by Apriadi Gunawan for The Jakarta Post
The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP) is working hard to build an “Orangutan Haven” in North Sumatra to accommodate disabled orangutans and orangutans that cannot be released to their natural habitat.
Beginning construction four years ago with a US$2 million budget, the 48-hectare facility in Sibolangit, Deli Serdang regency, is expected to be ready by early 2019 to give long-term protection and provide improved living conditions for the disabled and unreleasable arboreal mammals.
“We have so far spent $1.2 million to develop this Orangutan Haven, including for acquiring the 48 hectares of land,” SOCP director Ian Singleton told the Jakarta Post on Monday.
Five orangutans, including a female, will be placed in the facility, which will be open for public visits. The five are: Leuser, 18, Lewis, 19, Krismon, 18, Fazrin, 17, and Dek Nong, 16. All
are currently placed in the SOCP’s quarantine center in Sibolangit.
“All five will be placed in the Orangutan Haven by the end of 2018,” Singleton said.
The five, Singleton added, could not be released to their natural habitat as they no longer have the ability to survive in the wild, posing a risk to themselves as well as other populations.
“Of the 360 orangutan individuals we quarantined in the last 17 years, only five cannot be released to their natural habitat,” said Singleton.
To date, more than 270 orangutans have been released into different rainforests in Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in Jambi and the Jantho area in Aceh.
Nine artificial islands measuring between 600 and 800 square meters are being prepared by the SOCP in the Orangutan Haven, which, according to Singleton, is the first such facility in the world.
This excerpt from a news article appeared in and is courtesy of The Jakarta Post.
The Orangutan Conservancy was one of the first organizations to support Orangutan Haven, and we continue to do so as this important project moves closer to completion. To see more about Orangutan Haven click on our film “Toward Tomorrow With the Orangutan Conservancy” above.
