The Orangutans’ Return Home

The population of Kalimantan orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) has plummeted by 25 percent in the last 10 years. To fight the worrying trend, the government and nonprofit institutions have initiated a reintroduction program for orangutans. Orangutans confiscated from illegal owners, as well as those in custody for having been in conflict with humans are trained for their release into the wild. The Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation and the Orangutan Foundation in Central Kalimantan are among institutions involved in the initiative. BOS manages an orangutan school in Nyaru Menteng, while the Orangutan Foundation has developed a soft release program at the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve in Palangkaraya, the capital city of Central Kalimantan. Both foundations have released hundreds of orangutans into forests. Early this month, BOS released five orangutans that had completed training at the Samboja Lestari Rehabilitation Center in Kalimantan into the wild. Tempo English reports.