Covita Orangutan’s struggle from malnutrition to Wild Escape in the Forest
Do you remember Covita? That’s right, the baby female orangutan who was rescued from a wildlife maintenance case was protected during the pandemic yesterday. Covita, who was then two years old, was rescued by a joint team of the West Kalimantan BKSDA and YIARI at the end of August 2020. He was kept illegally by a resident in Ensayang Hamlet, Karang Betong Village, Nanga Mahap District, Sekadau Regency. His condition at that time was malnourished and suffering from skin diseases. After being examined at our rescue and Conservation Centre, X-rays revealed a fracture in the right femur of a rifle bullet on Covita’s left thigh.
Fortunately, now Covita is free and independent in its natural habitat in Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park. How so? What’s the story? He’s still a baby, can he survive on his own? EITs calm down, Covita is not alone in the forest kok gangs. He was released with his foster mother named Faini.
More confused how the story is how Covita can get to have a foster parent of everything? So, after being rescued and receiving intensive care from our medical team at the YIARI Orangutan Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Ketapang, Covita underwent a period of rehabilitation to restore her survival skills as an orangutan. As long as you know # KonservasYIARI, baby orangutans in nature will stay with their mothers for 6-8 years before they can live independently. It is during their stay with their mother that the orangutans learn to forage, climb, build nests and so on. Covita who had left his mother at such a young age became clueless how to survive as an orangutan in the forest, so the rehabilitation process is needed here.
Fortunately, in the rehabilitation process, Covita met a female orangutan named Faini, who was rescued by a joint team of West Kalimantan BKSDA and YIARI from Randau Jekak Village, Sandai District, Ketapang Regency in December 2015. This Orangutan also suffered an unfortunate fate, losing her mother and becoming a victim of illegal maintenance of protected animals. Faini, who is currently around 10 years old, is very concerned with Covita. In fact they then develop a natural bond as mother and child. Faini is very protective of Covita and vice versa, Covita looks comfortable and becomes more confident when she is with Faini. During the rehabilitation period, the interaction between the two leads to positive things. Thanks to Faini, Covita dared to explore the rehabilitation Forest because Faini was also actively exploring. Covita is not very good at NEST building but with Faini, she is making great progress for an orangutan her age.
When Faini makes a nest for the two of them, Covita always tries to help her foster parents make a nest by collecting twigs and leaves. One of the positive things about Covita is that she is still semi-wild and very rarely makes contact or approaches animal keepers. In fact, he tends to stay away from humans and often makes it difficult for medical teams or animal keepers who want to do an examination. They are also more active in trees. Covita and Paini are very good foraging orangutans. The foraging ability of both orangutans is astounding because their dictionary of forest food species is much more extensive than that of other orangutans. This is why our team did not hesitate to include her name in the list of orangutans that will be released soon.
In addition to the two of them, there are four other orangutans, namely Budi, Tulip, Binaca, and Jamilah who were also released inside the NNBBBR area on June 26, 2023.They all also suffered the unfortunate fate of being victims of illegal rearing of protected wildlife. Budi, who was the only male orangutan in this release, had been kept in a chicken coop for months and fed only sweetened condensed milk until he was severely malnourished until his body swelled up. Budi was rescued from Kubing, Sawah Sempurna Hamlet, Sungai Laur District, Ketapang Regency in December 2014 when he was 1 year old. After a 9-year rehabilitation period, Budi finally gained true freedom in his natural habitat.
Another Orangutan, Tulip, was rescued in April 2012 from illegal rearing by residents of Delta Pawan Sub-District, Ketapang Regency. Today tulips are estimated to be 13 years old. Bianca, a 7-year-old female orangutan, was rescued by the West Kalimantan conservation and natural resources agency (Balai KSDA) in Randau Jungkal Village, Sandai District, Ketapang Regency on October 5, 2016. Jamilah, a 9-year-old female orangutan, was rescued in Sandai, Ketapang Regency in February 2016.
Let us wish them all health always in their homes in Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park.
Heribertus Suciadi
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