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10 Orangutans Imported to Jambi
Jambi - Ten Sumatran orangutans (Pngo abelii) were imported to Jambi to be released at Bukit Tigapuluh national park. ”The release program is aimed to increase the population of Sumatran orangutans which continues to decline due to forest conversion into plantations,” said Manager of Sumatran Orangutan Reintroduction Station from Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), Julius Paolo Siregar, in Jambi on Tuesday (8/6/2010).
The current wild population is estimated to be 6,000 orangutans. There are continuous efforts to confiscate orangutans kept as pets and release them back into the forest.
Julius said, the orangutans left from Batu Mbelin Quarantine Station in Sibolangit, North Sumatra, on Monday (7/6/2010) afternoon and are expected to arrive in Jambi on Wednesday (9/6/2010) morning.
“Transportation uses one truck and is assisted by veterinarians and forest rangers from the North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA). This afternoon the convoy had reached Pekanbaru, Riau,” said Julius.
Once the convoy arrives at Tebo district, Jambi, the orangutans will be moved from the truck to two off-road vehicles. It will take 6 to 8 hours to reach the Orangutan Reintroduction Station.
Meanwhile Dr. Yenny Saraswati of the Quarantine Station said on average the orangutans are 6 years old. “One orangutan is more than 10 years of age. The 10 orangutans consist of 6 females and 4 males,” she said.
Most orangutans were confiscated in Aceh. Virina, a female orangutan was confiscated from a farmer in Kutacane village. The farmer found Virina in a boar-trap he placed in a rice paddy. “You can still see scars from the trap wire on Virina’s neck, but it’s fully healed,” said Yenny.
Source : Kompas