Fieldworkers at the Jantho orangutan release forest in Aceh, Indonesia’s westernmost region, have recorded the 10th birth by orangutans successfully released back into the wild from a charity-run rehabilitation center.Indonesia’s forestry minister named the baby Badar, which means a full moon, and highlighted the need for consistent protection of orangutan habitats in Borneo and Sumatra islands, which are home to Indonesia’s three species of orangutan.However, a new study on Sumatran orangutan populations published in the September issue of “Global Ecology and Conservation” concluded that surviving populations likely declined by nearly 20% between 2011 and 2023.
Seven years after being returned to the forests of northern Sumatra from a rehabilitation facility, a female orangutan rescued from traffickers has been found nurturing a baby in the wild, giving new encouragement that reintroduced apes can establish breeding populations.
“From victim of illegal wildlife trafficking to a mother in the wild, Bulan’s journey demonstrates the long-term value of orangutan rehabilitation and reintroduction,” said M. Yakob Ishadamy, conservation lead at the Lestari Ecosystem Foundation, an organization that manages the Jantho reservation in partnership with Indonesia’s forestry ministry.
