Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
in the Malaysian Sabah District of North Borneo was founded in
1964, to rehabilitate orphan orangutans.
When Sabah became an independent state in Malaysia in 1963, a
Game Branch was created in the Forest Department for the
conservation of wild animals in the region.
Consequently, 43 sq km of protected land at the edge of Kabili
Sepilok Forest Reserve was turned into a rehabilitation site for
orangutans, and a centre built to care for the apes. The
facility provides medical care for orphaned and confiscated
orangutans as well as dozens of other wildlife species.
Recently rehabilitated individuals have their diet supplemented
by daily feedings of milk and bananas. The additional food
supplied by the centre is purposefully designed to be monotonous
and boring so as to encourage the apes to start to forage for
themselves.
Sepilok is considered by the Wildlife Department to be a useful
educational tool with which to educate both the locals and
visitors alike, but they are adamant that the education must not
interfere with the rehabilitation process. Visitors are
restricted to walkways and are not allowed to approach or handle
the apes.
In the wild orang utan babies stay with their mothers for up to
six years while they are taught the skills they need to survive
in the forest, the most important of which is climbing. At
Sepilok a buddy system is used to replace a mother’s teaching. A
younger ape will be paired up with an older one to help them to
develop the skills they need.
Orangutans (from the Malay phrase
Orang Hutan, “man of the forest”)
live in Southeast Asia, on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.
10,000 years ago, Orangutans ranged as far north as China, and
as far south as Java in Indonesia. Now they are only present on
the islands of Borneo (estimated population: 22,000) and Sumatra
(estimated population: 5,000).
Orangutans are known scientifically as
"Pongo Pygmaeus".
The Orangutan is the largest tree-climbing animal in the world.
It has evolved for life in the trees, with both hands and feet
adapted for gripping branches. Although arboreal, male
Orangutans have been known to spend between 4 and 5 hours on the
forest floor.
Why are they endangered?
The greatest threat to Orangutans is habitat loss due to
mechanised logging. Under ideal conditions, these solitary
animals roam the forest in search of widely distributed food
sources. The reduction of suitable habitats is forcing Orangutan
populations into smaller areas, which cannot support them. In
addition, Orangutans have a slow reproductive rate. Females have
only one baby every 7 to 8 years.
Young Orangutans are also threatened by poachers who capture
them to be sold as pets. The mother is often shot in order to
gain access to the baby.
How do they live in the wild?
Unlike their close relatives, the chimpanzees and gorillas,
Orangutans do not live in large social or family groups.
Semi-solitary animals, the adult males are usually found alone
and adult females are generally accompanied by one or two
offspring. Adolescent Orangutans are the most sociable, spending
up to half of their time in small groups (between 2 and 5
individuals).
Adult male Orangutans are much larger than adult females. They
are able to grow to 5 feet in height and average 120 kilos in
weight. Adult females, on the other hand, only grow to about 4
feet in height and 45 kilos in weight. Unlike females, adult
males also have large cheek pads and a large pouch of skin under
their chin.
Orangutans eat leaves, barks, buds, stems, fruit and will
occasionally eat insects, although they are mainly frugivorous
(fruit eaters). Pregnancies lasts for about eight and a half
months. Usually only one infant is born on average of one every
seven to eight years. Only very rarely are twins born.
Infants stay with their mothers until they are about 7 or 8
years old, as they have a lot to learn before they can survive
in the forest without their mother. Female Orangutans achieve
sexual maturity between the ages of 9 and 12 years, while males
do so between 8 and 15 years. However, development of the adult
male secondary sexual characteristics (cheek pads and throat
pouch) may sometimes be delayed until they are twenty years old.
What can be done to help?
Rehabilitation Centres, such as those in Sepilok, have been set
up to accommodate confiscated pet Orangutans. The aim of the
rehabilitation centre is to guide the young Orangutans through
their development and ultimately return them to the forest.
Many such Orangutans have already
been successfully returned.
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