Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation Funds River Island Sanctuary

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29 DECEMBER 2003

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

 

BORNEO ORANGUTAN SURVIVAL FOUNDATION UK FUNDS RAINFOREST ISLAND SANCTUARY

 

 

Aylesbury, UK/ Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

 

 

Funding to acquire a pristine river island to house up to 25 orphaned orangutans

is being provided by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation UK (formerly known

as the Balikpapan Orangutan Survival Foundation UK). The approximately

30-hectare site has been extensively surveyed by experts and deemed highly

suitable for the release of 25 rescued orangutans from the Nyaru Menteng

Orangutan Reintroduction Project in Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo.

 

 

 

The island, known locally as Pulau Bangamat, meaning Bat Island, has

traditionally been held by the local Dayak population, but is not inhabited by

humans. By working closely with the local community and authorities, BOS has

acquired permission to use this land without interference. The community is

compensated for use of the island with funding and employment opportunities.

Through the use of security posts, daily monitoring and the help of the locals,

the orangutans and their new rainforest home will be protected from hunters,

logging and other threatening human encroachment.

 

 

 

The 25 orangutans will be chosen from the over 200 rescued orangutans currently

living at the Nyaru Menteng Project. They will include juvenile orangutans

currently living in socialisation cages who need to develop their forest skills

before being released into a larger rainforest area in the future. They will be

provided with daily feedings to support their diet, and monitored by staff in

case of any need for intervention. It is hoped that sometime in the future,

Pulau Bangamat can become a permanent home to those orangutans who would be

unable to survive in a larger wild area without support, such as blind or

permanently disabled orangutans.

 

 

 

BOS UK has pledged £5000 for the acquisition and development of the river island

sanctuary, and so far has raised just over £1500 for the project. The £5000

should cover compensation for the locals, surveying work, the building of

security posts and feeding platforms, and the obligatory acara, a 5-day ritual

ceremony, which involves the Dayaks asking the spirits to make the island a safe

home for its new inhabitants.

 

 

 

The orangutans will be transferred to the new island early in 2004, if all goes

to plan.

 

 

 

The BOS Foundation manages over a half million hectares of rainforest land in

Indonesian Borneo. Islands and other protected reserves may be the last hope

for the endangered orangutan, as experts agree that they will become virtually

extinct in the wild within a decade without serious intervention.

 

 

 

People wishing to support the Pulau Bangamat Project can send a donation of any

amount to:

 

 

 

Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation UK

 

68 Aston Abbotts Road

 

Weedon, Aylesbury

 

BUCKS HP22 4NH

 

 

 

Or by standing order/direct debit to:

 

 

 

HSBC

 

2 Walton Road

Aylesbury BUCKS HP21 7SS

Sort Code 40-08-39

Account number 91730894

 

 

 

Please specify if you would like the entire donation to go to the River Island

Project.

 

 

For more information on all of the BOS activities, visit the UK website at

www.savetheorangutan.org.uk, or the international website at

www.savetheorangutan.info.

 

 

 

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