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11 orangutans brought home from Thailand, Malaysia long after being smuggled out
The Indonesian government and authorities in Thailand and Malaysia have brought 11 Sumatran orangutans back to Indonesia long after they were rescued from illegal wildlife trade networks.
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A Sumatran orangutan sits in a cage before being repatriated from Thailand to Indonesia after having been smuggled into the kingdom, at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on Thursday. (AFP/Lillian Suwanrumpha)
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ine out of 11 orangutans rescued from Thailand and Malaysia will be rehabilitated in the Sibolangit facility in Deli Serdang regency subsequent to being released into national parks in Jambi and Aceh, an official in North Sumatra said on Friday.
The head of the technical department at North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency, Irzal Azhar, said the quarantine facility in North Sumatra received nine because it was bigger than the facility in Jambi. Jambi received the remaining two orangutans.
Nine orangutans arrived in Medan, North Sumatra, on Friday and two arrived in Jambi after being rescued.
The orangutans will be released into Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in Jambi and Jantho National Park in Aceh, he said.
Irzal said the smuggling of orangutans abroad was still rampant because they fetched high prices. Most of the orangutans were captured when they were still babies. “To get the babies, the poachers usually kill their mothers first,” Irzal said.
Earlier, the Indonesian government and authorities in Thailand and Malaysia have brought 11 Sumatran orangutans back to Indonesia long after they were rescued from illegal wildlife trade networks.
The Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok and Thai authorities repatriated two of the orangutans, a male and a female, both six years old and weighing 25 kilograms.
