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Showing posts with label Orangutan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Orangutan. Show all posts
Friday, March 14, 2014
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Thursday, July 5, 2012
More Orangutans will DIE tonight
Increase in fires burning in Tripa highlight Indonesian Government
failing to cease deforestation; orangutan population doomed unless illegal
activities halted immediately.
Another massive wave of fires
currently sweeping across the Tripa peat swamp forests has highlighted the
accelerating destruction and ongoing disregard of Indonesian National Law by
palm oil companies inside the protected Leuser Ecosystem, despite a high level
National Investigation launched months ago, which is yet to report on findings.
A recent spike in the number of
fires was recorded by satellites monitoring fire hotspot activity in Sumatra,
and confirmed by field staff yesterday who filmed and photographed numerous
fires burning in the palm oil concessions operating right across in Tripa.
The five companies at present
actively operating in Tripa have responded to the increased media scrutiny and
current investigation by increasing security on their plantations. Some are even
being guarded by military and police personnel stationed along access routes
while illegally lit fires burn inside.
“The ongoing destructive
activities of these companies during the investigation indicates their complete
disregard for Indonesian law and the authority of the ongoing investigation, and
the government is allowing this to happen.” Stated Kamaruddin, lawyer for the
Tripa community.
“A direct Presidential
Instruction is urgently required to bring an immediate halt to the rampant and
illegal destruction of Tripa, not a speech telling the world deforestation is a
thing of the past.” Kamaruddin added.
“There is no doubt that each of
these companies is breaking several laws. Whilst we realize, and very much
appreciate and support the investigation going on (by the Department of
Environment), it’s proving to be too little too late. These companies simply
have to be ordered to stop immediately, and that order to be strictly enforced,
otherwise the Peat Forests and inhabitants of Tripa will be lost forever”, he
added.
One of the five companies operating
in Tripa, PT. Kallista Alam, was challenged in court and its concession area
recently reinstated as off limits to deforestation and degradation in the 2nd
revision of Moratorium Map on May 25th, 2012. This particular concession has
been the subject of an ongoing legal battle as it clearly contravenes National
Spatial Law No 26/2007 and Government Regulation 26/2008, since it was granted
inside the Leuser Ecosystem National Strategic Area for environmental
protection, in which no concessions can be granted that damage the environmental
protection function of the ecosystem, and in which all activities that do damage
the ecosystem must be halted, and damaged areas restored.
Fires continued to rage late
yesterday in the northern stretches of the PT Kallista Alam concession.
Likewise, numerous obviously deliberately set fires were also observed in the
concessions of PT. Surya Panen Subur 2, PT. Cemerlang Abadi, PT. Gelora Sawita
Makmur , PT. Dua Perkasa Lestari and an area known as the PT Patriot Guna Sakti
Abadi concession, even though the latter was never formally granted.
“The situation is indeed
extremely dire” reports Dr Ian Singleton of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation
Programme. “Every time I have visited Tripa in the last 12 months I have found
several orangutans, hanging on for their very survival, right at the forest
edge. Its very easy to find them and we have already evacuated a few lucky ones
to safer areas. But when you see the scale and speed of the current wave of
destruction and the condition of the remaining forests, there can be no doubt
whatsoever that many have already died in Tripa due to the fires themselves, or
due to starvation as a result of the loss of their habitat and food resources”,
he explained.
The Tripa peat swamp forests
have received considerable international attention, much of it focusing on the
fact that the burning of Tripa’s peat swamp forests made a mockery of a 1
billion USD agreement between the Governments of Indonesia and Norway to reduce
carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, also known as the
REDD deal, since the peat alone in Tripa sequesters huge amount of carbon that
is being released into the atmosphere even now .
Tripa was also high on the
agenda at the first meeting between the newly inaugurated Governor of Aceh and
the European Union, just a few days ago. Furthermore, on June 13th at a global
policy address on the future of Indonesia's forests, ahead of Rio+20 summit, at
CIFOR, President SBY himself proclaimed that “deforestation is a thing of the
past” and "Losing our tropical rain forests would constitute the ultimate
national, global and planetary disaster. That's why Indonesia has
reversed course by committing to sustainable forestry."
Yet the ongoing destruction
witnessed by the coalition team in recent days is a clear indication that these
are simply empty words, and that Indonesia is giving no reasons for its
international commitments to be taken as anything more than mere
rhetoric.
Dr Singleton also pointed out,
“There is still a decent orangutan population in Tripa, however hard and fast it
is being extinguished, and there are also large tracts of land that have been
cleared of forests but never used. If these companies were immediately
instructed to stop all their destructive operations while the legal
investigation process continues, and then removed, ideally with prosecutions and
appropriate punishment, Tripa, its orangutan population, and many of the
contributions it once made to local community livelihoods could still be
restored.”
“But without an immediate halt
it will all be lost, to the ultimate benefit of only a handful of already
incredibly rich people based elsewhere. This whole thing makes absolutely no
sense at all, not environmentally nor even economically. It is simply greed, on
a massive scale. A simply staggering scale in fact.” Stressed Dr. Ian
Singleton.
Ian Singleton, Ph.D Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme, PanEco-YEL Jl. K.H. Wahid Hasyim No 51/74 Medan Baru Medan 20154 North Sumatra Indonesia Tel: +62-61-4514360 Fax: +62-61-4514749 Mobile: +62-811-650491 Email: mokko123@gmail.com
Skypename: Mokko123 Website: www.sumatranorangutan.org Website: www.paneco.ch
Blog: IanSingletonSOCP.wordpress.com/
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Saturday, March 24, 2012
URGENT HELP NEEDED TO SAVE ORANGUTANS AND PEAT FORESTS IN ACEH, INDONESIA
The above photo was taken in Sarawak. This is exactly what the Peat Forests of Aceh will look like unless action is taken. Endless rows of evil oil palms. The Orangutans will be homeless. There is time...you can help. - Peter
Dear friends,
Please take a few minutes to acquaint yourselves with the following case, which although apparently minor, has very important implications for environmental and forest governance, social justice, spatial planning, carbon emissions, and transparency in Indonesia. Attached are 2 draft letters: one to the judges currently trying a legal case in Banda Aceh, Sumatra Indonesia, and the other to the President of Indonesia.
The case has many threads and aspects, but the basics are as follows:
On August 25th, 2011, the Governor of Aceh, Irwandi Yusuf, issued a permit to a local oil palm company, PT Kallista Alam, to convert 1,605ha of deep peat in the Tripa peat swamps on the west coast of Aceh into an oil palm plantation.
The area is peat swamp forest, and home to the remains of Tripa's population of the Critically Endangered Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii).
The area in question has peat depths of over 3m over most of it is believed to be deeper than 7m in parts.
The Tripa peat swamps are part of the Leuser Ecosystem, which was designated in 2008 as a National Strategic Area for environmental protection, in the National Spatial plan. Under the Spatial Planning Law of 2007 (UU No.26/2007) contravention of the law by Government officials, companies and individuals represents a criminal act, punishable by heavy fines and long prison sentences.
In the first edition (issued in May 2011) of the map showing primary forests and peat lands in which it is forbidden to issue new permits (Peta Indikativ Penundaan Izin) under the Presidential Instruction 10/2011 (known as the “moratorium on new permits”) as part of the Government's commitment to the reduction of carbon emissions from deforestation, the area was very clearly shown as PROTECTED and off limits.
On October 24th, 2011, a coalition of local NGO's sent a legal notice letter to the Governor explaining that unless he immediately withdrew the permit, they would take legal action to demand its revocation. On November 23rd, 2011, the local branch of the national coalition of environmental NGOs in Indonesia (Walhi) filed a case at the Court of National Administration (PTUN) in Banda Aceh against the Governor and PT Kallista Alam.
On the same day, members of disenfranchised local communities in Tripa reported the issuing of the permit as a CRIMINAL ACT to the National Police HQ in Jakarta (MABES POLRI). They reported it to the National Police rather than the Aceh Police, due to suspected collusion of the Aceh Police with the Governor and PT Kallista Alam. Ironically, the National Police then sent a letter to the Aceh Police ordering them to investigate the case, which needless to say, has NOT been followed up.
At the end of November, in the first revision of the Map of Primary Forest and Peatlands protected under the Presidential Instruction (see point 5 above), the area previously clearly shown as protected and off limits, was now shown as unprotected (following lobbying of PT Kallista Alam to the National Land Agency, BPN, and the Ministry of Forestry, even though the permit was issued AFTER its designation as PROTECTED and BEFORE this new revision of the map).
From December 7th, 2011 to March 14th, 2012, the PTUN court in Banda Aceh has held 10 hearings.
A further two hearings still remain to be held: on March 21st, 2012, the Judges will hear the summations of the Plaintiff (Walhi) and the Defendants (the Governor of Aceh, PT Kallista Alam); and on March 28th, 2012 the judges will announce their ruling.
If the judges find in favour of the Governor and PT Kallista Alam, and the permit is allowed to stand, the implications for a wide range of environmental and social issues in Indonesia are huge.
a. It would set a precedent that Government officials can issue exploitation permits in the Leuser Ecosystem National Strategic Area, supposedly protected by the National Spatial Plan and the Law on Governance of Aceh (UU 11/2006), with impunity from the Law.
b. It would make a mockery of Indonesia's commitment to the reduction of carbon emissions from the destruction of primary forests and peat lands, as expressed by President Yudhoyono and in the Letter of Intent between Indonesia and Norway of 2010.
c. It would make of a mockery of Indonesia's laws protecting deep peat lands and highly endangered species such as the Sumatran orangutan and Sumatran tiger.
d. It would devalue the whole Governors' Climate and Forests Task Force (the GCF) initiative, of which Governor Irwandi is a founder member, and calls into question the Governor's much publicizedrole as a champion of "Green Development".
e. The long term environmental impacts, particularly drought and flooding, for local communities that have already lost most of their traditional livelihoods, will be irreversible, with the area ultimately becoming unusable due to coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion, even for the oil palm companies. All at the cost of huge carbon emissions from the degraded peat.
Given the above, we strongly urge you to express your support for the upholding of environmental and social justice in this case by taking the steps outlined below. While we recognize that there is often considerable cynicism regarding the impartiality of the legal process in Indonesia, particularly where rich and powerful government officials and companies are concerned, we believe that in this particular case, we have a short window of opportunity in which expressions of concern and support from a wide range of national and international parties can persuade the judges to make the correct ‘just’ decision, and uphold Indonesia's laws. A win in this case will represent a major turning point for thelong term protection of the Leuser Ecosystem, probably the single most important protected ecosystem in SE Asia, and send a strong message towards improving environmental governance in Indonesia.
We have attached a number of files. If you share our concerns in this case please do the following:
1: Print the “letter to Judges” handling the case on your letter head and sign it. Feel free to make changes to the letter if you wish. Then fax to the relevant numbers in the “destinations” file, and email to the other recipients (the reason we ask to fax certain recipients, is that many government officers in Indonesia do not open emails).
2: Do the same for the ‘letter to President” file, using the relevant fax numbers and email addresses in destinations file.
We have provided some attachments with background on the case which can be sent with the emailed letters to the President: a petition 21 village leaders in Tripa sent to the Governor of Aceh in June 2010 requesting the protection of the Tripa swamps; a chronology of the case. In the letters there are also links to: the “Tripa Truths” information sheets which a wealth of background on Tripa and this case; and a UNEP publication, “Orangutans and the Economics of Sustainable Forest Management in Sumatra”, which contains figures on projected carbon emissions from Tripa under different land uses. Ironically Governor Irwandi wrote a forward to this report.
If you require more information, but especially also to confirm that emails and faxes, please contact T.M.Zulfikar of Walhi Aceh (for Bahasa Inonesia speakers) at tmzulfikar@yahoo.com , or Deddy Ratih of Walhi Nasional at dera@walhi.or.id or ube.hitar@gmail.com for English speakers.
Finally, a link to a short film about Tripa can be found on the www.walhi.or.id website, and the following are links to various press stories covering earlier stages of the case.
We thank you in advance for your support in this important case. Please feel free to forward this email to friends and colleagues, and your embassy in Indonesia.
WALHI/FoE Indonesia and partners
I regret I was unable to include the attached letters but I am sure that if you contact the email addresses above they will forward them to you.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Through The Eyes Of A Dying Orangutan
Okay, this forest is in Malawi...but it kind of makes the point. It is all over!
Green: Death of the Forests
A visual essay about the impact of deforestation in Indonesia as seen through the eyes of a dying orangutan. (If the video does not load up within this Digest please click on this next link)
http://aje.me/AywpH7
In 1991, after dropping out of medical school in Paris, I read Comparative Literature at the Sorbonne. Later I found a poorly-paid job in a production company for television commercials where I discovered digital special effects and went on to become a freelance post-production supervisor for feature films. In 2002, I was leading a comfortable life in Paris where I was never out of work, but I felt that something was wrong.
My mid-life crisis awoke a boyish desire to be out in the wild observing wildlife. I bought myself a camera (Sony PD 100) and left for Indonesia for three months for my first filmmaking experience. I was startled by the extent of the forest destruction I saw around me and decided to make films on conservation.
Once I returned home, I learnt how to use Final Cut Pro and edited my first film Tears of Wood, a 26-minute film on the Indonesian forest and its destruction from the perspective of a big, male orangutan. I continued working as a part-time freelance digital special effects supervisor and returned to Indonesia to make a 52-minute version of that film and called it Losing Tomorrow.
The problem however is that my personal films do not reach a wide audience because broadcasters showed no interest. So for my third production, Green, I decided to make it available for free downloads on the internet and make it copyright-free for public screening. Green went on to win awards; aired on about 10 television channels, downloaded daily and is being used as an educational tool in schools and universities. Green is proof that a low-budget home-made conservation film can reach a relatively wide audience. But of course, this doesn't always work out well.
I finance my own films by selling raw footage to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or production companies, selling Green to TV stations, inviting online donations, working as a cameraman and by giving talks in schools and workshops. When shooting, I travel alone or with a friend for sound recording. I carry a small camera (now a Canon HXA1) and a tripod. I then do the editing on my laptop and get friends to help me with the post-production. Luckily, the fact that I make films "for a good cause" with no commercial interests draws free professional help.
The story behind Green
When I set off to make Green, I knew I wanted to do another film on deforestation in Indonesia and the plight of the orangutans, but I had no specific story in mind. I had no script. In Indonesia, my friend (a guitar teacher who composes the music for my films) and I spent three weeks in national parks in Sumatra. I filmed everything I found beautiful in the forest, while he did the sound recordings.
After he went back home I continued alone to an orangutan refuge in central Kalimantan. There, in the clinic, I came across an orangutan lying on her back, in a bed with a towel as a blanket, a "Hello Kitty" pillow under her head and intravenous tubing taped to her left leg. The sight startled me, she looked
READ THE FULL STORY - CLICK HERE
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Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Which US Zoos Will Receive the Orangutan?
Now here is a bit of a mystery that needs clearing up. Please read the story below and see if you are able to shed any light on this. You can make a note in the comments section below the post (anonymous postings are not accepted) or email me privately. I am wondering if this has any direct relation with the blog post At Last! Action For The Orangutans At Ragunan Zoo and the follow up in Zoo News Digest 1st - 4th May 2011 ? Don't get me wrong I have no problem with Orangutans going to a zoo, if it is a good zoo. In many cases the animals will be better off in a good zoo than they would be in a rescue centre (here I do not see eye to eye with some of the NGO's). I would like to know though. Where is this animal or animals going to? Where is this animal or animals coming from? If they are coming from a zoo was it a good zoo or a bad dsysfunctional one. (I am going to keep using dysfunctional from now on).
RI launches oil palm green product campaign in Europe
The Indonesian government has through the agriculture ministry launched an oil palm green product campaign in Spain and France to anticipate negative issues about the commodity relating to the environment.
Agriculture Minister Suswono said here on Saturday the oil palm green product campaign was designed to convey information and communicate the policy and efforts to develop the national oilpalm industry by paying attention to the principle of sustainability.
When visiting Madrid and Paris, the Indonesian delegation conveyed concern and objection against the negative views of NGOs on the development of palm oil and the importing countries`s rules that led to a negative impact on Indonesian palm oil export.
"The campaign was held in the forms of seminars and meetings with the related officials of Indonesia, Spain and France," the minister said.
In a meeting with the Spanish minister for Environment, village and fisheries affairs as well as the French Agriculture minister,
Minister Suswono said, he conveyed the Indonesian government commitment in the implementation of the Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil System and concern on the environmental criteria listed in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) that has potential as a Non-Tariff Barrier in the trade.
"The French government can understand the concern of Indonesia and expects to obtain input from the results of research on palm oil which can be used as an evaluation of policies related to the use of palm oil in the country," Suwono said.
In addition to Spain and France, Indonesia will also conduct the similar campaign to the United States on May 23.
"We will explain clearly about the development of oil palm in Indonesia," Suswono cited, adding that his office will also hand Orangutan to the U.S. government in order to show the government`s attention to wildlife-related development of oil industry.
At present, the land used for oil palm development in Indonesia is only about six percent out of the country`s forest area that reached 137 million hectares.
Oil palm plantations contribute about 45-46 percent of carbon emissions reductions.
(Uu.B003/HAJM/B003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/70865/ri-launches-oil-palm-green-product-campaign-in-europe
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Tuesday, May 3, 2011
At Last! Action For The Orangutans At Ragunan Zoo
It's good news week!!! At last it appears that the much loved Orangutans cared for by Frau Ulrike Freifrau von Mengden and her little team in Ragunan Zoo are going to be moved to a new home. It seems to have taken for ever but as the saying goes "Better late than never". I first made mention of the tragic conditions these animals were being kept in back in 2006 and repeated many times since.
FROM MY TRAVEL DIARY:
Thursday 15th June 2006
It has been a very odd day.
My directions said to catch bus number 19 from Jalan Thamin to get to Ragunan zoo. I did and was passed on mid road to bus number 604 which in turn passed me to number 602. I reckon the journey took about three quarters of an hour. I don't think I did too badly considering I never met an English speaker along the way. The biggest puzzle was to see another number 19 bus at the zoo. So why I couldn't have stayed on the first bus I have no idea.
Along the way I saw much evidence of high security, particularly outside banks, hotels and government buildings. There was even razor wire in use in places on the street. Even at shopping centres cars are being checked with mirrors underneath.
What the papers say:
'The Jakarta Post' - 15/06/06
'Mt Merapi erupts again'
'10 die after eating turtle'
The zoo is right next to the bus station. Big impressive entrance with more than one ticket booth. Inside there are numerous paths and roads. Most are in good repair. There is a mix of well maintained gardens and rough forest. The cages and enclosures are well
spaced within a huge area. There is so much more that could be built without straining land resources.
Most of the cages have green, hand painted signs. Most of these are correct, or nearly so. Certain glaring mistakes like a Black Jaguar coming from Africa spring to mind though. On the whole a complete overhaul of the signage is needed. Ideal opportunity to add maps, colour and a bit more information. There are a lot of old cages which have seen better days but are still in use. I daresay they may have held different species in the past. Those for the leopards are faced with heavy 'prison' bars. Inside there is a moat cum swimming pool and a sloping rock back. I thought these were quite good. A bit of tarting up and glass to replace the bars and they could be very nice indeed.
The reptile house was quite good and the aquarium too. A bit more planting up on the aquarium backs would really make them better. An assessment of the available reptile house space is called for. The soft shell turtle is in a hopelessly inadequate enclosure.
The Reticulated Python here is the biggest I have seen anywhere. It could swallow me whole. The signage in this area was much better though there was some incorrect spelling and information.
The old primate cages were very old fashioned. They were definitely built to last and don't look to be going to fall down soon. Lots of single monkeys amongst which there was Proboscis, Silver leaf, De Brazza, Macaca tonkeana, Macaca heckii, Macaca
brunesceri and more.
I had only spent a couple of hours in the zoo before I called on Ulrike Freifrau von Mengden*. This remarkable elderly Prussian lady has been living in a small cottage in the centre of the zoo for more than fifty years. During this time she has been caring for Orang-utans and a multitude of other creatures. Her companions today are two dogs, numerous cats, a free ranging Black Hornbill and a parrot so bald to be species unrecognisable. Oh and yes, seventeen or so Orangutans. These are lovingly maintained in the most horrific accommodation. Some are incapable of standing to full height or stretching out. All are in beautiful, even outstanding condition. Their bleak accommodation is spotlessly clean and their diet is good but this is no life. Some have been housed like this for seven years! And there is no end in site for this purgatory.
Ulla is naturally very frustrated and angry....and very stressed at the situation she finds her animals in. She needs help, she wants help and worries constantly as to what will happen when she is no longer there.
I met Ulla through an introduction from my friend Paul V but in conversation it turned out we had another acquaintance in common, Hans Bulart. She remembered him very well in spite of not having seen him for twenty five years or so (about as long as me). She is very keen to be put in touch with Hans once again. I heard he had disappeared into Trinidad somewhere but as he is not inclined to keep a low profile someone must know where he is. Please let me know.
On the Bulart front there was another interesting twist. Otto Bulart (Hans's father) always used to converse with me in a mix of three languages, switching from English to German to Arabic, sometimes all in the same sentence. Without my ever being able
to speak German I did over a few years build up a very good understanding of it. In the twenty odd years since, that understanding had faded into oblivion. Today Ulla was doing the same only this time it was English, German and Bahasa Indonesia**. Funny thing was the German was coming flooding back.
Ulla is trying her best for her animals. She supports them with her own cash, she even has her own small team of keepers without whom she could never manage. Ulla's zoo is a zoo within a zoo. Joe public do not get to see the miserable conditions in which her animals live. No, the public see the Orangutans in the 'Schmutzer Primate Center' (the other zoo within the zoo - more on this later) which must have amongst the very best Orangutan enclosures in the world. I have seen none better anywhere. Ulla believes her animals should be here or in broadly similar accommodation.
Previously the last real news we had of these animals was just over two years ago.
From Zoo News Digest 13th - 15th April 2009 (Zoo News 586).....Ragunan Zoo to transfer excess animals to other areas
Many endangered animals in South Jakarta’s Ragunan Zoo will be transferred to other conservation areas, as their number has exceeded its capacity.
Primates, like orang utans, owa (a gibbon from the Hylobatidae), siamang and mammals such as bears, white tigers, Sumatran tigers and Sumatran elephants are just a few of them.
“We have almost 50 orangutans, for instance. The number is about 10 percent higher than our capacity,” Edy Setiarto, head of the city animal husbandry agency said recently.
As the grounds are getting too crowded, the zoo management is finding it hard to take care of all the animals, says Edy.
“We plan to exchange some of our animals with other kinds from zoos around Indonesia or abroad to solve the problem,” said Edy.
“So far, we have exchanged animals with zoos in other countries, such as Qatar, China, Singapore and Australia,” he said, adding that the cooperation also included training animal keepers.....
And so now to the news and the video released yesterday. Interesting to note that the cages shown here are the best of the ones which I saw in 2006.
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Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Orangutans Use Simple Tools to Catch Fish
Orangutans Use Simple Tools to Catch Fish
Orangutans swim about as well as they fly, but research on three Indonesian islands shows that these long-limbed apes nonetheless catch and eat fish.
Orangutans living in Borneo scavenge fish that wash up along the shore and scoop catfish out of small ponds for fresh meals, anthropologist Anne Russon of York University in Toronto reported on April 14 at a meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Over two years, Russon saw several animals on these forested islands learn on their own to jab at catfish with sticks, so that the panicked prey would flop out of ponds and into a red ape’s waiting hands.
“If orangutans can do this, then early hominids could also have practiced tool-assisted fishing,” Russon said.
Although orangutans usually fished alone, Russon observed pairs of apes catching catfish on a few occasions. In one case, an orangutan cringed and pulled away as its companion extracted a fish from a pond. Russon suspects that the onlooker was learning — or at least trying to learn — how to nab aquatic snacks.
Observations of fishing by orangutans raise the likelihood that hominids ate meat, including fish, before the emergence of the Homo genus around 2.5 million years ago (SN: 9/11/10, p. 8), said anthropologist David Braun of the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Anthropologists have traditionally held that meat-eating first assumed prominence among early Homo species and fueled brain expansion.
Fish, even more than red meat, contains fatty acids essential for human brain growth. Good archaeological evidence of fish eating goes back no further than about 2 million years ago in members of the Homo genus, which includes modern humans.
Russon and her colleagues monitored daily behavior among orangutans in Borneo from 2004 to 2006. In 2007, the researchers stocked a small pond with catfish and videotaped orangutan visits to the pond over the course of one day.
Seventeen times orangutans scavenged for fish or grabbed fish out of ponds — several times from the prestocked pond — and immediately ate their prey. Apes used sticks to jab at catfish in the prestocked pond and in other ponds, as well.
Fishing isn’t common among primates, but it does occur. Chimpanzees occasionally pluck fish out of ponds, Russon said. Some monkeys that swim well, including certain macaque and baboon species, also catch fish with their hands.
What’s impressive is that orangutans spend most of their time in the trees and have no aptitude for swimming, Russon said. “They
To Read The Full Story Please Click HERE Orangutans Use Simple Tools to Catch Fish Wired Science Wired.com
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Friday, April 15, 2011
Giza Zoo Statement on the Orangutans in Giza Zoo
Giza Zoo Statement on the Orangutans in Giza Zoo
15th April 2011
Dear Colleagues,
I'd like to inform you officially that Giza zoo is happy to confirm that we will proceed with the construction of a new exhibition for the Orang-utans this week.
We look forward to working in collaboration with Al Ain and PAAZAB on the design and construction of this facility to ensure it meets the approval of all parties.
A permanent orang habitat will be a key part of the proposed master planning exercise for Giza Zoo.
We share the concern for the Orang-utans welfare and good husbandry and look forward to establishing the orangs in their new home within the next three months.
DR. Fatma Tammam Undersecretary of State for Egyption zoos and wildlife Conservation
Dr. Mona Sadek
Giza zoo Communication Advisor
GIZA ZOO
EGYPT
zoogiza@hotmail.com
http://www.gizazoo-eg.com/
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Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort Statement on the Orangutans in Giza Zoo
Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort Statement on the Orangutans in Giza Zoo
AWPR Statement – 13 April 2011
Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort has been increasingly worried about Giza Zoo’s lack of progress in constructing the new orang enclosure and we were very disappointed regarding the death of the male orang utan, Fatootah. We have been in active communication with the Giza authorities for several months to resolve this issue and indeed we have offered to temporarily house the animals back at AWPR until suitable accommodation is constructed at Giza. Our primary concern is the welfare of the two orang utans and we are, with our colleagues in PAAZAB, WAZA and the animal welfare community, committed to resolving the problem in a timely manner.
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Sunday, March 20, 2011
Orangutan Research Grants
Orangutan Research Grants
From the Orangutan Foundation
The Foundation has been running a small grants programme for over 15 years.
Applications will only be considered from students studying orangutan behaviour and ecology or related rainforest field research in either Indonesia or East Malaysia. Preference will be given to research focusing on understudied populations and to candidates demonstrating a high level of competence.
Up to four grants are awarded annually to a maximum of £500 each.
The application deadline has now been extended to 9th June 2011
To learn more please click HERE
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Sunday, February 27, 2011
The Plight of Orangutans in Indonesian Zoos
It is time to speak out. We cannot expect the smaller zoos to carry out proper care whilst the bigger zoos in Indonesia look on Orangutans as nothing more than photographic stooges.
Watch this hard hitting video.
To read more about Indonesian Zoos click on The Zoo Hubs link below.
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Adam Smith Institute on Palm oil conflict with Orang Utans
Nothing is more likely to pull at the heartstrings of audiences brought up on David Attenborough’s natural history programmes than the sight of great apes, such as the orangutan, being jettisoned from the tropical rainforest and left to an uncertain fate.
Wildlife programmes on the BBC and other mainstream broadcasting channels are among the most popular programmes for family viewing in the UK. This popularity helps explain the bulging coffers of wildlife causes, charities and green lobby groups.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is now the world’s largest conservation organisation with over five million supporters and an annual global budget of close on £325m; in Britain alone its annual income is now over £46 million. Meanwhile, in the UK, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds boasts well over one million members and an annual income of around £122 million.
Given this strong and enduring commitment to wildlife in so many Western countries, it is perhaps not surprising that the ‘green’ lobby has sought to capitalise on people’s emotions to help fund their activities. Among the most emotive messages promoted by them is the fate of the orangutan in the rainforests of Malaysia.
Orangutans trigger a particular chord with Western audiences. Their numbers have dropped over time with an estimated wild population of between 52,000 to 69,000 despite considerable efforts being made to conserve the remaining Sumatran and Bornean subspecies. Yet it is worth emphasising that the environmentalists’ focus on the orangutan comes from a larger ideological opposition to economic development, notably the expansion of plantation agriculture, anywhere in the world.
If one reads the studies and pronouncements made by green groups like Friends of the Earth, WWF and Greenpeace, one would conclude that commercial interests, notably the palm oil industry in Malaysia, were the principal cause of their declining numbers.
Green groups are quick to claim that commercial interests are hell bent on slashing down rainforest and destroying habitat for a rich and diverse variety of wildlife in the Far East.
Indeed, the green lobby claims that capitalism is responsible for a widespread collapse in habitat, which in turn jeopardises the future survival of a raft of endangered species – the orangutan being the focus of this perceived trend in the Far East. This is well illustrated, for example, by the Oil for Ape Scandal report and campaign that was promoted by Friends of the Earth, which argued that palm oil cultivation would lead to the imminent extinction of the orangutan.
Yet, under closer examination, many of these cases turn out to be unfounded and sometimes gross distortions of the truth. This paper assesses the impact of the palm
oil industry on wildlife, with a focus on Malaysia and the orangutan. As well as dispelling many myths about the subject in its own right, this paper may also be a useful
‘case study’ in assessing the green movement’s claims about the environmental impact of certain industries.
Palm oil in Malaysia
Almost three quarters of the total land area in Malaysia is under tree cover (73.7%), and of this total 56% is natural forest. Out of this abundance of forested area – totalling
18.25 million hectares – almost four fifths (79.6%) is given over to permanent reserved forest, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. That’s 14.52 million.....
Read the full article by clicking HERE
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'No Mirrors Involved'
Snow Leopards
Photo supplied by Peter Litherland of the
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Giza Trouble For The Al Ain Orangutans
A comment from Egypt today states that the Orangutans which were dumped (sorry...gifted) by Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort to Giza Zoo in Egypt remain in far from adequate conditions. Further to that the Chimpanzees which were evacuated from their enclosure to make room for the Orangutans remain in worse conditions.
So what is going on? They arrived back in May!!! What is going to happen? And when? It is months now since this very unsatisfactory move took place. In the meantime the Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort have been proudly announcing that they are to host the WAZA 70th Annual Conference in 2015. Al Ain is apparantly is eager to "push ahead its commitment to animal care and welfare, environmental education and global conservation in front of the industry’s leaders and decision-makers." If this is the case then let them put their money where their mouth is NOW. They have dumped (sorry..gifted) Orangutans, an endangered species, (not that being endangered matters) on a collection that was kicked out of WAZA for having inadequate conditions...and they knew it...and if they didn't then how on earth did they get chosen to host the WAZA meeting?
If Al Ain is committed "to animal care and welfare". Let them prove it. Admit they have made a boo boo and a big one at that....and rectify the situation, now. This is not a problem that is going to go away if it is ignored. I am not going to forget it and be very sure I am going to ensure others do not forget it. I can speak out where others can not.
The Orangutans are waiting, the chimpanzees are waiting and the rest of the zoo world are waiting to see what will happen next.
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'No Mirrors Involved'
Snow Leopards
Photo supplied by Peter Litherland of the
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Sunday, November 7, 2010
Orangutan Boxing
I don't believe Orangutans should have been used. I believe it is wrong. I also knew some of the history surrounding the Orangutans here. The huge number of animals smuggled in. There were the animals which were rescued and then there were the animals which 'died' for which no bodies could be shown.
I have visited a lot of zoos in South East Asia and one of these was Koh Kong Safari World in Cambodia. It was quite obvious to me that there was a connection between this collection and Bangkok Safari World. It was also, to me very obvious that this is where the 'dead' Orangutans from Bangkok Safari World ended up. I cannot prove it of course and in spite of stating this several times I have neither seen nor heard any evidence of an investigation.
Koh Kong Safari World should not have these Orangutans. They are beyond a shadow of a doubt being held illegally as are those in Bangkok Safari World, regardless of what anybody says. Show me the evidence to the contrary and I will be more than happy to apologise.
Meanwhile there are people in both Thailand and Cambodia giving awards for conservation and we have the likes of Koh Kong, Bangkok Safari World, The Tiger Temple, Sri Racha Tiger Zoo, Phuket Zoo openly spitting in the eyes of conservation and compassionate animal care and nobody seems to give a damn. One wonders why the Taiping Four got all the attention. It was the same when Al Ain shipped off their Orangutans to Cairo Zoo. I appear to be the only person to believe it was wrong.
Watch the Koh Kong Orangutan Boxing Video before it is banned too.
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