MOTHER ORANGUTAN PROTECTS HER CUB FROM A CROWD

        Suci, a primate orangutan mother, cuddled  her cub, Sri, tightly in her frail arms to escape local hunters in a plantation area in Kalimantan.

        She was exhausted after being hunted all night long, but her maternal instinct was so strong that she tightly held on to her child to protect it.

        The child surrendered herself in her mother's embrace, which protected her life in a dangerous environment.

        Meanwhile, a crowd of people, who were holding machetes and ropes, were screaming clamorously, terrorizing the two creatures.

        The scene is not from any war that is raging in the world these days.

        Rather, it was a scene of an orangutan rescue that was taking place  in the middle of PT Bakacak Himba Bahari (BHB), a palm tree plantation in the regency of Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

        Orangutan mother Suci is 25 years old, while Sri, her cub, is 6 years old.

        These two endangered species were rescued by a joint-team consisting of staff from PT Restorasi Habitat Orangutan Indonesia (RHOI), Borneo
   Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF), and the office of Conservation and Natural Resources of East Kalimantan (BKSDA)

At risk of extinction

   Orangutans once lived in forests across Asia, but now these primate animals can only be found in the forests of Kalimantan (Borneo) and Sumatra island.

        Today in the world, there are two genetically distinct species of
orangutan: the Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) and the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). Both are now categorized as endangered species.

        The current population of Bornean orangutan is estimated to be around 54,000, while in Sumatra the estimated number of endangered animals stands at around 6,500.

        The number of Bornean orangutans is estimated to have declined by 75 % since 1900, and by 85 % from 1900 to 1994; and 41 % from 1997 to 2002 for orangutans living in Sumatran island.

        There are many factors threatening the survival of these endangered species in Borneo and Sumatra. One of the factors is the loss of their habitat due to forest fires, illegal logging and land clearance for plantation activity.

        The use of forest areas for plantations has actually become a major problem in Indonesia right now,  as it is reducing the area of orangutan habitats.

        "The economic aspect in developing palm tree plantations by businessmen run counter with the intention to save orangutans, as orangutans are often seen as  pests and, therefore, these endangered animals are always chased and killed," said Dr Jamartin Sihite,  the CEO of BOS Foundation Indonesia in
Jakarta.

        In response, Tandya Tjahjana, head of  BKSDA in South Kalimantan, said that he had already asked the oil palm plantation owners to cooperate with his agency in his bid to save orangutans.

        "I have already approached them to make an inventory of orangutans living on their plantations, but very few of them are willing to submit the report on orangutans to BKSDA," Tjahjana said.

   
Rape suspected

   What has happened to Suci and Sri is something common in Sumatera and Kalimantan. However, there are more heartbreaking facts, since Suci was three months pregnant.  This was discovered after the rescuers examined her.

        "This is an unusual happening in the life of orangutans, that  a mother orangutan who is raising  her cub becomes pregnant," said Deputy Director of Conservation RHOI Aldrianto Priadjati, Jakarta, on Thursday, February 2.

        According to Aldrianto, the pregnancy of a female orangutan who is cuddling her cub is unusual, as the mother has to nurture and teach her cub to live in the forest for eight years.

        "In that time period, female orangutans will never get pregnant.

        We assumed Suci was raped by other male primates, so that she became pregnant at the time she was still caring for Sri," Aldrianto said.

        Furthermore, rescuers estimated that in the part of the forest where Suci and Sri were found,  there were more male than female orangutans.

        Aldrianto, however, cannot be certain about the ratio of male and female orangutans. If the number of female orangutans is less than one percent of the total population, the orangutan is more susceptible to extinction.

        Conditions experienced by Suci are a real threat to  female orangutans today. They are not only hunted by humans, but female orangutans can also face sexual pressures from males.

        Aldrianto further stated that just like human beings, a female orangutan
is very picky when choosing her mate. The female tends to choose  the strongest male orangutan as her partner for mating so, as a practical matter, the male will be able to protect the female partner.

        "Naturally, orangutans are highly intelligent and gentle animals."

Saving forest

   Saving orangutans means saving the forest and the world. There are so many reason why this is so. One of the most important reasons is that orangutans are very important for forest regeneration.

        "Orangutans are arboreal individuals, they spend nearly all of their time in trees, which is why they can open up the forest canopy while making their nests, which in turn lets the sunlight in to help in growing plants on the forest¿s floor," said Dr Jamartin Sihite.

        And just as the name orangutan means "man of the forest" in Malay, the orangutan  can really become the savior of the forest.

        They can also be effective in spreading seeds that can fertilize the forests.

        Orangutan survival demands the involvement of many parties, and not only  non-governmental or governmental organizations.

        Palm oil companies are now in the spotlight as they join in saving the orangutan.

        " Companies are now needed to participate in corporate biodiversity responsibility (CBR), in addition to corporate social responsibility (CSR)," said Dr Jamartin Sihite.

        Further, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has launched the Indonesian Orangutan Conservation Strategy and Action Plan 2007-2017 that  commits to maintaining orangutan populations above critical thresholds.

        The main target of the plan is to stabilize orangutan populations and habitats until 2017, in addition to returning orangutans currently housed in rehabilitation centers to the wild by 2015.

        The action plan also seeks to ensure that government and businesses, such as oil palm industries, follow established guidelines on orangutan conservation.