Earlier in 2017 BOS Foundation launched their #OrangutanFreedom Campaign, and today we are able to bring you another amazing update from this fantastic campaign. Today 7 more orangutans will be released into the Kehje Sewan Forest in Borneo, and here is an introduction to the 7 apes!
Abel
Abel is an adult female orangutan who is around the age of 21. Her story at Samboja began when she was just four years old after a villager handed her over claiming she had encroached on his farmland. When she arrived at the sanctuary Abel was still exhibiting wild behaviours, which whilst this bode well for her eventual release, it did mean that she could not join forest school as she was in the habit of running away!
On October the 6th, 2010 Abel gave birth to Alejandro, and because she displayed such great maternal instinct from the get go both her and her new infant were moved to a special mother and child island. Up until the day of release Abel was still avoiding interactions with humans and she is now ready to head off into the wild with her son!
Alejandro
As mentioned above, Alejandro was born back in 2010 and he has since grown into a happy and healthy young orangutan. Life has not always been simple for Alejandro as he had difficulty nursing for the first few days after his birth, but thankfully under his mother’s careful supervision he has developed into a strong, albeit shy young ape.
Imut
Imut is another adult female orangutan and she shares a similar story to Abel. Imut was handed over to the sanctuary back in 2000 when she was thought to be around 2 years old. She arrived in a very poor condition and needed immediate medical attention. Imut was suffering from diarrhoea, a worm infection and suspected pneumonia, but fortunately thanks to the quick work from the sanctuaries veterinarians such was soon on the mend.
On March 3rd 2010 Imut gave birth to a baby boy named Ical, but she did not take to motherhood as smoothly as Abel did. For the first 8 days she rejected her new son, but after an adjustment period she accepted him and they have been very close ever since. Imut’s reaction to giving birth can be common amongst rehabilitated female orangutans as they are often taken away from their own mothers at a very young age, leaving them with no real sense of how to properly raise a young orangutan.
Ical
Son of Imut, Ical has grown into a very mischievous young orangutan during his 7 years at the sanctuary. He is a fearless young ape and he is not easily intimidated by anyone or anything. Ical has displayed a dislike towards humans, which is something that is very much encouraged in the orangutans at Samboja as it means they will be much less likely to come into contact with humans upon their release. It is hoped that with guidance from his mother, Ical will live out a long and exciting life in the wilds of Borneo.
Belinda
Belinda was rescued in the Sebulu region in 1998, and at the time this two year old was still displaying wild behaviours. She has continued to do so throughout her time at Samboja and she has grown into a very independent orangutan that has good forest skills, as is proven by her ability to hide from all of the technicians at the project site!
Maureen
Maureen is the youngest of the female orangutans being released today, and this 6 year old orangutan has already been through a lot in life. In 2015 Maureen had to be separated from her mother Marlies as the older orangutan was suffering from an infectious bacterial disease called melioidosis. Fortunately though, in the time that has passed since then this young ape has formed a close bond with Abel and Belinda, the two adult females who live on the same pre-release island.
Maureen is a very independent young orangutan who tends to avoid contact with the technicians, and this is a good sign that she will thrive and stay away from humans upon her release.
Kumar
Kumar is a large flanged male orangutan who came to Samboja Lestari back in 1998 when he was just four years old. He was rescued from a coal mining area of Sangatta and when he was rescued he was still displaying wild behaviours. Kumar tends to avoid human contact and the forest skills he has developed whilst at Samboja will help him to flourish in the wild.
Pay close attention to our blog and Facebook page for an update on how the release goes, but please bear with us as it can be a little difficult to get updates from the middle of the jungle! As soon as we hear news from the in country team we will pass it on to you, but until check out the Samboja page to see the amazing work that has gone on there.
