Adoption

In December 2009, aged 4 years old, Kopral escaped the cage where he was being kept as a pet, climbed a telegraph pole and was electrocuted when he grabbed hold of the live wires. Thinking that Kopral would die of his injuries, his ‘owners’ waited a week before bringing him to Samboja Lestari. The injuries he had sustained were horrific, his right arm had no flesh left, only bone, and his left arm and both legs were also burnt. The Vet team had no choice but to amputate both of Kopral’s arms. Incredibly, within 4 months Kopral was at Forest School, his love of life and sheer determination to keep calm and carry on, astonishing and inspiring the whole of the Samboja team. Kopral has exceeded all hopes and expectations and now he’s a cheerful, independent individual whose resilience, nest making skills and ‘can do’ attitude to life make him a role model to his peers.

Each update will feature the story of Kopral and another orangutan friend who he is living with at the time.

In June 2018, 3-month-old Monita was confiscated from a villager in Pangkoh by our rescue team from Nyaru Menteng together with the Central Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA). The villager claimed to have found her stranded alone in a forested area near a palm oil plantation and had decided to take her home. Monita was held captive for several days, during which time she was treated like a human baby: she was bathed and clothed. Fortunately, despite being so small and delicate, Monita had not sustained any injuries and was in good physical health. 

 A month after she was rescued, Monita had gained weight and started to actively play in the quarantine facility’s playground area. 

It is extremely heartbreaking to see that baby orangutans continue to be separated from their mothers and lose their right to learn from them how to survive in the wild. To sponsor Monita, please follow this link 

Jelapat was being kept as a pet illegally by a local villager in Central Kalimantan. The local resident, who had named him Jelapat, claimed to have found him wandering alone and weak in a gold-mining area. Forest fires had devastated the area around that time, destroying all the trees and blanketing the region in a thick haze: Sadly, his mother undoubtedly perished in the fires or was killed intentionally.

For many months, the BOS Foundation worked tirelessly with a number of authorities through the Indonesian Embassy in Kuwait to successfully repatriate this 2-year-old male orangutan. Taymur was illegally traded and transported to Kuwait, then later discovered by Kuwaiti police following a traffic accident involving the person who was holding him illegally as a pet. Taymur was with the suspect, who was under the influence of narcotics at the time of the incident, and was subsequently secured by the Kuwaiti authorities before being returned to Indonesia.

Monyo arrived at our Nyaru Menteng Rehabilitation Centre on 14 November 2019.
A local villager claimed to have found 6-month-old Monyo stranded alone a week prior to being rescued by the Central Kalimantan BKSDA. After 3 months in quarantine with other recently rescued infants, Niniek and Hanua, the three joined the Forest School Small Nursery Group.

Monyo’s confidence grew as bonded with the other orphans, and his health improved. He is not afraid of climbing trees but will usually stop one or two metres off the ground.

Monyo’s new friend Greta, has helped him discover new foods, and our Surrogate Mothers have also taught Monyo how to find termites – a valuable source of protein and welcome addition to his rapidly expanding diet.

We are delighted by Monyo’s progress so far, and look forward to the day he can be returned to the wild.

In June 2016, 5 month old Mema was handed in to Nyaru Menteng in a cardboard box, she was close to dying of starvation and exhaustion. A local villager claimed to have come across her whilst searching for firewood in a burned peat area. Peat forest fires kill many orangutans, and this is possibly Mema’s mother’s fate but, she would have attempted to flee the fire and wouldn’t have left her baby alone. Orangutan mother’s will protect their babies to the death, curling up around them in an attempt to protect them, so we’ll never really know what happened.

Topan was rescued on October 13, 2017 and arrived at Nyaru Menteng in a very weak state after being found by local villagers near a river. She was severely dehydrated, malnourished, and dangerously underweight at only 1.5 kg. After spending a few days in our intensive care unit, Topan’s condition improved, and she was able to join other babies in the quarantined section of the Baby House. Thanks to the dedication and loving care of our Nyaru Menteng team, Topan is slowly regaining her health and confidence.

Bumi, (meaning ‘Earth’ in English), was admitted to Nyaru Menteng on June 18, 2016, after he was rescued from Tumbang Koling village in East Kotawaringin, by the Central Kalimantan BKSDA and Centre for Orangutan Protection.

Bumi was in shocking condition, so weak that he couldn’t even open his eyes, and he had a fresh wound on his belly button from his umbilical cord, indicating that he was a new-born less than two weeks old. We believe that he was violently separated from his mother shortly after his birth.

Baimah, previously kept as a pet, arrived at the Samboja Lestari Rehabilitation Centre, overweight. Although she had no injuries, her weight made it hard to breathe. With the help of our medical team, she was put on a healthy diet to get her back to a healthy weight. Now, Baimah can happily climb trees, play with friends, and breathe easily, showing the beauty of a healthier life. With your support, she can continue to learn how to survive on her own so she may one day become a candidate to be released back into the wild.

Like most orangutans in our care, two-year-old Jeni lost her mum. A rescue team brought her to our Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre on 24 August 2020.

Upon her arrival at the centre, tiny Jeni weighed only five kilograms. She had wounds on the back of one of her legs and was in shock. It was evident that Jeni had experienced a traumatising time in captivity after being separated from her mother.

Our team and surrogate orangutan mothers were determined to ensure that Jeni would feel comfortable and safe in her new environment. Their hard work paid off: Jeni is now fully recovered, has started to develop natural behaviour and has a healthy appetite.
She has now joined our Forest School Nursery Group and showing our caregivers how smart and brave she is.

We can’t wait to one day release Jeni back into the Bornean rainforest one day, where she belongs.