GOODBYE, CIRCUS LIFE!

Circus life robbed Wanna and her friends of their natural ability to walk and behave as orangutans. They arrived at the BOS foundation walking bipedally like humans and were unable to climb trees or sleep in the forest.
 

The Tragic Life of Circus Orangutans

In November 2006, 48 orangutans were rescued from circus life in Thailand and repatriated to their home country, Indonesia.  This was one of the largest repatriations of any great ape species to ever occur and followed several years of negotiations.  Welcomed home by the President’s wife, Kristiani Yudhoyono, the 48 individuals were then flown to Palangkaraya and taken in by the BOS Foundation center at Nyaru Menteng to commence their first steps towards rehabilitation.

Orangutans rescued from a cruel circus life face many challenges towards their rehabilitation. Captured by humans at a very young age they are trained to perform in the circus and thus lose their natural abilities and behaviour.  Some of them succumb to diseases contracted through human contact and some sustain injuries.  Health issues arising out of this regular human contact also caused the need for rehabilitation to be conducted within a quarantined situation.

It is heartening to note that inspite of all these challenges including rehabilation under quarantine, some of the rescued animals have shown tremendous improvements. Amongst these are Wanna and her friends who are looking at living a life of a true wild orangutan in the near future. Following in the footsteps of Sukamara who was  released onto one of our pre-release islands on 6 May 2014, Wanna and friends also now have the chance to live on the pre-release islands.
 

Semi-Wild Life on the Island

The orangutans who have recently moved to the pre-release islands include Wanna, who now lives on Kaja, and three pairs of mother-infant pairs; Mugi (aged 13) and Mikhaela (aged 1), Melata (aged 13) and Melano (aged 1), and Du (aged 15) and Miyabi (aged 5) who live on Palas island.

On the islands, they finally have the opportunity to experience life in a semi-wild environment for the very first time after their release from the circus and undergoing a lengthy rehabilitation process within the quarantine enclosure.

Upon their arrival on the island, the orangutans didn’t immediately climb a tree, but explored their surroundings instead. They sniffed the soil, flowers and fruits; rolled around on the grass and seemed to really delight in this new freedom.  Life on the island helps them adapt quickly and behave just like wild orangutans and they are now building nests and eating forest fruits as part of their natural diet.

These orangutans were returned to the Indonesian Government by the Government of Thailand and will be observed for at least one year to ensure that they are able to adapt and survive to the islands.  If everything goes well, then they too will go home to their true home in the forest in the future.