Orangutan is a type of big ape with long and red-brownish hair that lives in the tropical jungle of Indonesia. The word ‘orangutan’ refers to ‘orang’ that means human and ‘utan’ that means jungle. It is believed by the local that this orangutan are the humans that live in the jungle, since they look very alike to the primitive humans.
This orangutan is one of Indonesian native species that can only be found in only the rainforest of Borneo and Sumatra. If you are curious to this endangered species, you can find and visit Borneo, there is an Orangutan Foundation in Nyaru Menteng, Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. This foundation is a place to rehabilitate habitat protection of wildlife that is protected under law for orangutan across Borneo.
The tour guide will explain the poor condition happened to this orangutan and how the foundation help prevent the tragedy that’s happening to them. There, you can watch orangutan play behind the glass screen, so that the orangutans are not disturbed by the visitor presence. There’s even a short video of their activity helping orangutan within the Borneo. The foundation too have sunbears and you can see them behind the cages.
The foundation gives you a lot about orangutan activities and what they do to survive as many of them are getting killed by people. Many of these orangutans are very young when they arrive, and most of them are psychologically traumatized. They mostly saves orphaned baby orangutans from the local farmers and illegal pet-traders. When the orangutan are old enough and are fully rehabilitated, they would return them back deep within the jungle, far from the civilization.
You can visit this foundation on weekends, they open from the morning until 5 PM local time. They also sell souvenirs such as books, t-shirt, and dolls. These money you spend will then be donated to orangutan conservation Indonesia.
/// Written by Arizani Belia Rizki, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
