Veterinarians who help rescue and rehabilitate orphaned orangutans in Southeast Asia concluded a workshop in Borneo this week by forming an advisory group to pool information regarding healthcare and husbandry and vowing to work more closely together in the future.

The Orangutan Conservancy (OC) 2009 Veterinary Workshop was held August 5-9 in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, in order to promote cooperation and coordination among the specialists at the front lines of the orangutan conservation crisis. More than 1,500 orphaned orangutans live in rehabilitation centers in Borneo and Sumatra, many bearing critical injuries and illnesses as a result of their capture from the forest. Yet no system for sharing information or advice existed until now.

The OC 2009 Veterinary Workshop was staged at the Samboja Lestari rehabilitation center, and included delegates (pictured above) from other rescue facilities, regional and national veterinary specialists, and universities. The workshop was led by Dr. Steve Unwin, a veterinarian at the Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom, who designed the agenda in consultation with OC officials and specialists from Europe and North America.

“The enthusiasm at the OC 2009 Veterinary Workshop was fantastic,” Unwin said. “We covered major topics of concern to delegates such as tuberculosis, orangutan nutrition, gastrointestinal parasites and Hepatitis B, but we also worked equally hard to create friendships and a system of trust. I am very impressed by the commitment of veterinarians working with orangutans in Indonesia and Malaysia.”

Dr. Raffaella Commitante, vice-president of the Orangutan Conservancy, agreed. “Judging by the energetic response of the veterinarians, we have met our goals and even perhaps exceeded them,” she said.

The orangutan advisory group – known as “Kommunitas Dockter Hewan Orangutan” in the Bahasa Indonesia language — already includes an internet list-serve that allows the members to share concerns and diagnoses quickly. The delegates are working up a comprehensive nutritional survey that will be used to improve the diets at rehabilitation centers.

The OC 2009 Veterinary Workshop was sponsored by the Orangutan Conservancy, a U.S.-based organization that supports a variety of orangutan field projects, along with the Chester Zoo, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the Birmingham (Alabama) Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK), and the Oregon Zoo’s Future for Wildlife (FFW) program.

The Orangutan Conservancy was established in 1999 to support projects that focus on wild orangutan protection; reintroduction; education; and research. The Orangutan Conservancy is a partner of the Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP). For more information, please visit the OC website or contact click to email.