Rehabilitated orangutans to be released into the wild

Soon the Baktikop forest will have few more inhabitants. According to Willie Smith, founder of BOS (Borneo Orangutan Survival) Foundation (as reported in ANTARA News), the Forestry Ministry will allow for about 200 orangutans to be released to the protected Baktikop forest in early 2007.

The Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Center in Central Kalimantan has been caring for these orangutans since they were seized in Semarang, Yogyakarta, Bandung, and Sukabumi, where many were exploited for entertainment. The success of nursing the orangutans back from poor health and releasing them will open up much needed space at Nyaru Menteng for those in need.

6 thoughts on “Rehabilitated orangutans to be released into the wild”

  1. Have you seen Jeff Corwin’s special on “The Orangutan Freedom Journey”?

    I know his show is catered to the younger crowd but I actually watched it the other day and it was informative. Also his show is not about Orangs in Borneo, rather the ones in Indonesia.

    I liked it because it showed me the extensive care the teams went to rehabilitate Orangs. It was very impressive. I think it is on Season #3 and episode 8. Alternatively, if you are a fan of Orangs, Jeff Corwin or want a video of rehabilitating orangutans, buy the episode on DVD from Amazon.com.

  2. No I haven’t seen “The Orangutan Freedom Journey,” but I am a fan of orangs… I’ll have to check it out.

    Thanks for the tip.

  3. The part of Borneo (Kalimantan) where the BOS orangutans will be released IS within Indonesia… by the way, ‘orang’ just means ‘person’ -‘orangutan’ derives from ‘orang-hutan’ which means ‘person of the forest’.

  4. Oops, thanks for the clarification Hannah. I appreciate the input but I’ve seen and used “orangs” with more than one person who works with these primates and it was not an issue.

    I’m curious as to what you are really trying to point out?

  5. Hi Hannah, Thanks for bringing up the derivation of orangutan. It’s interesting to see different takes on the appropriate usage of the term. In formal settings I’ve typically seen the full word, orangutan(s), while in informal settings I’ve frequently seen (and heard) the simplified version, orang(s). In a very brief database search (PsycINFO), I searched for the use of orang and found a few publications that use it in the title and/or text (not many, but a few that surprised me nonetheless)… a well represented line-up of articles over the years suggesting that it’s not an antiquated term.

    Benham, W. B. (1894). A description of the cerebral convolutions of the Chimpanzee known as “Sally”; with notes on the convolutions of other Chimpanzees and of two Orangs. The Quarterly Jour. of Microscop. Sci. N. S. 145:47-86.

    Fischer, G. J. & Kitchener, S. L. (1965). Comparative learning in gorillas and orang-utans. Journal of Genetic Psychology. 107(2): 337-348.

    Koehler, W. (1993). The mentality of orangs. International Journal of Comparative Psychology. 6(4): 189-229.

    Miller, G. S. Jr. (1931). The primate basis of human sexual behavior. The Quarterly Review of Biology. 6: 379-410.

    Parker, S. T. (1993). Chimpanzees are better at mechanics, but orangs excel at opticsp. International Journal of Comparative Pschology. 6(4): 230-233.

  6. Pingback: When 48 becomes 50: two baby orangutans at Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Center « Primatology.org

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