rsg_book_2013

Mammalsconsidering the proximity ofneighbouring plantations, humansettlements and roads; and iii) an area’stopography and general accessibility forresearchers conducting the post-releasemonitoring. This analysis led to theselection of an area of regeneratingforest in western Tabin. The site had thehighest density of fruiting trees known tobe part of the orangutan’s diet in Sabah,and the most diverse range of foodspecies of five separate locationssampled. It encompasses one of the fewflat areas of significant size in the area,and is dissected by a rarely used exloggingroad resulting in fast access todaily nesting locations by truck and onfoot. The location is rarely ventured to byhumans; the nearest settlement beingthe research base camp located 2.5 kmaway. Other sparsely populatedcommunes close by are the SWDheadquarters and a small tourist resortlocated 8 km away. To facilitate ongoing Collecting data in the forestassessment of seasonal fluctuation of© Elizabeth Wintertonfood availability, we establishedphenology plots where all orangutanfood trees are scored by trained observers each month for their abundance offruits, leaves, and flowers. A network of additional trails was also established toease the tracking process.Implementation: Selection of individual apes to be released was based onpre-release behavioural and medical screening. Release candidates wereobserved within the semi-wild confines of Sepilok/Kabili reserve during theirrehabilitation phase, with orangutans deemed inadequate for release due to poornatural foraging skills, over familiarity with humans, inappropriate substrate useand locomotive patterns (e.g. too much time spent on the ground), and, hypersocialitywith conspecifics. All animals were a minimum of 6 years old at their ageof release. The medical histories of all candidates were scrutinised for signs ofpersistent illnesses or susceptibility to disease, and they underwent periodicveterinary examinations which measured body weight, rectal temperature, pulseand breathing rate, heart and lungs auscultation, membrane colour, hydrationstatus, and general body condition. To prevent the introduction of novel diseasesinto a naive ecosystem, animals were tested for potentially transferable diseasesincluding tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and malaria. We also took blood samples formeliodosis, full blood counts and a wide biochemistry panel. Faecal smears weretaken to investigate the presence of intestinal parasites, and each animal wasdewormed to prevent any transfer of parasites to the release site.217