Temara’s ‘rough’ but ready to save species
October 20, 2007
A YEAR ago, Australian-born Temara became the first zoo-bred Sumatran orang-utan to be released into the wild.
Along with others who have also been returned to the forest, she is part of a last-ditch attempt to save the critically endangered Sumatran orang-utan, of which there are just 7000 left in the wild.
Indonesia’s rainforests are being razed at an alarming rate and experts predict the red-haired ape and its habitat could be gone within 20 years.
It has been a year since Temara, who was born and raised at Perth Zoo, was transported to a release station close to Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park — a dense 144,000ha rainforest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
She was coping, but had a lot to learn about surviving in the wild, said Sumatran Orang-utan Conservation Program project director Peter Pratje, of the Frankfurt Zoological Society.
Keepers monitor Temara from dawn to dusk.
Keeper Herman said she was the “most spoiled” orang-utan in the park, home to about 100 of the apes — many rescued from amusement parks and people who had taken them as pets.
Mr Pratje said Temara was thriving but still had things to learn.
“If she is getting in touch with the other orang-utans, she usually starts by giving them a slap. She has a kind of rough approach, so that scares the little orang-utans off,” he says.
He hopes Temara will find a mate and have a baby, although she hasn’t proven to be “very inviting” so far.
Because she was introduced to the park as an adult, at 14, she had a lot of catching up to do, he said.
–AAP
Photo caption/credit: Grabbing an orange, Australian-born Temara, the first zoo-bred Sumatran orang-utan to be released into the wild, has to develop her social skills. Picture: AAP
Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22615557-663,00.html
