TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Indonesian police arrest man who bought orangutan, leopard, bear
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
A clouded leopard sleeps in a cage during a press conference at Jakarta police headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Indonesian police say they saved an infant sun bear, a clouded leopard and a baby orangutan from the wildlife trade after a tip from conservationists who tracked the illegal activities through Instagram. Jakarta police spokesman Prabowo Argo Yuwono said Abdul Malik was arrested Tuesday in a raid on his southern Jakarta house where the animals were found caged. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
(AP/Achmad Ibrahim)
I
ndonesian police say they saved a young sun bear, a clouded leopard and a baby orangutan from the wildlife trade after a tip from conservationists who tracked the illegal activities through Instagram.
Jakarta police spokesman Prabowo Argo Yuwono said Abdul Malik was arrested Tuesday in a raid on his southern Jakarta house where the animals were found caged.
Malik told police he arranged for the purchase of the animals through Instagram messages and paid 25 million rupiah ($1,900) for the orangutan, 15 million rupiah ($1,125) for the sun bear and 60 million rupiah ($4,500) for the leopard.
Yuwono said the police were helped by conservationists who were tracking an Instagram account they believed to be a front for the illegal trade in threatened species. Police are still searching for the wildlife trader.
(Read also: 2 orangutans confiscated, handed over to conservation agency in West Kalimantan)
Orangutans, found only in Borneo and Sumatra, are critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, which publishes the authoritative "Red List" of threatened species. It says the sun bear and Sunda clouded leopard are both vulnerable species.
The habitats of the three species in Indonesia have been dramatically reduced by destruction of tropical forests for mining and plantations.
Violations of Indonesia's conservation law are punishable by up to five years in prison and a 100 million rupiah ($7,500) fine.
