Central Kalimantan BKSDA Releases 4 Orangutans In Bukit Baka National Park

Orangtan release process in Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park (TNBBBR) (ANTARA)

KALTENG - The Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) of Central Kalimantan (Kalteng) released four orangutans into the Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park (TNBBBR) area. This release was also attended by the TNBBBR Center and the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS).

"The four orangutans are the result of the rehabilitation process at the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. They consist of two females and two males," said Head of Central Kalimantan BKSDA Nur Patria Kurniawan in Palangka Raya, Wednesday 18 May.

He said this conservation effort must be supported by everyone. The Central Kalimantan BKSDA is responsible for every systematic effort to rescue, rehabilitate and release orangutans.

"We urge the participation of the community to be actively involved in protecting orangutans and their habitat. Orangutans have a very important role, and this function will be maximized if they live in the forest," he quoted Antara as saying.

Head of TNBBBR Sadtata Nooradirahmanta added that the use of the Hiran Watershed (DAS) for releasing orangutans since 2019 is an effort to maintain the distribution of rehabilitated orangutans. Four natural births have been recorded in TNBBBR since 2016 or since the release of orangutans for the first time.

He said the TNBBBR Center together with the Central Kalimantan BKSDA and in collaboration with the BOS Foundation and other parties have released 186 orangutans since 2016.

"Together with stakeholders, we will continue to strive to maintain the existence of the Bornean orangutan, which has a very important role in maintaining forest quality and ecosystem integrity," he said.

The four orangutans released today have undergone the final stages of the rehabilitation process on a pre-release island in the Salat Island cluster, Pulang Pisau Regency, Central Kalimantan.

This pre-release island is a semi-wild habitat to accommodate orangutans who have completed their rehabilitation phase at Forest School. Here, the orangutans practice all of the previously learned skills to prepare them for survival in the wild.

Head of the BOS Foundation, Jamartin Sihite, said that his party is happy to be able to release orangutans again, who have gone through a long rehabilitation period and are ready to live in the forest as well as commemorate National Awakening Day and Biodiversity Day.

"On this anniversary of National Awakening and Biodiversity, let us commit to addressing the many threats facing wildlife by utilizing natural resources in a sustainable manner," he said.