Ten orangutans have been released back into the wild in the Indonesian part of Borneo Island, with helicopters transporting the critically endangered monkeys deep in the forest from rehabilitation centers.
The Bornean orangutans were all in captivity before their rescue. These include Nenuah, a 19-year-old woman repatriated from Thailand, according to the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF).
In total, five men, a mother with two babies, and two other females were released with the help of Indonesian conservation agencies.
“Using a helicopter is the best way to transport orangutans during the pandemic,” said Denny Kurniawan, BOSF program manager. He noted that it would take three days to reach one delivery area, which increases the risk of Covid-19. transmission.
It is known that orangutans and other monkeys are susceptible to respiratory diseases in humans, so veterinarians wore protective clothing and masks during final medical examinations.
“Efforts to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus have hampered numerous conservation-related activities,” said Handi Nasoka, acting head of Central Kalimantan’s conservation agency.
Prolonged periods in captivity mean that rehabilitation has been a slow process for some of the other orangutans who arrived with Nenuah in 2006, the foundation said in a statement, adding that most monkeys found it difficult to develop the skills necessary to protect. for themselves in nature.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, there are only about 100,000 Bornese orangutans left in the wild, as more than half of the population has been depleted in the past 60 years.
They suffered from illegal poaching, as well as habitat destruction due to large-scale logging and replacement of forests with cash crops such as palm oil.