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Release Sites Past and Present |
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Tanjung Puting National Park is as famous for its population of rehabilitated orangutans as it is for its wild ones. Indeed, these are the animals which most visitors to the park will see at feeding stations. In total, around 200 ex-captive orangutans were released in the park, by Biruté Galdikas and the Orangutan Foundation International between 1971 and 1995. In that year, however, the Indonesian government passed legislation that ex-captive orangutans should not be released into areas such as Tanjung Puting National Park where there are large, viable populations of wild orangutans. The aim of the law was to separate wild and ex-captive populations so there was no competition for resources and to prevent the possibility of the latter introducing disease. With nowhere to release the large numbers of orphaned and confiscated orangutans that were still being found, Galdikas lobbied the Indonesian government to create a conservation area in an expired logging concession to the west of Tanjung Puting which would otherwise have been converted into a palm oil plantation. Her efforts paid off and the government designated the area an official orangutan release site, Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. In accordance with national guidelines, it is not open to visitors. Since 1998, more than 160 orangutans have been released into Lamandau.  More rehabilitation information...  Orangutan Rehabilitation Orangutan Care Centre and Quarantine Facility (OCCQ) Orangutan Rehabilitation Factsheet
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