Posted March 26, 2015 in All
The biggest threat facing orangutans is habitat loss and it is vital that we safeguard critical areas of habitat to ensure the future of this species.
On the 13th March, Action for the Wild’s sponsored vet for the Orangutan Foundation was called to action to help with the rescue and translocation of a male orangutan. The male orangutan, now named Raja, had been left stranded by habitat destruction and had resorted to eating oil palm. The oil palm plantation was within an area of fragmented peat swamp forest which would have been the orangutan’s preferred habitat, but which had drastically reduced in size by the conversion to plantation.
The rescue team managed to anaesthetise the male, which is not an easy task in moist peat and scrubland habitat. They carried out a full health check and he appeared to be a mature male, over 25 years old, and in perfect health. As a perfect candidate for immediate release, he was moved to a protected site and released within 48 hours of capture!
