An Island of Hope for the Orang Utan

By Ali Imran Mohd Noordin BUKIT MERAH (Perak, Malaysia) April 5 (Bernama) -- Nobody probably foresaw this but the development of the Orang Utan Island (POU) in Bukit Merah in Perak state in the Peninsular west coast 10 years ago into a tourist attraction today offers a new ray of hope for the Orang Utan. Encompassing a 15-hectare area, the island is no longer just a tourist spot but has grown into a centre for research, rehabilitation and breeding to save the Orang Utan from becoming extinct. It also serves as a place where people could visit and learn more about the Orang Utan and the conservation efforts taken to save this endangered species. The project to save these endangered primates, under the auspices of the Orang Utan Bukit Merah Foundation (YPOUBM), is led by the Emkay Group as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme. The conservation efforts began with only three Orang Utan borrowed from the Melaka Zoo, and today the population of the Orang Utan here has increased to 24. As part of its efforts to provide better care and foster greater understanding of these special members of the animal kingdom, YPOUBM recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with its partners as well as officially launched the newly extended visitors' tunnel at the island. TUNNEL FOR VISITORS The visitors tunnel, literally a fully fenced up passage, previously covered a length of 200 metres and provided guests glimpses of the Orang Utan's activities on both sides of the tunnel. Following the extension, it now runs another 200 metres further into the jungle, providing a more generous view of the Orang Utan moving about in their natural habitat. On the island, the Orang Utan get to roam around freely while the people restricted to the tunnel that starts immediately after the entrance lobby for visitors to the island. The tunnel ensures that visitors do not disturb the activities of the Orang Utan while giving them a clear view of the primate's daily living habits. With the longer tunnel, the roaming area for the Orang Utan has also been extended from two hectares to nine hectares now. Observation stations have been built along the extended tunnel to facilitate more research and monitoring activities. With the expansion in roaming areas for the primates and more observation stations, researchers could carry out their work more comfortably and for a longer period of time. The development is to add value to the research being done here and is expected to positively impact the efforts being taken to prevent the extinction of the Orang Utan. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMME The island on the whole has been geared towards creating awareness and providing educational experience for visitors. Right from the first step taken by the visitor and the subsequent tour around the island, various information on the Orang Utan are available. Visitors also get to personally see the way the young Orang Utan learn to adapt to living in the jungle. Watching them as they learn to climb, hang about the trees, jump, and search for food certainly provides an interesting learning experience as well as unforgettable memories. The management of the island has also planted herbal trees covering the entire route of the tunnel have been planted with the aim of providing further educational experience for visitors, especially the younger generation. If that is not enough, the foundation has taken another initiative to set up an education zone towards the end of the tunnel for the benefit of school children and university students. Based along an open learning concept, the set-up consists of a wooden hut without any walls to cater to about 100 students at any one given time and is suited for workshop activities and team exercises. The POU also offers educational programme packages for visitors from all age groups covering their visits, briefings, games, video screenings as well as certificate of participation. SMART PARTNERSHIPS During the recent launch, YPOUBM also signed MoU with two partners, Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Bhd (ANGKASA) and Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) Balik Pulau, Pulau Pinang. Under the deal, all parties agreed to jointly promote the POU as an eco tourist destination through its educational programme. Chairman of YPOUBM's Board of Trustees, Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar, said the foundation was happy to be able to partner with Angkasa and MRSM. "Orang Utan is something iconic for our country, hence we need to get to know and love them. Our main aim in the island is to carry out research that will provide us more knowledge and help prepare all our Orang Utan to be released back into the jungle," he said. Meanwhile, Angkasa's president Professor Dr Mohd Ali Baharum said the programme was in line with Angkasa's 7th principle which is to be a Caring Society. He said the cooperative organisation would also promote the POU programme to its eight million members especially through 24,000 school cooperatives that come under the patronage of Angkasa. Angkasa also intends to take the programme to an international level through the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) network of which it is a member. ICA currently has 96 countries as its members with 26 of them from the Asia Pacific region. Meanwhile, MRSM Balik Pulau's head Khalil Rahman said they would promote the POU educational programme to all the 48 MRSM branches in the country so that they could come and carry out research in the island. SECRETS OF THE ORANG UTAN YPOUBM'S chief executive officer Dr D. Sabapathy said that people were not aware on many of the unique features and behaviour of Orang Utan. This should not be the case considering that the primate is a national treasure and it would be a great loss if Malaysians knew nothing about it. Apart from bearing the closest resemblance to the human form compared with other primate species, it is a highly intelligent creature in terms of survival instincts. One interesting example is that the Orangutan is the only primate that builds large nest each day before going to sleep. The nest, which resembles a cradle, provides protection from other animals and it builds a new nest each day in keeping with its nomadic way of life, Dr Sabapathy said. (photoBERNAMA) -- BERNAMA