BUKIT MERAH: When the cage door opened, 17-year-old Ah Ling wasted no time dashing out and climbing a nearby tree.
His female companions – Nicky, 23, and Sonia, eight – were more laidback. They just strolled about on BJ Island here, where they were sent as part of a six-year “conditioning” programme before they are released into the wild on Borneo island.
Their antics were a delight to those who attended yesterday’s ceremony to release the primates, which had undergone a successful rehabilitation programme on another island here.
New surroundings: Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University director Tetsuro Matsuzawa (wearing suit and tie) watching Nicky's reaction after it was released on BJ Island Tuesday.
The three orang utans are part of an initiative by Bukit Merah Orang Utan Island Foundation and Primate Research Institute of Kyoto University, Japan, to rehabilitate, recondition and release them. Orang Utan Island senior manager Dr D. Sabapathy said the primates were now starting their final stage of re-conditioning before their eventual release to their natural habitat.
“This final conditioning stage is expected to take between five and six years,” he said before the ceremony, which was also attended by Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Masahiko Horie.
Dr Sabapathy said a team of researchers led by Assoc Prof Dr Misato Hayashi from the Primate Research Institute would be observing the orang utans on BJ Island (named after an orang utan, it has 5.6ha of natural surroundings. It is a 10-minute boat ride from Bukit Merah, which is about 90km from Ipoh.)
“They will study the orang utans’ adaptability to their new environment and their ability to start their own social structure with minimum human intervention and interaction,” he said.
Dr Sabapathy said that throughout the research, only the researchers were allowed on the island.
“Once the studies are completed, we will consult the relevant authorities and jointly develop plans for the orang utans’ repatriation into their natural habitat,” he said.
Dr Sabapathy added that the three orang utans had been living on another island under the care of researchers and staff led by him.
Source : The Star Online
Date : Wednesday February 16, 2011
By : Roshidi Abu Samah
roshidi@the star.com.my
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