She had been brutally beaten with wooden planks about the

head. She is conscious, but severely concussed, and just sits hunched over in

silence. We will do what we can for her, but we are aware that she probably

won’t make it.

We have also had a number of confiscations…mostly infant orangutans, none in

great shape, but thankfully, none in critical condition either. One of the

confiscations was a baby whose mother had been killed just 4 days earlier.

 

Tonight, we are waiting on a confiscated baby to arrive, as well as three

rescued orangutans. First thing in the morning, they will set out again on

rescues. And so the work continues….

 

Post script: Amazing news! Just as I was closing this piece, the vet rushed

in to say that one of the orangutans was having her baby! We were unsure when

Aluh would give birth, so it came as a bit of a surprise. Everything went very

smoothly, and Aluh took to her new baby daughter immediately, delicately

cradling it and cleaning it. In no time, she put it to her breast to suckle.

Witnessing an orangutan birth is an extremely rare event, and in this case, the

entire birth was recorded by the BBC Orangutan Diary film crew.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

Messenger - with free PC-PC calling and photo sharing.