ARE ORANGUTANS EMPATHETIC?
It was a usual day at the Nyaru Menteng forest school, where young orangutans were learning from one another while their human surrogate mothers looked on from below.
Even with a tight schedule set for his official visit to East Kalimantan, German Ambassador to Indonesia Dr. Georg Witschel still found time to visit the BOS Foundation’s Samboja Lestari centre to learn about our Orangutan Reintroduction Program.
On March 16, Ambassador Witschel was welcomed by the BOS Foundation’s CEO, Dr. Jamartin Sihite, and given a tour of the centre. Concerned by last year’s fires that struck Samboja Lestari, Ambassador Witschel kindly volunteered to plant a tree in the burnt area.
Ambassador Witschel also visited the sun bear sanctuary and orangutan islands, which were established to resemble natural habitats and learned of our work and the challenges we face in saving Bornean orangutans and natural habitat.
German Ambassador Visits Samboja Lestari (Photo credit: Suwardy)
German Ambassador Visits Samboja Lestari (Photo credit: Suwardy)
German Ambassador Visits Samboja Lestari (Photo credit: Suwardy)
Ambassador Witschel and Dr. Jamartin together took a 400-metre hike up a challenging steep hill from the island to Samboja Lodge.
During his visit Samboja Lodge, Ambassador Witschel met with several German volunteers and was glad to see German citizens sharing a strong commitment to conservation through their volunteer work and support for Samboja Lestari’s Orangutan Reintroduction Program.
Ambassador Witschel’s short yet fruitful visit was much appreciated, and he left with the promise to continue supporting the BOS Foundation’s conservation efforts. Vielen dank, Herr Ambassador!
It was a usual day at the Nyaru Menteng forest school, where young orangutans were learning from one another while their human surrogate mothers looked on from below.
Our Post-Release Monitoring (PRM) team at Camp Himba Pambelum in Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park (TNBBBR), Central Kalimantan, encountered Suci, a young female orangutan, three times back in 2023.
Kopral has been receiving treatment at the clinic since April 2023 due to wounds on the sole of his right foot and fungus between his toes.
