Nature Alert: Orangutans go to Indonesia

Friday 28 September 2007

Orangutans go to Indonesia

None of these orangutans or, those who were returned earlier, would have gone back to Indonesia without the massive international campaign by Nature Alert. We still believe the Malaysian authorities are witholding illegally held oranguatns in zoos and Safari Parks. Until the contents of a DNA report are made public, we will never know for certain.

A BIG THANKS to all of you who have helped with our campaign.

(Malaysia)Friday September 28, 2007

Orang utans to go to Indonesia
By JASON LIOH

MALACCA: Four orang utans that were found not to be of a species found in Malaysia have been returned to Indonesia. Malacca Zoo director Mohd Nawayai Yasak said the four were from the pongo pygmaeus wurmbii species normally found in the forests of Borneo.
Photo went here

Last moments: Caretaker Mohd Shamsudin Ghazali carrying Dodi and Linda in Malacca yesterday. Mohd Shamsudin had taken care of the two orang utans for the past seven years, but Dodi and Linda, along with two other orang utans, were scheduled to fly to Jakarta today.

He said the origins of the four, named Mamat, Minah, Dodi and Linda, was discovered after the Wildlife Protection and National Parks Department carried out DNA tests on all 60 orang utans in the country, including in zoos and theme parks. “It was found that these four orang utans were different from the other species. There were no details of how they were acquired,” Nawayai said.

He said Dodi and Linda have been in the Malacca Zoo for the past five years while Mamat and Minah were seized from a theme park for not having the necessary permits 10 days ago.

Malaysia is a member of the Convention of International Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES).

CITES requires an animal to be sent back to its country of origin if it does not have proper import certification and cannot be established how it was brought into the country. Nawayai said the orang utans would be handed over to the Indonesian Forestry Department. They are scheduled to fly to Jakarta from KL International Airport today and would go through a rehabilitation programme before being sent to Kalimantan.

Photo and article credit/thanks Nation newspaper, Malaysia

Hall of Shame for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Palm Oil Industry.

Nothing can prepare one for the sight of the systematic extermination of orangutans by the government of Indonesia.

Look at the photos and news articles on these pages in the context of a statement the President made to the media on 10th December 2007.

“In the last 35 years about 50,000 orangutans are estimated to have been lost as their habitats shrank. If this continues, this majestic creature will likely face extinction by 2050,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the launch of an orangutan conservation plan at the climate talks in Bali.

“The fate of the orangutan is a subject that goes to the heart of sustainable forests … To save the orangutan we have to save the forest.”

Statements like these are most welcome, but unless backed up by action, such words fall on deaf ears within the Ministry of Forestry....who are busy granting licences to cut down the very forests the President says they should protect!

When you think you are to busy to help, please could you reflect for a moment on .........

The following extract refers to environmental problems in general. I just hope you find it as thought provoking and relevant to orangutans as I have.

"This is such a shocking and unpalatable fact that most people deny it, or they just don't want to think about it. They believe as individuals, they can do little about it, so push it to the back of their minds. But I can't do that.

When something has to be done, we need to do it. It doesn't matter how big the challenge is or how hard the solution; if I know something is wrong, and I am in a position to help, I will do my best to make it right." Duncan Bannatyne, successful British businessman.