IMPROVING ANIMAL WELFARE THROUGH THE AUSSIE PROJECT

April saw the continuation of Aussie Assistance Project at Nyaru Menteng and this year's trip was funded by The Orangutan Project.

This project was founded in 2007. The objective of the AAP is to support Nyaru Menteng's goal to return our healthy orangutans to the wild. This is achieved by assisting with expertise, funding and equipment, specifically to improve the welfare of orangutans at Nyaru Menteng by carrying out enclosure modifications and constructing enrichment devices; to maintain a successful and dynamic enrichment program; and to increase Nyaru Menteng staff skills with a focus on teaching English, welding, electrical and animal husbandry techniques in country and in Australia.

Since the projects conception 7 skilled trade personal, and 10 husbandry experts have been supported to visit Nyaru Menteng and share skills. These people were from Indonesia and Australia.  Six Nyaru Menteng staff have also been able to further increase their skills by being assisted to work at other animal facilities both within Indonesia and in Australia.
Fleur Butcher from the Melbourne Zoo has been part of this project since 2007, returning every year to provide assistance where required. “It is always a pleasure to work with the BOS team. Both the enrichment and welding teams can be proud of how far they have come,” she said.

On her most recent visit, Fleur dedicated all her time to the enrichment team. The staff members she worked with were Nabri, Jamhur and Lori Nere. Nabri has worked on the enrichment team since it began and has spent time with Fleur working with the Orangutans at Melbourne Zoo. One of the challenges of any enrichment program is to keep it dynamic. Nabri is great at problem solving and implementing new ideas. Nabri has set up a Facebook page so he can share the work of the Nyaru Menteng enrichment team.

The Enrichment team also cares for seven Sun Bears. Jamhur excels with the bears. He spent time learning from Bear experts in Balikpapan, and has brought back his skills to Nyaru Menteng. Jamhurs’ empathy and understanding of the bears is wonderful to watch. The newest member of the enrichment team is Lori Nere. He is fitting into the team well, and is eager to learn.

This year will bring changes and challenges to the enrichment team. Their work is hard and exhausting, but we all know their dedication will prevail. Fleur and her team will continue to provide opportunities to increase skills. Two members of the team will get the opportunity to work with staff at Melbourne Zoo later this year.