At least 20,000 orangutans have been killed or captured for the illegal pet trade in the past ten years in Indonesia without a single prosecution, according to a report published by Nature Alert and the Centre for Orangutan Protection, groups that campaign on behalf of orangutans.

The report, titled “The Indonesian Chainsaw Massacre,” blames the Indonesian government and the palm oil industry for failing to curb the killing and trade of the endangered red ape.

“People who capture or buy orangutans know there is zero chance of being prosecuted,” said the groups in a joint statement. “Military, police and local government officials have all been found with orangutans in their homes in the full knowledge they are breaking the law.”

“The Ministry of Forestry continues, with seeming impunity, to grant permits to destroy forests known to be inhabited by protected species such as orangutans, elephants, and tigers.”

The report urges the Indonesian government to enforce existing laws designed to protect endangered species; immediately stop issuing new permits, and cancel existing permits, for logging and plantation concessions in forests that contain orangutans; and ban new roads that bisect orangutan habitat.

“Three, simple, concrete steps the government could easily take, and in so doing, save forests, wildlife and demonstrate to the world it is now serious about saving what little is left of its natural environment and flagship species like orangutans, tigers and elephants,” concluded the statement.

“The Indonesian Chainsaw Massacre” will be available shortly.

(Source: Mongabay.com and OC staff)

Growing numbers of “palm oil orphans” in rehab centers present a challenge to conservationists.

A baby orangutan ambles across the grass at the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation’s Nyaru Menteng rehabilitation center in Central Kalimantan, in the heart of Indonesian Borneo. The ape pauses, picks up a stick and makes his way over to a plastic log, lined with small holes. Breaking the stick in two, he pokes one end into a hole in an effort to extract honey that has been deposited by a conservation worker. His expression shows the tool’s use has been fruitful.

But he is not alone. To his right another orangutan has turned half a coconut shell into a helmet, two others wrestle on the lawn, and another youngster scales a papaya tree. There are dozens of orangutans, all of which are about the same age. Just outside the compound, dozens of younger orangutans are getting climbing lessons from the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) staff, while still younger orangutans are being fed milk from bottles in a nearby nursery. Still more orangutans—teenagers and adults—can be found on “Orangutan Island” beyond the center’s main grounds. Meanwhile several recently wild orangutans sit in cages. This is a waiting game. BOS hopes to eventually release all of these orangutans back into their natural habitat—the majestic rainforests and swampy peatlands of Central Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. But for many, this is a fate that may never be realized.

The goal of the BOS project is reintroduction, but many of these apes may be destined for a life in captivity. The reason? Suitable habitat in Borneo and Sumatra, the two islands that are home to the world’s entire population of wild orangutans, is increasingly scarce. Economic returns from converting verdant rainforests into furniture, paper, woodchips, and oil palm plantations have rapidly diminished the availability of sites for reintroduction, while dramatically boosting the number of orangutans in need of rescue.

So the orangutans must wait. But they are the lucky ones. For every orangutan housed in the center, half a dozen or more may have fallen victim to deforestation or the pet trade, or met their end at the blade of a machete or the blunt end of a iron bar—estimates range from 1,500-5,000 per year. Perhaps worse, some reintroduced orangutans have managed to win taste of freedom only to see their new home destroyed by loggers and oil palm developers.
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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.
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The authors of a new high-tech computer book from have committed to offset the “carbon footprint” of their publication by donating all royalties to the Orangutan Conservancy.

Project California: a Data Center Virtualization Server – UCS (2009) describes the new server architecture from Cisco Systems, and was published earlier this year by Lulu.com. Authors Silvano Gai, Tommi Salli, Roger Andersson chose to direct their royalties to the Orangutan Conservancy (OC) when they realized how destructive published materials can be.

“When we started this book, we discussed the possibility of publishing it either in electronic format or as a regular book,” the authors wrote in the Foreword. “Through our experience we have seen books have a larger impact compared to PDF files distributed on a CD or over the Internet. One of the few disadvantages of printed books is their carbon footprint that, even if minimum, still exists.”

A carbon footprint is generally measured as the amount of energy – which can include heating, lighting, paper, computers, telephones, air conditioning, and natural resources, such as trees – that is utilized on a project. While every publication’s carbon footprint is different, it is estimated that a 292-page book such as Project California typically accounts for 1.3 kg of carbon dioxide emissions per copy.
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