VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) re-released five individual orangutans in Kehje Sewen Forest, East Kutai (Kutim), East Kalimantan on Monday (25/06/2018). CEO of BOS Foundation, Jamartin Sihite said that the orangutan release is in collaboration with East Kalimantan Natural Resource Conservation Center (BKSDA). He also said that the five orangutans released were the result of the rehabilitation process at Samboja Lestari, consisting of one male namely Julien (7 years), and four females, Erina (8), Cheryl (7), Nicola (13), and Choki (7) . The five departed from Samboja Lestari directly to the release points at Kehje Sewen Forest, which took 20 hours. The five orangutans are considered to have qualified skills and behaviors to be able to live independently in the forest.

Jamartin Sihite added that the release was the sixth times, held by the BOS Foundation in collaboration with BKSDA of East Kalimantan. According to Jamartin, the forest that becomes the new home for five individual orangutans is an ecosystem restoration forest area which reaches ​​more than 86 thousand hectares in Muara Wahau District, East Kutai Regency. The forest has accommodated 86 individual release orangutans. He also pointed out that the release activities routinely carried out by the BOS Foundation have significantly increased the orangutan population in the wild. But on the other hand, this pushes the release of forests close to its limits. In fact, a survey conducted by BOS Foundation in Kehje Sewen Forest shows that this forest is able to accommodate 150 orangutans, while now the population reaches 91 orangutans. This condition encourages BOS Foundation to keep searching for alternative forest areas that are eligible for orangutan release in the future.

Jamartin Sihite added that there are still hundreds of orangutans in Samboja Lestari waiting to be released, but forest release capacity is still lacking. Therefore, Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation -BOS requested the support of the community, local government, and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to increase the area of ​​release in East Kalimantan. Jamartin said that humans desperately need a range of environmental services from forests, namely water and clean air, forest products, and well-regulated climate. Meanwhile, Orangutans maintain the forest quality. Therefore, their existence is very important for human beings.