SZG provides veterinary support to Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

In December 2005, six officers from Singapore Zoological Gardens (SZG) visited Indonesia to strengthen ties with various zoological institutions there and explore ways in which SZG could support ongoing conservation projects in the country.

On 11 and 12 December, the team visited Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Central Kalimantan, Borneo. There, SZG donated various veterinary supplies to the Centre. The items include tranquilizers, dewormers, tracheal tubes, haematokrit equipment, surgical equipment and dressings. SZG has further pledged to donate more supplies amounting to S$10,000 in total. This will allow funds that the non-profit Nyaru Menteng Rehab Centre receives, to be channeled to other needs such as food and holding facilities for the orangutans, and wages for the employees currently recruited from surrounding villages.

From top left: Kumar Pillai (Curator, Night Safari), Sam Alagappasamy (Curator, Singapore Zoo), Ms Fanny Lai (Executive Director, Singapore Zoo & Night Safari), Ms Lone Droscher-Nielsen, Manager Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, Biswajit Guha (Assistant Director of Zoology, Singapore Zoo), and staff from the Rehabilitation Centre.

The Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre houses about 400 orangutans that have been displaced due to deforestation and also those that were previously kept as pets. These orangutans ages range from infants (few months old) to fully mature adults of about 20 years. Reintroduction into three islands unoccupied by humans and wild orangutans is currently being done and monitored by the centre’s staff.

One of the most poignant moment for us all during the visit, was watching about 100 young orangutans, averaging 2½ years old, being cared for by “Babysisters”, before being led into their night quarters. Some of the infants were handless – victims of brutal machete attacks, but they still responded positively to the care provided by the “Babysisters”.

SZG hopes to continue working closely with the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre as well as other conservation groups that strive to preserve and protect the last remnants of the world’s fast-disappearing biodiversity.