Peni, Orangutan Sebatangkara Released in the Forest
VIVAnews – Peni, an 8-year-old orangutan released to the protected forest of Mount Tarak, Nanga Tayap District, Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan Province. He was released by a group of residents of Pangkalan Jihing Village, Pangkalan Teluk Village, Nanga Tayap District, Ketapang Regency.
A resident of Pangkalan Jiling, Mitro, was stunned and had difficulty carrying Peni. Sunday morning, October 5, 2014 he and other residents rushed to take Peni to the middle of the forest of Mount Tarak.
“Medan is heavy to carry one of these orangutans. The weight of this orangutan may be tens of kilograms. If the cage weighs 49 kilograms,” Mitro said to VIVAnews, in the protected forest area of Mount Tarak.
He admitted that he had been a picnic for 4 years to deliver orangutans to the middle of the forest to be returned to their habitat. “It has been 4 years since the evacuation has taken the orangutans into the forest to be released,” he said.
The terrain is heavy. High rise. It took 8 people to bring orangutans. Medan will be more difficult if it rains, because the road will turn out to be very slippery. I am paid Rp170 thousand to bring the orangutan’s cage and orangutans, “he said.
The Executive Director of the International Animal Rescue Foundation (IAR) Indonesia, Karmele Liano Sanchez, stated that the release of one individual orangutan in the protected forest of Gunung Tarak was already 8 years old.
“This orangutan is named Peni. “I was 4 years old when he entered in 2010 rehabilitated at IAR,” Karmele said.
Peni is an orangutan, after the mother was killed in 2010. Peni’s name was taken because he was found in the Peniraman area, Pontianak Regency.
The Tragic Story of Peni
Karmele, telling Peni has a pretty tragic story. In 2010, Peni and its mother suddenly entered a residential area.
“Residents there panicked. They arrested the mother and child. There were many residents of the rami catching Peni and their mother. Because the mother was an adult, these orangutans were put into a pond, submerged in water,” he said.
After being submerged, the orangutan’s mother is weak and then dies. While Peni suffered severe trauma. Then, the IAR team took him to a rehabilitation center.
“These orangutans are like humans. How Peni looks at their mother is killed. Peni depression. He doesn’t want to eat,” he said.
Since the tragic incident, Peni’s wild behavior has diminished. “But, we hope to be able to return to the wild forest being released,” said the woman born in Bilbao, Spain.
According to Karmele, the orangutan entered the settlement because of the existence of oil palm plantations which began to penetrate protected forest areas.
“There are lots of forest encroachers. You can prove yourself in the real situation. This problem is very complex, because there is money and business.” he said.
Karmele hopes that other orangutans in the IAR rehabilitation center can return to the wild. Because orangutans cannot stay in rehabilitation for long. Because the wild nature will decrease.
Karmele added, there are currently dozens of Orangutans in the rehabilitation center of the IAR Foundation in Ketapang Regency. “There are 70 orangutans. Later everything will be released, “he said.
According to the IAR Foundation Orangutan Survey team, Busran, Peni will be monitored for 6 months after being released into the wild. The supervision will be carried out every day. From 4:00 to 17:30.
Before being released into the wild, Peni must go through a selection process. The orangutans that are released are those who can be independent.
Source: VIVA News
