Tag: OCCQ

Orangutan of the Month: Bali

Galdikas’ Angels: Bali Anyone staying in a foreign country for a certain amount of time is bound to experience some cultural differences. Please let me give you a small example. I can’t imagine a woman back in my own home country of the Netherlands, telling me that she is trying to eat more in order… Continue reading Orangutan of the Month: Bali

A New Home for Hockey

Those who have read our previous Enrichment Volunteer Jessica Pearl Parker’s blogs don’t need to be told that Jessica loves Hockey. In fact, Jessica loves Hockey so much and feels so passionately about enriching Hockey’s life that Jess started a private fund for Hockey. The goal of this fund was to build a special sleeping… Continue reading A New Home for Hockey

Enrichment: Week V

It only takes one moment of clarity to realize how important enrichment is for captive animals. My moment of clarity came last week when I was introduced to a young orangutan through long-term volunteer Jennifer Donay. Not only has this orangutan inspired a unique new enrichment program, but she also has taught me many lessons… Continue reading Enrichment: Week V

Enrichment: Week III

You can take the orangutan out of the wild but you cannot take the wild out of the orangutan. At OFI’s Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ), we strive to keep our orangutans as wild as possible so that they have a better chance of successfully surviving in the wild after release. One of the… Continue reading Enrichment: Week III

Enrichment Blog

Hello! This is the first enrichment blog posting for the Orangutan Foundation International! Come explore the world of enrichment at the Orangutan Care Center and Quarantine (OCCQ) in Pasir Panjang, Indonesia, as we work to make our animals happier and healthier. My name is Jessica Parker and I am the current Environmental Enrichment Fellow in… Continue reading Enrichment Blog

Conservation on the ground

At nineteen years old, young Sia defied his father’s wishes and began a job which he had wanted since elementary school.
When Sia was 10 years old, Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas was already hiring Dayaks (natives of Borneo) for her Orangutan Research and Conservation Project in his home village of Pasir Panjang. Dr. Galdikas was Louis Leakey’s third primatologist protégée, following the footsteps of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey in studying wild great apes.

Orangutans at the Dentist

Orangutan Tooth Removal During this summer’s bi-yearly medical examinations, the veterinarians discovered three orangutans; Melan, Jutak, and Umit, with decayed teeth. Decayed teeth in orangutans are removed to help alleviate the pain and ensure that the site does not become infected. Dr. Rosa Garriga arranged for Dr. Tiono and Dr. Suharyoro, to conduct oral surgery.… Continue reading Orangutans at the Dentist

WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 11049 [post_author] => 10313 [post_date] => 2000-06-02 13:30:50 [post_date_gmt] => 2000-06-02 13:30:50 [post_content] => bsomalia1 The photo on the left shows Somalia as he was when I first saw him in 1994. He had not yet been turned over to the Orangutan Foundation and you could tell how the isolation at so young an age was affecting him. I truly didn't believe he would survive. I had seen sick orphaned orangutans before, but always in the arms of their caretakers, those wonderful people who treat these babies as if they were their own. Dr. Biruté Galdikas "confiscated" Somalia by persuading the authorities that his life was in danger after visitors reported seeing him in desperate condition. Earlier Dr. Shirley McGreal of the International Primate Protection League who was visiting Pangkalan Bun, Camp Leakey and the Park after the International Primatological Society conference in Bali, had complained about Somalia to officials at Tanjung Puting National Park but had gotten little response. Her complaint prepared officials for Dr. Galdikas’s strong action. The current photo of Somalia, taken in the Fall of 1999, shows that not only did he survive, he thrived, thanks to numerous caretakers who dedicated themselves to nurturing him back to health. Among those caretakers were Barbara Shaw, Bonnie Hall, David Miller, Michelle Dujmovic, Lone Nielson, and many others as well as local Indonesian assistants, Pak Sa, Pak Epeng, Pak Mekoh, Pak Sehat and others. bsomalia200 I can vouch that Somalia is now a rambunctious character who loves to play hard-to-get when it's time to go back to the Care Center at the end of the day. His male caretaker cajoles in every possible way to entice Somalia down from his favorite spots in the forest, which always happen to be up a tree just out of reach of his caretaker! Since Somalia seems to be less obstinate with females (the human kind), I said I'd try to get him down, using fruit as encouragement. It worked, but if you ever try to piggyback Somalia while trying to walk on logs stretched over the swampy water (not a strong point of mine!), I suggest you steer clear of the trees. Somalia cooperates only until he can reach out to the next tree, naturally taking the fruit with him. Finally, after two or three "ups and downs" we reached the end of the forest where he quickly scrambled down and disappeared into the tall grasses. His caretaker, who had stayed out of sight behind us, was sure he would head back into the forest. We decided to continue on to the Care Center and decide from there where we would begin to search for him again. As we neared the Center, who was waiting for us but Somalia, with a look that to us seemed like he was saying, "What took you so long?"! What a wonderful experience to see him so active after such a rough beginning, and to know that in some small way, being a member of the Orangutan Foundation International, helps Somalia and the many other needy orangutans. If you're not yet a member, please join soon. [post_title] => Orangutan of the Month: Somalia [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => orangutan-of-the-month-somalia [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-06-12 13:15:22 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-06-12 20:15:22 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://orangutan.org/?p=11049 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw )