LAST OF THE ORANGUTANS

Text studio

According to experts, we only have at the most 2 years to save the orangutans. There are only two places left in the world where Orangutans still live. From 320,000 a hundred years ago, their number has been reduced to 15,000 by fires, logging and poaching in the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo. One person is taking the daunting task to save them from their plight toward extinction.

Text report

Soundbites

0.18

We found him in the forest with the bullet still in his head.

0.32

There are very few orangutans, less than 15.000, left in the wild. So the threat of extinction is very very real.

0.48

In Kalimantan, in the Indonesian Borneo, stands this cage with young orangutans. This is one of many cages in this centre established by Willie Smits, a world-renowned Dutch primatologist, who devotes his expertise to save these animals from extinction.

The 345 orangutans currently under care of this centre are eating a ton of fruits each day.

All these are orphaned orangutans. Their mothers were slaughtered by poachers right in their very eyes. This one is found with a bullet stuck above its right eye.

1.25 quote Dr. W. Smits — founder orangutan survival centre.

Every week we get new victims in and especially now when the fires are starting to come back, the leaves are falling from the trees, there are fewer fruits available. Orangutans get hungry, thirsty going towards the water, but that is also where they will find the people. Because along the rivers, along the highways of Kalimantan that’s where the people settle down on the better soils and if an orangutan comes in their garden and destroys the last fruittree of these poor people, you can imagine that they’re gonna defend their children instead of that orangutan. So again victims are falling and the conflict between humans and orangutans is renewed.

2.14

Nine orangutans, which are deemed ready to survive in the wild, are set for release.

2.20 quote

What I’m doing is, looking at the mental and physical preparedness of these orangutans to go tomorrow to the field. So this one is Tati, she is definitely not ready. She’s still looking very uncertain, very afraid and also she is not quite well. She has had some problems of diarrhoea, has been separated from the others. Now this is Jayl he’s ranking too. He’s quite wild and he’s very confident. Just look at his lips. So he’s definitely ready to go.

2.58

Orangutan babies in the wild spend eight years under the tutelage of their mothers, learning to distinguish 4000 different plants, the details of location and the fruiting time of every tree in a 100-hectare range. In this centre their education is five years.

3.19

And in that time Smits can only teach the babies a part of the skills.

3.25 quote

The situation is very desperate. There are very few orangutans, less than 15.000, left in the wild. Moreover these orangutans are distributed in small patches. And an orangutan needs a huge area of forest in order to survive. So if you cut a forest area into pieces, each of those populations becomes to small to survive in the long term. So the threat of extinction is very, very real. If we don’t do anything something now in the next one or two years to protect the remaining orangutan habitat, forget it. We have lost them forever.

4.16

In other parts of Kalimantan, man-made bushfires continuously threaten to engulf the habitat of orangutans. The local people struggle to fight the fires with the simple equipment they have.

The results are disastrous. Big areas of rainforest are destroyed. A year ago this was a woodland where hundreds of indigenous plants and animals took shelter in.

4.43

Despite this, Smits is determined to go on with his crusade. Due to the big number of babies in the centre, the staff has identified at least 45 orangutans which are ready for another release. Their planning goes on with some disruptions from two naughty babies.

5.11

Smits works on establishing a nature reserve. In that way he tries to guarantee the safety of the orangutans in the wild from poachers and loggers.

5.22 quote

We have to do whatever we can to protect those remaining orangutan habitats, which are still good, which still have enough wild orangutans. There are very few of those left. One area in Central Kalimantan as large as 700.000 hectares we are now trying to protect under a "debt-for-nature-swap" deal. We hope it will work out.

• What does that mean?

Debt-for-nature-swap, that a country in return for reducing there foreign debt, is willing to make a commitment to set aside a piece of nature forever to be kept as nature. So they will let go of the right in the future to exploit that area for timber or other commercial purposes.

6.13

This orangutan and her baby are ill and isolated from the rest. Through this basket she can communicate with her partner by giving him food and seeing him through the mirror.

To protect her and the others after their release, Smits want to first educate the local people.

6.32 quote

You have to get the support of the local people. So we have to do education and extension work. We have to teach the people that there doesn’t need to be a conflict for land between them and animals, them and nature. There are ways in which they can make a better use of smaller areas of land, getting a much higher income and therefore completely taking away the need to encroach on other forest areas. So it is still very well possible for nature and humans to co-exist and that is the only way to go, because if we cut off everything in our environment, in the end we will as well suffer, because there won’t be enough medicines, there won’t be a stable climate anymore, everybody is suffering if we kill our environment.

7.23

A few cages in the centre shelters some Javanese bears who are also threatened for extinction.

8.04 quote

They’re originally from here. Those have also been confiscated. We already released quit a few of them. But if you release them it is very difficult to get them frightened of people. So before we let them go completely, they get a collar, whenever they get to close to people they get a shock from the collar. This is to teach them to stay away from people, but after we think they are ready we press the button and the collar opens and drops off and then he is on himself for the future. But we still find that after a year they become a little bit brave again and they come close to people.

8.23

In the evening, another four orangutans from Jakarta arrive at the airport. They were confiscated from illegal traders in Jakarta and some rich Javanese families.

8.38 quotes

He has got a little bit of valium, but as you can see, it is quite at ease this orangutan, did not get stressed and you will see it will take the food immediately. You see? It is thirsty and it immediately wanted to be petted, it wanted to be put at ease, so. Ofcourse it is a frightening thing a flight like that with all the bumping in the cargo.

9.03

Ooh this one is very stressed, very stressed.

9.48

He is into a shock. He was in very high stress. Very much breathing and his cage was most blocked by the boxes on top of it and to the sides and they were not supposed to do that. So just because of the laziness of the cargo people, he was not getting enough oxygen through only one side of holes.

10.20

He’s been hitting the sides in panic in that plane. He has been bang, bang against the inside of… Here the skin is off, see? This is not yet good.

10.43

Despite a night of intensive care, the condition of 7-year old Romy has not yet improved.

10.58

Meanwhile, two newcomers are brought by the forest guards who stopped poachers in a checkpoint near Balikpapan. The orangutans are quite at ease even after a long trip in the back of the car. This baby has a double chin. According to the staff, this signifies a vitamin deficiency due to too much noodles fed to him by his captors.

11.25

This project is the largest primate research and rehabilitation centre in the world. Around 130 people compose the workforce that ensures the centre’s attainment of its mission. It requires at least 50,000 US dollars every month to keep it in full operation.

11.49 quote

We have to go to Balikpapan as soon as the hospital opens and get an equipment to suck out the rest of the slime, before we have to open up his aerial way here and put in a tube for breathing and than hope that he pull through, because he’s still in very bad shape. Could be brain damage because of oxygen shortage.

12.18

In a simulated forest within the centre, some babies get lessons to develop their climbing skills.

12.45

The badly needed equipment has arrived at last. The vets continue their fight to keep Romy’s vital signs running. They have prepared themselves to see him through his ordeal, keeping in mind that this may not be the last serious case they would ever handle.

13.07

In the afternoon, Smits drives to the river to fetch

Robin, an injured orangutan which broke his arm at play. He arrives from an orangutan camp in Central Kalimantan, where Smits’ foundation monitors a thousand hectares of untouched forest. Caring for him is Lora, a Danish primatologist who volunteers her expertise to the foundation.

13.32 quote

She is sitting with the baby.

13.55

Robin also awaits treatment in the orangutan clinic back in the centre.

14.01 quote Lora - primatologist

He’s doing quite well. We were afraid that, you know, sometimes… normally he is very, very naughty. He loves to play very rough with his friends and… since he broke his arm.

It really swollen in the morning when we fed him at the first feeding in the morning. The technicians told us that his arm was very swollen so they took him out.

14.29

Before leaving back the Dutch pilot and Smits iron out the details on their scheduled flight to Central Kalimantan two days later.

14.45

The trip back to the centre takes about one hour. There, the baby becomes excited to find some new friends.

14.58 soundbite

ha, ha kissing ha, ha, he’s saying hello friends

15.10

The fracture turns out to be less critical. In four weeks, the baby will be back playing rough with his friends again.

15.18

His heartbeat is so weak and it doesn’t register anymore.

15.35

But Romy doesn’t get better anymore. One hour later he dies.

Smits has to go on. He has to give instructions for the release of the nine orangutans the next day. And it is time to say goodbye to them in their own special language.

16.05 quote

Orangutans are very close to us, so basically you don’t need to look for special tricks or special behaviour. Try to be yourself and if you have a good mind and you feel in a caring and in a truly interested and respectful way towards them, they will be the ones to know and they will tell you. And than you will also be able to read their eyes. So be nice to them and they’ll be nice to you.

16.40

At five the next morning, everyone gathers to listen to the last important instructions prior to the trip to the woods. Then, the six-vehicle convoy makes its way through the dirt roads to the rainforest. This will not be an easy trip. Severaconfiscated. We already released quit a few of them. But if you release them it is very difficult to get them frightened of people. So before we let them go completely, they get a collar, whenever they get to close to people they get a shock from the collar. This is to teach them to stay away from people, but after we think they are ready we press the button and the collar opens and drops off and then he is on himself for the future. But we still find that after a year they become a little bit brave again and they come close to people.

8.23

In the evening, another four orangutans from Jakarta arrive at the airport. They were confiscated from illegal traders in Jakarta and some rich Javanese families.

8.38 quotes

He has got a little bit of valium, but as you can see, it is quite at ease this orangutan, did not get stressed and you will see it will take the food immediately. You see? It is thirsty and it immediately wanted to be petted, it wanted to be put at ease, so. Ofcourse it is a frightening thing a flight like that with all the bumping in the cargo.

9.03

Ooh this one is very stressed, very stressed.

9.48

He is into a shock. He was in very high stress. Very much breathing and his cage was most blocked by the boxes on top of it and to the sides and they were not supposed to do that. So just because of the laziness of the cargo people, he was not getting enough oxygen through only one side of holes.

10.20

He’s been hitting the sides in panic in that plane. He has been bang, bang against the inside of… Here the skin is off, see? This is not yet good.

10.43

Despite a night of intensive care, the condition of 7-year old Romy has not yet improved.

10.58

Meanwhile, two newcomers are brought by the forest guards who stopped poachers in a checkpoint near Balikpapan. The orangutans are quite at ease even after a long trip in the back of the car. This baby has a double chin. According to the staff, this signifies a vitamin deficiency due to too much noodles fed to him by his captors.

11.25

This project is the largest primate research and rehabilitation centre in the world. Around 130 people compose the workforce that ensures the centre’s attainment of its mission. It requires at least 50,000 US dollars every month to keep it in full operation.

11.49 quote

We have to go to Balikpapan as soon as the hospital opens and get an equipment to suck out the rest of the slime, before we have to open up his aerial way here and put in a tube for breathing and than hope that he pull through, because he’s still in very bad shape. Could be brain damage because of oxygen shortage.

12.18

In a simulated forest within the centre, some babies get lessons to develop their climbing skills.

12.45

The badly needed equipment has arrived at last. The vets continue their fight to keep Romy’s vital signs running. They have prepared themselves to see him through his ordeal, keeping in mind that this may not be the last serious case they would ever handle.

13.07

In the afternoon, Smits drives to the river to fetch

Robin, an injured orangutan which broke his arm at play. He arrives from an orangutan camp in Central Kalimantan, where Smits’ foundation monitors a thousand hectares of untouched forest. Caring for him is Lora, a Danish primatologist who volunteers her expertise to the foundation.

13.32 quote

She is sitting with the baby.

13.55

Robin also awaits treatment in the orangutan clinic back in the centre.

14.01 quote Lora - primatologist

He’s doing quite well. We were afraid that, you know, sometimes… normally he is very, very naughty. He loves to play very rough with his friends and… since he broke his arm.

It really swollen in the morning when we fed him at the first feeding in the morning. The technicians told us that his arm was very swollen so they took him out.

14.29

Before leaving back the Dutch pilot and Smits iron out the details on their scheduled flight to Central Kalimantan two days later.

14.45

The trip back to the centre takes about one hour. There, the baby becomes excited to find some new friends.

14.58 soundbite

ha, ha kissing ha, ha, he’s saying hello friends

15.10

The fracture turns out to be less critical. In four weeks, the baby will be back playing rough with his friends again.

15.18

His heartbeat is so weak and it doesn’t register anymore.

15.35

But Romy doesn’t get better anymore. One hour later he dies.

Smits has to go on. He has to give instructions for the release of the nine orangutans the next day. And it is time to say goodbye to them in their own special language.

16.05 quote

Orangutans are very close to us, so basically you don’t need to look for special tricks or special behaviour. Try to be yourself and if you have a good mind and you feel in a caring and in a truly interested and respectful way towards them, they will be the ones to know and they will tell you. And than you will also be able to read their eyes. So be nice to them and they’ll be nice to you.

16.40

At five the next morning, everyone gathers to listen to the last important instructions prior to the trip to the woods. Then, the six-vehicle convoy makes its way through the dirt roads to the rainforest. This will not be an easy trip. Several stops along the way are made to give the orangutans some rest and their much-needed nourishment. The journey takes a strenuous six hours. But

everyone stays excited about this event. It has taken them months to prepare themselves and be chosen for this hard but rewarding experience.

17.17

Along the dusty trail, the convoy is greeted by the stark reality behind the denudation of Borneo’s forest. These scenes serve as a testament on the extinction not only of orangutans but of hundreds of plants and animal species that take refuge among the once teeming grove.

18.05

The convoy finally reaches the staff house where everyone will spend the night. As soon as the trucks are unloaded, Jimmy, an orangutan who chose to settle in a nearby canopy, greets the newcomers and tries to solicit for some sexual favors. He forces his way to satisfy his needs no matter what it takes.

18.29

It takes eight men and a shot of sedative to finally subdue him.

18.37

The camp is situated in the remotest part of Central Kalimantan. Its distance serves as a safety shield from poachers and human encroachments. The trip entails a ride in this cable car and a two-hour walk through unfriendly tracks.

18.51 quote

We have one program that we set up here, where we are buying thousands of hectares of land to become permanent, forever foundation property, the BOS the Balikpapan Orangutan Survival foundation property, to be planted with the trees for nature. And at the same time we’re helping people around. And by selling that land through the people abroad, we have been able already to help a thousand families here and set aside a very large area of land forever.

19.24

For six dollars everyone can buy