Day Four Highlights from the 2014 OC/OVAG Veterinary Workshop

After two orangutans           "found' each other they had twins.  Here the mother holds her babies.
After two orangutans “found’ each other they had twins. Here the mother holds her babies.

by Dr. Raffaella Commitante

Continuing on with our adventures in Jogja at the 2014 OC/OVAG Veterinary Workshop!

After a bit of administrative housekeeping announcements we moved right into husbandry and enrichment.  This year’s focus was on husbandry and welfare issues.  Claire from Chester Zoo and Yenny from the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) gave a joint presentation on specific issues in their respective locations.

The participants then broke apart into groups again to continue to work on various scenarios. This time they were challenged with designing a new enclosure for animals that have special health challenges (blind, arthritic etc.).

One of the groups working on enclosures for un-releasable orangutans wearing our “Winny” designed OC/OVAG shirts for 2014.
One of the groups working on enclosures for un-releasable orangutans wearing our “Winny” designed OC/OVAG shirts for 2014.

We then moved on to some really interesting case studies.  The highlight was about two blind orangutans – a male and a  female “finding” each other – yes, they were in separate enclosures that were close to each other – and the female unexpectedly giving birth to twins!

The proud papa.  See photo of mom and the babies at top.
The proud papa. See photo of mom and the babies at top.

In the afternoon I gave a talk on Wild Animal Welfare which  I think really interested our OVAG  members.  I wanted to be sure that they all understood that this is not an issue targeting Indonesia – but that all countries worldwide struggle with providing proper welfare for animals in their care.

Raff gives her presentation on wild animal welfare.
Raff gives her presentation on wild animal welfare.

 

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Back in 2020, The Orangutan Conservancy funded Borneo Nature Foundation's (BNF) 1,000-meter boardwalk. This boardwalk is 20cm wide, made of Banaus wood, and allows for access for seedling mobilization, planting, and monitoring by the BNF team.
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