Orang Utan Island Leads The Way for Orang Utan Conservation

By Ali Imran Mohd Noordin TAIPING (Perak,Malaysia), Aug 3 (Bernama) -- Orang Utan, the rare species of great apes currently found only in the rainforests of East Malaysia and Indonesia, have found a safe haven in the Orang Utan Island (OUI), the first and only such privately funded Orang Utan conservation centre on the Malaysian Peninsula. Founded in February 1999, the 15-hectare island, formerly known as Pulau Panjang, is a part of the Bukit Merah Laketown Resort on Tasik Merah and is currently home to 22 Orang Utan, including the 17 that were born on the island. Since its inception, the island has been the centre for Orang Utan research, breeding, rehabilitation, education and conservation. It is the brainchild of Emkay Group chairman and founder Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar, who also owns the resort. "I am just performing my duty as the ‘khalifah’(vicegrant) of Allah. This includes saving the Orang Utan from extinction. The time has come where all parties in the country have to come together to save this unique creature", Mustapha said. Of the RM7 million (US$2.23 million) spent on the programme till date, RM6 million (US$1.91 million) came from Mustapha’s own pocket and the remaining RM1 million (US$318,976.43) came from Emkay Foundation. Starting with three Orang Utan, OUI is now a well established ex-situ or offsite conservation centre for this species, whose numbers continue to dwindle because of loss of forest cover, habitat fragmentation, hunting and pet trade and are currently pegged at fewer than 15,000. Dr Sabapathy Dharmalingam, who started off at the resort as a veterinary officer and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Bukit Merah OUI Foundation (BMOUIF), said the OUI had been able to establish many facilities for the conservation process due to Mustapha’s encouragement. These include the Orang Utan Infant Care Unit (ICU), which was set up in 2004 with basic facilities such as a holding enclosure, a baby cot, veterinary instruments and a staff of one nurse. The ICU has been upgraded in stages, and since 2008 has been offering round the clock monitoring and execution of nutritional diet plans for Orang Utan infants. The glass walled ICU allows visitors to take a peek at Orang Utan infants being fed, playing and being taught. "We want to further improve the facilities here by setting up a full fledged research center, as well as getting new equipment like an X-Ray machine and a screen microscope", said Dr Sabapathy. NOT UNLIKE HUMANS As with humans, many times complications also occur during an Orang Utan’s birth. "The ICU plays an important role in ensuring that each birth occurs safely and, more importantly, the mother and infant are taken care of afterwards", Dr Sabapathy said. Some of the complications that can occur at the infant stage include premature birth, low birth weight and umbilical cord infections. "This is the most critical stage. We monitor every parameter to ensure everything goes right", he added. Further, chronic diarrhea, upper respiratory tract infection and other serious health issues have been identified as some of the threats that Orang Utan babies face during infancy. Dr Sabapathy pointed out that infants found with medical complications were taken care of at the ICU until they are ready to return to their mother, and the healthy ones remained with their mothers in the infant-mother exhibit release area. However, close monitoring has helped the centre in reducing its Orang Utan infant mortality rate to five percent from 60 per cent. All Orang Utan babies are categorised as infants till they are one year old. BJ ISLAND IS FREEDOM ISLAND The evolution of Orang Utan Island is based on a five-prong strategy – which includes conservation, breeding, rehabilitation, research and the promotion of educational programmes focused on the Orang Utan. A pristine 5.6-hectare natural habitat, called the BJ Island, serves as the facilitator of the programme’s sixth stage, which is preparing the Orang Utan to be released into the wild. Since February 2011, three Orang Utan have been released on to this island in order to familiarise themselves with a real jungle environment before being released into the actual wild. It has been observed that with adequate preparation, Orang Utan bred in captivity can adapt to a new environment by applying their acquired skills. EDUCATION AND AWARENESS The OUI, which gets its share of regular visitors, has also become a preferred destination for academic institutions conducting educational, awareness and training programmes relating to these great apes. Academic institutions, including primary and secondary schools, universities including Kyoto University of Japan and University of Victoria of Canada, have chosen OUI as their preferred destination to study the Orang Utan. The island has been designed in such a way so as to allow visitors and researchers to learn and follow the different stages of the Orang Utan rehabilitation programme, in order to help the better understanding of this mammal. An interesting feature includes a 200-meter secure tunnel within the open exhibit area where visitors can see Orang Utans swinging freely from tree to tree, unlike most animal parks where visitors only see Orang Utan within enclosures. The tunnel is also equipped with observation areas complete with tables and chairs for researchers. BOOK ON ORANG UTAN The BMOUIF has recently published a book entitled "The Orangutans of Bukit Merah", which brings together the experiences of running the 12-year old conservation programme. The 112-page book includes colourful illustrations and covers various subjects such as understanding the Orang Utan, the OUI, as well as the journey of preparing the national icon to return to the wild. The foundation hopes that the publication will encourage those who are interested in the welfare of the Orang Utan and their rehabilitation, as well as those interested in their treatment, care and breeding. BMOUIF has also opened its doors to donors and is seeking contributions to help keep its conservation programme running. Interested parties can contribute or purchase the recently launched book on the Orang Utan or can contact the foundation by telephone at 03-77107066 or fax at 03-77103966. -- BERNAMA