Orangutan Foundation

Category: Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, Lamdandau Vet, Orangutan Foundation Staff, Orangutans, Rehabilitation, Uncategorized | Date: Apr 07 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

Newman the orangutan was released at Camp Siswoyo however he currently prefers to hang around at a different camp in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, Camp Gemini.

Newman - Bornean orangutan

Newman is quite a “naughty” orangutan and camp staff have to be on their guard, especially around the door to the food supply. One morning Newman tried to open a closed door so the camp staff have affectionally nicknamed him “Kutu Camp” (in Indonesian ‘kutu’ means a fan or something you really like) for all his antics.

Currently every night, Newman sleeps around Camp Gemini, and early in the morning, he ambles after the staff for feeding. He knows that he’ll not get fed in camp, only at the feeding site. After the feeding, instead of heading off like the other orangutans, Newman then follows the staff back to camp to continue his daily routine, which includes annoying the camp staff! This is a light hearted story about one of the orangutans I have encountered so far, I hope to bring you some more soon.

Thank you,

Dr Fikri - Lamdandau Vet

Tags: Borneo, orangutan, Rehabilitation

4 responses so far

Category: Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, Lamdandau Vet, Orangutan Foundation Staff, Orangutans, Rehabilitation, Uncategorized | Date: Mar 10 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

On Sunday we were back at Camp Buluh, one of our orangutan release camps in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, where we caught up with the orangutan Zidane. He is still very thin but his hair is coming back and, most importantly, he was bright-eyed and very active.

Zidane - a healthier looking orangutan.

He watched me wash my hands and then sidled over for a drink. A more boisterous orangutan (like Barita who was watching from a distance) would have tried to snatch the bucket himself but not Zidane, he waited for the water to be scooped out and poured into his mouth.

Zidane (orangutan) and Stephen.

Barita - the more bositerous orangutan.

Sheryl asked what was involved in a “weight-gain” diet. Because Zidane readily drinks milk, Dr. Fikri has bought a supply of high-protein/high-carbohydrate formula. On top of that, the staff are making sure he eats whenever he wants to and so carry extra rations just for him. The trick is in balancing the amount of nutritious formula he receives against giving him too much, which will end up acting as an appetite suppressant. It is important that he keeps on eating.

If you can help us purchase digital cameras for Mr Tigor (Orangutan Reintroduction Programme Manager) and Dr Fikri (new Lamandau vet) we would be most grateful. I simply can not get into Lamandau often enough to monitor Zidane and the other orangutans’ progress but, like I am sure you do to, I am keen to see how they are getting on.

Many thanks,

Stephen

Zidane watching as we leave. All photos by Astri Siregar

Tags: Borneo, orangutan, Rehabilitation

5 responses so far

Category: Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, Lamdandau Vet, Orangutan Care Centre & Quarantine, Orangutan Foundation Staff, Orangutans, Uncategorized | Date: Mar 03 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

Please meet Dr. Fikri, our new vet, for the orangutans in Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.

Mr Tigor our Orangutan Reintroduction Programme Manager, is on the left (reluctant to stand still and smile!) and Dr Fikri is on the right.

Dr Fikri is a graduate from the prestigious Bogor Agricultural Institute, Indonesia and, as part of his work experience, spent six months at the Orangutan Care Centre & Quarantine in 2004. His last job was vaccinating poultry against bird flu. While he felt it was a necessary task (the bird flu epidemic continues here) he says he could not wait to get back to wildlife work.

Dr Fikri’s clinic in Lamandau.

Accomodation

With funding from the Gemini Foundation we have established a small clinic and accomodation for him at Camp Gemini (again, generously funded by the Gemini Foundation), which is the most central of our five release camps, and we are in the process of acquiring all the necessary anaesthetics and other veterinary medicines. In the meantime, Fikri is being busy getting to know the orangutans. He has put Zidane on a special weight-gain diet. Zidane’s starting weight is 28kg and we’ll let you know as he improves.

I do have a request for you though. Please could you help us raise $250 - $300 that we need to buy two robust digital cameras? Tigor and Fikri require them for identifying orangutans and taking case photos. They promise to post their pictures on Wildlife Direct!

Here’s a sample of mine from my day out with them yesterday. I have no doubt Tigor and Fikri’s pictures would be better!

Thank you.

Gorzitze, an orangutan in Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.

Released orangutan, Queen and her infant in Lamandau.

Tags: Borneo, Orangutans, Rehabilitation, vet

4 responses so far

Category: Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, Orangutan Foundation Staff, Rehabilitation, Uncategorized | Date: Feb 18 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

Having told you about Zidane, I thought you might be interested to learn a little about the people who are looking after him day to day. He and twelve other orangutans live around Camp Buluh which is supported by the Australian Orangutan Project and is one of six orangutan release camps the Orangutan Foundation operates in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. Six people are employed there; five field assistants and a cook. Their daily duties at Camp include preparing food and feeding the orangutans twice a day, monitoring the orangutans, keeping records, clearing trails, clearing the river and other camp tasks.

Camp Buluh, like all the other Camps, comprises a kitchen and dining hall, sleeping block and toilet/washroom. Unlike the other camps though, Camp Buluh is totally surrounded by swamps. There is no dry ground anywhere near by. This does make following the orangutans difficult and especially so last year when there was no noticeable dry-season. Water levels varied from knee to waist deep for most of the year!

The team at Camp Buluh

The Field Assistants generally spend 26 days at a time at Camp. Back in November (Bringing the office to our orangutan release camps) all the staff were enrolled in the Government’s Health Insurance scheme which provides cover to both them and their families.

Huge thanks to the Camp Buluh team who do a fantastic job.

Tags: Borneo, Orangutans, Rehabilitation

One response so far

Category: Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, Orangutan Care Centre & Quarantine, Orangutans, Uncategorized | Date: Feb 16 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

I am very pleased to be able to tell you that Zidane was re-release at Camp Buluh, in Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, on 19 January. His recovery is down to the excellent care (which included two blood transfusions) he received from the Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine facility.

Zidane - male orangutan re-released into Lamandau

Though Zidane appears happy to be back in the forest, he is being monitored very closely as he is still perilously thin. We obviously want to do all in our power to ensure he spends the rest of his life in the forest and so our new vet, Dr Fikri, has been tasked to develop a special dietary regime for him to ensure he gains weight. We’ll keep you updated on his progress.

Tags: Borneo, orangutan, Rehabilitation

2 responses so far

Category: Guard posts and patrols, Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, Orangutan Care Centre & Quarantine, Orangutans, Rehabilitation, Uncategorized | Date: Feb 12 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

Camp Buluh is one of six orangutan release camps in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. Since September 2006, 13 ex-captive orangutans have been reintroduced at Camp Buluh and three wild orangutans have been translocated from vulnerable situations outside the reserve.

Omang, one of the ex-captive adolescent male orangutans, seen regularly around Camp Buluh.

After the incident with Zidane (an update to follow soon) an orangutan holding cage has been built at Camp Buluh. This is necessary to allow the care and treatment of orangutans in Lamandau.

Camp Buluh and the orangutan holding cage.

The future for the orangutans in Lamandau looks encouraging. The Forestry Department’s involvement has increased and the reserve’s protection has been strengthened. The new guard post, called “Bird Lake Post” that was constructed to prevent access to into the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve via the Buluh River became operational at the end of December. In 2008, only 3 cases of illegal logging were discovered, all outside of the reserve border. This is down from 2007 when 12 cases were identified in and around the reserve.

Map showing Camp Buluh and the guard posts in Lamandau Wildlife Reserve

We are extremely grateful to the Australian Orangutan Project for their continued support in Lamandau.

Tags: Borneo, orangutan, Rehabilitation

2 responses so far

Category: Orangutans, Uncategorized | Date: Feb 06 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

Stephen’s just emailed to say that today he’s heading to Camp Buluh, one of the five orangutan release camps, in Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. Hopefully early next week he should have some interesting stories to share. I think he’s relieved to be out of the office and back to the forest!

Thank you Matthew K for your most recent donation we really appreciate your ongoing support. People might also be interested to know that Orangutan Foundation 2009 calendars are going half price at £4.50. They are full of beautiful photos of the orangutans of Tanjung Puting National Park. To purchase a calendar please visit Orangutan Foundation online shop

For those of you wishing to make your calendar that extra bit special then how about bidding for a unique 2009 calendar which has been signed by one of our famous supporters, Sir David Attenborough.

The calendar will go to the highest bidder on Wildlife Direct and the auction ends on Friday 13th (!). You can place your bid by leaving a comment with the bid amount on the post entitled “Orangutan Calendar Auction“.

Tags: calendars, Orangutans, Rehabilitation

No responses yet

Category: Orangutan Care Centre & Quarantine, Orangutans, Rehabilitation, Uncategorized | Date: Dec 24 2008 | By: orangutanfoundation

Some months ago one of our readers asked after an orangutan at the Orangutan Care Centre & Quarantine called Roland.

Roland

Roland came to us on 28 July 2004. Today, he is a boisterous 23 kg youngster. I am sorry it has taken me so long to ‘track him down’ but every other time I have been to the Care Centre recently he has been out in the nursery forest.

This week I also caught up with Violet who continues to grow and develop with no hint of her tragic start in life.

Violet with carer

Violet

One of our readers, Mara, who spent some time with us earlier in the year asked me to look out for Maggie, one of her favourite orangutans. Maggie was not an orangutan I knew, but she quickly became one of my favourites too.

Maggie

Zidane (see post A Very Sick Orangutan)was out in the forest. Though he is still very thin he is well on his way to making a complete recovery.

And that ended my ‘orangutan time’ for the year. I am now heading to Australia for Christmas with my family. I would like to thank you all for the support you have given us, and the interest you have shown in our work throughout the year. I wish you all very best for the festive season and every success for 2009. You’ll hear from us again early in the New Year.

Many thanks,

Stephen

Tags: Orangutans, Rehabilitation

6 responses so far

Category: Orangutan Care Centre & Quarantine, Orangutans, Uncategorized | Date: Nov 28 2008 | By: orangutanfoundation

To start with the fun stuff, I was over at the Care Centre today. As always I was saddened by the number of orangutans we have in captivity but I was still amused by some of their antics. Of course, I popped over to see Montana who I thought was looking particularly like King Kong.

A few of the hundreds of orangutans at the Orangutan Care Centre & Quarantine

Montana

Unfortunately, my general mood was less than cheery. I don’t wish to burden you with my whinging but I am really fed up. For the whole of this year the electricity supply here in Pangkalan Bun has been abysmal but this month has been extraordinary. Every second day we suffer a four to five hour black out. Today, we had no electricity from 9 am to 4 pm, hence my trip to the Care Centre. Throw into the mix a truly awful internet connection and you have a recipe for frustration. Last night I had to do emails on a 14kbs dial-up connection.

I promised the UK Office I would be better at writing my blog more regularly. I hope you can understand now why it is not always so easy….

No doubt things will get better so thank you for allowing me to get that off my chest!

Stephen.

- Mara, thank you very much for your $50 donation.

Tags: Borneo, Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine, Rehabilitation

3 responses so far

Category: Guard posts and patrols, Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, Orangutan Care Centre & Quarantine, Orangutans, Other wildlife, Rehabilitation | Date: Oct 10 2008 | By: orangutanfoundation

Bernadette thanks for your interest and yesterday’s question: Is the feeding site to ensure that the released orangutans can get food if they aren’t able to in the wild? I’d like to know more about how the release site will function? Is it a huge enclosure, or is it really the wild?

Rehabilitated orangutans, released into the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, are given supplementary feedings every day. This ensures they maintain their physical condition during the transition period from life at the Orangutan Care Centre & Quarantine (OCCQ) to life in the wild. The feedings also decrease potential competition with wild orangutans and they allow us to monitor the released individuals. Frequently, the only time they are seen is when they come in for food.

Orangutans in Lamandau (sorry the photos are so dark).

As for the question of how wild it is: it is definitely wild. The Lamandau Wildlife Reserve has no fences. It is 760km2 most of which is forested. As you can see from the attached map, our guard posts protect the buffer zone (between the Reserve and the Lamandau River) which adds to the area available to the orangutans.

Just yesterday we counted six species of birds as we ate lunch on the jetty. During the time the volunteers were staying there they saw, red leaf-eating monkeys, proboscis monkeys, pig-tailed macaques (very rarely seen), a mouse deer and some snakes (admittedly the snakes were not so popular!).

They also saw leeches. However, let’s not be too hard on leeches as abundant leeches are a good indicator of a healthy mammal population; after all they do not exist just to prey on you and me. So even the leeches help answer your question. It is wild.

Thanks,

Stephen

Tags: Borneo, Orangutans, Rehabilitation, Wildlife

3 responses so far