Orangutan Foundation

Category: Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, Lamdandau Vet, Orangutan Foundation Staff, Orangutans, Uncategorized | Date: Nov 02 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

Brian Diary, October 27^th 2009 by Hudi WD

I am pleased to tell you that the adoption process between the female Bornean orangutan, Rosa and the infant orangutan, Brian is going very well.

Brian was confiscated from an oil palm plantation and was taken to the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve where he was introduced to adult female orangutan Rosa (see post A Wild Life). Rosa immediately took to Brian, but Brian was a little bit nervous with the whole process.

Now Brian is looking healthy, really cool and smart! He is very active to move and play inside the adoption cage (Rosa and Brian are in cage just temporarily to help the adoption process).

Some times Brian is swinging in the cage and sometimes he reaches to Rosa if he needs attention from her.

Tigor (the Lamandau Orangutan Reintroduction Manager) said Brian has the real “wild instinct” and he will grow to be a leader. Brian has started to become closer to Rosa and this was shown when Utang (staff from Camp Siswoyo) tried to hold Rosa’s hand, Brian moved and tried to pull Rosa’s hand away. 

He has also started to imitate Rosa’s behaviour. He is very smart and really funny when he moved and copied just like Rosa did.

Dr Fiqri (the Lamandau Orangutan Reintroduction Vet) said the adoption process was in good progress and in approximately 10 to 15 days he hopes Rosa and Brian will be returned to Camp Gemini and living free out of the cage, we hope it will be done as soon as possible.

Thank you,

Hudi WD

Programme Co-ordinator -Orangutan Foundation

Tags: Borneo, forests, Orangutans, vet, Wildlife

One response so far

Category: Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, Lamdandau Vet, Orangutan Foundation Staff, Orangutans | Date: Jun 09 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

On the 19th of May, 2009, the staff of Camp Rusak, Lamandau Wildlife Reserve noticed something funny about one of the orangutans in their area – Lady Di seemed to be dragging her arm, and not using it at all. They were very concerned, particularly since she is still caring for her young infant, and so immediately informed our vet via radio call. When Dr. Fiqri arrived, Lady Di went up to him, as if to say, “I have a broken arm, could you please fix it?” She then clambered voluntarily onto his back for the walk back to the Camp.

Lady Di and her infant in a holding cage, Camp Rusak. Note her left arm hanging down. Photo Orangutan Foundation.

Indeed her left arm was broken, and Dr. Fiqri initially tried to keep the arm in place with plaster.

Lady Di and her infant, Camp Rusak, Lamandau. Photo: Orangutan Foundation

However Lady Di had other plans for the plaster. Dr. Fiqri had a shock when he saw Lady Di later with bits of plasters all over her mouth, thinking that she was foaming at the mouth!

It was clear that they needed to get her arm x-rayed to ascertain the damage. Lady Di was taken into the Pangkalan Bun hospital, x-rayed, and under Dr. Fiqri’s supervision, later had her arm bandaged.

Pak Dian, Camp Rusak Manager (in blue), reassuring Lady Di. Photo:Orangutan Foundation

Lady Di at Pangkalan Bun hospital for an x-ray of her arm. Camp Rusak manager, Pak Dian and camp assistant with her. Photo: Orangutan Foundation

She was then brought back to Camp Rusak, where our staff are keeping an attentive watch on her.

It is likely that she had broken her arm by grabbing a branch that was not strong enough for her weight. Indeed she had some superficial cuts on her forehead that possibly supports this hypothesis. Thankfully, her infant was not harmed in any way, and aside from a broken arm that is well on the mend, Lady Di is doing very well.

Help us to look after these orangutans – please contribute anyway you can via Wildlife Direct. Thank you so much!

June

Programmes Manager

Tags: Borneo, orangutan, vet

3 responses so far

Category: Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, Lamdandau Vet, Orangutans | Date: May 06 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

Below are some photos of Dr Fiqri, our Lamandau vet, receiving the medicines funded by The Gemini Foundation.

Dr Fiqri sorting through the newly received medicines. Our veterinary programme in Lamandau is kindly supported by The Gemini Foundation.

Tags: Borneo, Orangutans, vet

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Category: Guard posts and patrols, Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, Lamdandau Vet, Orangutans, Uncategorized | Date: Apr 14 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

Dr. Fikri, our new vet who works specifically for the released orangutans in Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, put orangutan Zidane on a special weight gain diet last month. We are happy to tell you that Zidane has gained 3 kg and he is getting stronger each day.

Our on-going protection for Lamandau continues with regular patrols, and this month, the patrol team led by Pak Jak (Patrol Manager of Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership) installed billboards on all the Lamandau guard posts to help enforce no-burning in the Reserve. (This short update was sent by June Rubis, who is taking over from Stephen this month)

Matthew K, thanks as always for your monthly donation.

Many thanks,

Cathy - Orangutan Foundation

Tags: Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, orangutan, vet

3 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, Orangutans | Date: Oct 14 2008 | By: orangutanfoundation

Last month we were awarded a grant by the Gemini Foundation to implement a system of veterinary health care for the orangutans released into Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. This will mean recruiting our own vet, which is very exciting.

In Lamandau there is a system of post release monitoring and the orangutans are given supplementary food to help with the transition back to the wild. However, approximately 5 – 6% of all released orangutans are taken back to Orangutan Care Centre & Quarantine at some point, most commonly for small injuries or skin diseases and very rarely for more serious conditions, like Zidane. In common with all orangutan rehabilitation centres the OCCQ is full to capacity so the return of orangutans only puts an extra burden on them. Having a vet in Lamandau will reduce the chance of orangutans returning to the OCCQ, thus minimising potential stress caused to the orangutans as well. Tigor (Lamandau Rehabilitation Camps Manager) and I have finalized the job description and the advert has now gone out. Interviews will begin at the end of the month.

On to less interesting matters, it is report time again. October marks the start of the final quarter for the year; this is the time when we panic about how much or how little money is left over and what is still to be done. The written reports I can handle, it’s the budgets that I struggle with!

I probably share the same expression when I have to tackle Excel! (photo by Sarah Seymour)

Back at University, I remember courses on cell structure and function, zoo-physiology, population genetics, the biology of animal adaptation. I do not remember Accounting 101! What on earth is the meaning of “=SUMIF (’General edger’ !$C$49:$C$115,C72, ‘ General Ledger’!$F$49:$F$115)”?

I love the two photos in this post, courtesy of Sarah Seymour. While the orangutans are undoubtedly cuter, their facial expressions remind me of mine as I look at those Excel spreadsheets.

Tags: Indonesian Borneo, orangutan, orangutan release site, vet

2 responses so far