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.
When the global pandemic erupted in March, the BOS Foundation took immediate steps to prevent the spread of this novel coronavirus. Our orangutan rehabilitation centres were quickly closed to the public, visitors, volunteers, and researchers, and we made operational changes to further mitigate risk and comply with the social restrictions dictated by the regional government.
These operational changes extended far beyond the rehabilitation centres however, as even the BOS Foundation’s Mawas Conservation Program undertook efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in a number of project villages in the Kapuas and South Barito Districts, in Central Kalimantan. In total, 12 villages were assisted by the Mawas Conservation Program: Mangkatip, Batilap, Batampang, Sungai Jaya, Timpah, Aruk, Petak Puti, Tumbang Muroi, Tumbang Mangkutup, Katunjung, Mantangai Hulu, and Mantangai Tengah.
The assistance from the Mawas Conservation team came in the form of logistical support and educational outreach. The team started by distributing personal hygiene equipment, such as face masks, disinfectant spray, liquid hand wash, soap, and hand sanitiser. As for prevention education, banners and flyers promoting the new health protocols were made and distributed in the villages. In four villages, we even afforded the opportunity to distribute some personal protective equipment to staff at the community health centres, known locally as the Puskesmas.
In total the outreach benefitted thousands of peoples, including village officials, facilitators, schoolteachers, and local residents. This wide-reaching support was the result of a collaborative effort between the BOS Foundation and Save the Orangutan Sweden, funded through a grant from the Swedish Postcode Foundation.
This month the work continues as the Mawas team hopes to expand the initiative by conducting free COVID-19 rapid testing for the village residents. We are optimistic that the testing will be successfully carried out due to the support of local Puskesmas staff, and that the activities kicked off in June will continue to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the Mawas working areas! Working together no challenge is insurmountable!
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.
