ITB Berlin News #3

ADVENTURE I NATURE I
Orang-utan in
Semenggoh park
New role for Semenggoh
Until recently known as an orangutan “rescue centre”
the status has now changed to “nature reserve”
For over 20 years, the wardens at Semenggoh Nature Reserve
had been training young orangutans, orphaned or rescued
from captivity, on how to survive in the wild. The success of
this programme has left the surrounding forest reserve with
a thriving population of healthy adolescent and young adult
orangutans, who are now breeding in the wild.
The rescue programme has thus been
transferred to Matang Wildlife Centre,
leaving Semenggoh Nature Reserve as
a comfortable home to its successful
graduates, semi-wild orangutans and
their babies.
These majestic animals – our closest
“cousins” in terms of DNA, once kept
illegally as pets, are trained on how
to fend for themselves before being
released into the forest. Over the years, a
number of orangutans have been trained
and released and now form a semi-wild
colony in the reserve. As regular as
clockwork, they swing down from the
trees for a free handout of fruit. If it is
the fruiting season in the forest, some or
even all of them may not come to feed.
This in itself is a good sign and another
step on the way to full rehabilitation.
MATANG TAKES OVER
AS MAIN RESCUE CENTRE
Matang Wildlife Centre is to be found at
the western corner of the Kubah National
Park, about 40 minutes’ drive from
Kuching. The centre’s 180 hectares
of lowland forest provides natural
surroundings for orangutans and other
local fauna. Matang is a dedicated
centre where endangered species, such
as orangutans, are rehabilitated and
released into the forest. While they are
being educated, they remain at the centre,
enabling visitors to get close to animals
they might not spot in days of wandering
the jungle. (Please note that wildlife
sighting activities in Matang Wildlife
Centre will be temporarily ceased from
1 st January 2020 until 30 th June 2020 (6
months) in order to facilitate repair and
maintenance works on the infrastructure.)
WORK HANDS-ON TO SAVE
ORANGUTANS? YES, YOU
CAN!
Foreign visitors to Sarawak are
able to volunteer to work with an
orangutan conservation programme.
With Orangutan Project Sdn Bhd,
a conservation company offering
alternative solutions and sustainable
funding opportunities for the endangered
wildlife on Borneo, visitors can give
“hands-on” help in their quest to save
the Red Apes of Borneo, with monthly
departures to Batang Ai National Park
12 SMART GUIDE www.sarawaktourism.com