BORNEO ORANGUTAN REINTRODUCTION PROGRAM
SAMBOJA LESTARI, EAST KALIMANTAN
The BOS Foundation has rescued hundreds of orangutans in East Kalimantan and currently cares for and supports over 164 orangutans at Samboja Lestari.
SAMBOJA LESTARI, EAST KALIMANTAN
The BOS Foundation has rescued hundreds of orangutans in East Kalimantan and currently cares for and supports over 164 orangutans at Samboja Lestari.
The East Kalimantan Orangutan Reintroduction Program at Samboja Lestari was the first orangutan reintroduction program established by the Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation in 1991, specifically to provide care and rehabilitation for displaced or orphaned orangutans rescued from areas of habitat loss.
Formally known as Wanariset, the project was relocated in 2006, due to insufficient space and was renamed Samboja Lestari. The program is currently located about 38 kilometers from Balikpapan, in East Kalimantan and we work in collaboration with the East Kalimantan Conservation and Natural Resources Authority (BKSDA), an executive technical unit of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The land at Samboja Lestari is owned by the BOS Foundation and is the location of our forest rehabilitation program. Our main activities at Samboja Lestari include orangutan rescue, translocation of orangutans from areas of conflict to areas of secure and protected habitat, the provision of welfare and healthcare, rehabilitation, reintroduction and forest restoration activities. In addition to orangutan rehabilitation and reintroduction, we manage sun bear sanctuary at Samboja Lestari, with around 50 sun bears currently under in our care. Conservation of habitat and wildlife can only be achieved by working together with local communities and other stakeholders, hence in all areas of our work we engage with local communities and schools on community development activities and outreach conservation education.
Orangutans that have been displaced from areas of natural habitat due to human development activities causing widespread habitat loss, are often forced to range long distances in search of food. Often they wander into oil palm plantations or community gardens as they simply have no other alternative. Together with BKSDA, we rescue orangutans from these situations and if healthy, can immediately release them to areas of safe, secure natural habitat. This practice is commonly known as translocation. In situations where an orangutan has suffered injury or illness, we provide dedicated healthcare to ensure their recovery for future translocation or later reintroduction.
The BOS Foundation manages two reintroduction programs; Nyaru Menteng in Central Kalimantan and Samboja Lestari in East Kalimantan. Both of these programs focus on rehabilitation and reintroduction activities in line with national and international (IUCN) guidelines and criteria. When an infant orangutan is taken away from its mother, he or she loses a whole life time of early learning. Therefore, the purpose of rehabilitation is to equip orphaned orangutans with the skills they need to survive once they are old enough to be reintroduced to the forest.
REHABILITATION PROCESS
Each orangutan arriving at one of our reintroduction programs goes through routine quarantine procedures and health checks (physcial and psychological). This is very important as many rescued orangutans have been exposed to human diseases which they would not normally encounter in the wild.
The majority of the orangutans who enter our facilities are still very young, so in need of orangutan-peer interaction and daily lessons on forest survival. During rehabilitation, orangutans are taught and encouraged to build nests, select appropriate natural foods and recognise natural predators. This process starts in ‘Baby School’ and progresses through different levels of ‘Forest School’, where each day is spent in the forest learning new skills. Skills aquired by each individual are assessed before moving them up through the levels. Orangutans then progress to a Healthy Quarantine or to Forest School Level 3, which is a halfway forest for the final stage of rehabilitation. Dependent on the age and existing skills each orangutan has, rehabilitation can take up to 7 years.
Our overriding goal is to reintroduce orangutans back to secure natural habitat to establish new viable long-term populations to bolster conservation of the species in the wild. Run by RHOI (Indonesian Orangutan Habitat Restoration), a company established by the BOS Foundation for the purpose of obtaining Ecosystem Restoration Concessions, the forest areas we have secured for our reintroduction program in East Kalimantan are established with camps, equipment and trained personnel to ensure that our Orangutan Field Monitoring Programs are able to continuously monitor each orangutan’s adaptation to their natural habitat. This involves a great deal of ongoing logistical support, planning and is very costly. You can support our Release Programs through your donations.
Very sadly some of our orangutans can never be returned to the wild due to illness or injury. Our dedicated team continues to provide welfare and healthcare to these individuals, which they will need for the rest of their lives. An orangutan can live for 50 years in captivity and we will ensure that we continue to provide them with the highest level of long-term care and sanctuary.
BOS FOUNDATION HEAD OFFICE :
Jl. Kumbang No.31 BOGOR 16128 West Java, Indonesia
EMAIL : bos_komunikasi@orangutan.or.id
PHONE : +62 251 831 4468 / +62 251 831 4469