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KOPRAL & SHELTON, TWO SPECIAL FRIENDS HELPING EACH OTHER

Kopral and Shelton are two very special orangutans in every way and their special conditions have also united them. They have become best friends who support each other. This is a heartwarming story from our Orangutan Reintroduction Program at Samboja Lestari for us to ponder and take on as an example and motivation for our own conduct.

Kopral and Shelton share a lot of similarities. They both have to live with disabilities due to terrible tragedies. They were both found in critical conditions and rescued by the BOS Foundation. Both were successfully treated and are now in the loving care of the BOS Foundation’s team in Samboja Lestari, East Kalimantan. They are about the same age and now, the two of them have forged a close friendship in order to support each other.

Kopral Never Give Up

Kopral came to Samboja Lestari long before Shelton did. Initially, he was someone’s pet and was often kept in a cage. Because at that time his behavior was still wild, one day he escaped from his cage. Regrettably, Kopral ran to a power pole and climbed it. He was electrocuted instantly; an incident that severely burned his arms and legs.

The owner took Kopral home and put him back in the cage, thinking that he would soon die. But after a week, Kopral was still alive. Feeling sorry for Kopral, the owner finally hailed a taxi and took Kopral to the BOS Foundation’s orangutan rehabilitation center in Samboja Lestari.

Kopral arrived in Samboja Lestari on December 16, 2009. When we opened the taxi’s door, the smell of rotting flesh was over powering. The 4-year-old orangutan was in a heartbreaking condition. His right arm – from wrist to shoulder – had no flesh left; only bone. His left arm also suffered burns. Both of his legs were injured as well.

At that time, we saw very little hope for Kopral. But we felt that Kopral had a strong will to live, proven by his feeding behavior. He ate all the fruits that we gave him with no hesitation. This is contrary to our experience where usually a sick orangutan will lose his/her appetite significantly and sometimes does not want to eat at all. After he finished eating, Kopral got out of the basket where he was sitting and tried to move by rolling around. He even attempted to climb the clinic’s fences! Seeing all this, we were assured that Kopral wanted to survive and was unwilling to give up.

Amputation

That night, we took Kopral to an army hospital, because it was the only hospital willing to accept Kopral. He underwent surgery and his right arm had to be amputated up to his shoulder. After returning from the hospital, Kopral was in fair condition and he was in good spirits.

Unfortunately, day after day the condition of his left arm worsened. With a heavy heart, the medical team decided to amputate his left arm too, up to his elbow. This second surgery was performed at the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Clinic, with the help from the army hospital. After the second surgery, Kopral’s condition really improved. And after four months of treatment, Kopral fully recovered and immediately joined Forest School.

Kopral at Forest School

At Forest School, Kopral keeps surprising us with his ability. He can now climb trees using his feet and is very skillful at nest building! Kopral builds nests using his feet and mouth to hold and arrange twigs and leaves for his nest. Clever Kopral can climb trees and even build nests!

As it turns out, with the love and support from his fellow orangutans as well as from the staff of Samboja Lestari, even an orangutan can find a way to overcome limitations. Now at the age of 7 years old, Kopral has grown into an ambitious, curious, active and very clever orangutan.

9 Gunshot Pellets in Shelton’s Body

In February 2012, a group of boy scouts found a severely injured orangutan in the Kutai National Park (KNP). They handed the orangutan over to a KNP staff who called a doctor. The doctor was shocked discovering that there were nine gunshot pellets lodged in the orangutan’s body. The doctor and the KNP team tried their best to give treatment to the orangutan, but his condition weakened nevertheless. They finally decided to contact the BOS Foundation in Samboja Lestari.

The Samboja Lestari team led by Program Manager Aschta Boestani Tajudin and accompanied by Vet Agus Irwanto immediately drove to KNP. As soon as the team arrived, Vet Agus performed medical checks and gave immediate treatment to the orangutan. But judging by his distressing condition, on the same day, February 24, 2012, the team decided to bring the orangutan to Samboja Lestari for intensive treatment.

In Samboja Lestari, the medical team operated on the orangutan and removed all of the pellets in his body. But some pellets that had nested around his right eye had damaged his eyesight, causing him permanent blindness. Outside of these injuries, his condition was quite stable. Our Animal Care Coordinator, Wiwik Astutik, then named the orangutan, Shelton.


Shelton & Kopral, both with disabilities, both are very special!

Kopral's condition when he first arrived at Samboja Lestari

Kopral at Forest School

Kopral, Never Give Up

Shelton's x-ray results

Shelton was initially very traumatized by his ordeal

Shelton, after surgery

Kopral visiting Shelton in his enclosure

Kopral visiting Shelton in his enclosure

True friendship between Kopral & Shelton

Special life lessons from 2 special orangutans

Shelton Met Kopral

Unlike Kopral, Shelton experienced heavy trauma. Although physically his condition was getting better, Shelton was often found lying in a corner, hugging his head tightly. But the Samboja Lestari’s medical team never gave up on him and provided the best treatment available and tirelessly accompanied him around the clock, giving him the much needed love and support. Finally, 7 months after the incident, Shelton recovered. Even though he is blind, the soul of this 6-year-old orangutan is once again filled with the spirit of survival.

A few weeks ago, we decided to construct an enclosure in Forest School for Shelton so he would have room to move more freely and get enough time in the open air. All this time, Shelton was placed in quarantine with limited exposure to the outside world. On the first day Shelton moved to his new enclosure, nothing happened that was out of the ordinary. But on the second day, there was an orangutan who visited Shelton’s enclosure. The orangutan is as special as Shelton is. It was Kopral.

Kopral approached Shelton’s enclosure, climbed it, then sat on top of it. Shelton was a bit scared at first, so he stayed quiet. But the next day, when Kopral once again sat on his enclosure, Shelton decided to come to him. He was sniffing Kopral keenly. The Forest School team intentionally did not open the enclosure’s door to give Shelton plenty of time to recognize and memorize Kopral’s scent. This happened repeatedly over the next few days.

At the end of August 2012, the Forest School team finally opened Shelton’s enclosure. As expected, Kopral burst in and took Shelton to play! It seems that Kopral feels the similarity between Shelton and himself. He knows that Shelton has disability, too. With Shelton, Kopral does not play rough like he usually does with his other friends.

Since then, Shelton has been more cheerful. Every day, Kopral spends some time to play with Shelton and teaches him many things. They swing, hang out, wrestle and kid around together. This is a very encouraging progress. We are very excited to see further developments in days to come. What is clear, Kopral and Shelton have become loyal and inseparable best friends of mutual support.

Valuable Life Lessons

Through these two orangutans, we learned about survival, resilience and the meaning of a true friendship. As humans we should take these lessons on board in our own lives and interactions with others, whether human or animal.

These two young orangutans have showed us that despite the worst possible conditions in which they found themselves in through no fault of their own, you can survive and make the best of your situation, helping both yourself and others along the way. Very special, indeed!




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