Cute Baby Orangutan And Mother Released After Rescue

By Emma Pearson @emma_pear

An ADORABLE baby orangutan and her doting mum clamber freely through the lush green jungle after being released back into the wild

Scroll down for the full story

Comments

Videographer / Director: Gilbert Woolley
Producer: Emma Pearson, Nick Johnson
Editor: Sonia Estal

On the scales: Baby Kebaco is weighed at the research centre

Mum, Ah Foo, 25, and her 18-month-old baby, Kebaco, swing joyously from the trees after a three-month stint in quarantined captivity.

Catch me if you can: The Wildlife Rescue team coax a reluctant baby out of its cage ready for transportation

The pair were rescued from an oil palm plantation after a concerned farmer raised the alarm amid preparations for the harvest – which would have destroyed their home and put them in serious danger.

The team took the mum and baby to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Malaysia to screen them for disease before being released to set up their new home amongst fellow great apes.

Orangutan rescue: Kebaco the baby orangutan had injections before her release into the wild

The cute pair were kept under observation for a few months before they were given the all-clear to be moved to their new home.

Doctor Laura Benedict, from Sarawak, East Malaysia, and her team at the Wildlife Rescue Unit sedated Ah Foo with tranquiliser for final medical checks and to take her baby away for safe transportation.

Checking up: Blood samples were also taken by the medical team, under the watchful eye of baby Kebaco

Blood samples were taken before the apes were driven deep into the Tabin Nature Reserve in the heart of the Sabah rain forest on May 12.

Blood samples are also taken from mum Ah Foo for future research

On arrival at the chosen tree, nervous Kebaco had to be coaxed from her cage, whereas Ah Foo bolted into the foliage, knocking her baby from the tree in her haste.

Ah Foo is transported to her cage for transit into the Bornean jungle

However after acclimatising herself to her new surroundings, she collected Kebaco and built a nest for her sleepy baby to snuggle up for an afternoon nap.

Kebaco is given her own cage for the journey into the jungle as her mother is still drowsy and may accidentally fall onto her baby

Doctor Benedict, who was present at the release, said: “When we first released them the mother actually straight away went up the tree leaving the baby behind.

The Wildlife Rescue Unit prepare for the orangutans release

“But after we left for about an hour she claimed back the baby from where we left her.

“This is the end of the operation for these particular orangutans but this will not end here.

The cages are positioned ready to return the orangutans to the wild

“I’m hoping that both of them will continue to survive in the wild.”

Wild orangutans can only be found in Borneo or the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, and can live up to 45-years-old.

Mother and baby head up into the forest, free again to live in the wild

Female orangutans are often found with babies, whereas male orangutans tend to live alone.

Gilbert Woolley, a photographer and editor from Bristol, UK, now living and working in Borneo, captured the young family’s adventure on film.

Ah Foo builds a nest for her baby to nap in at the Tabin Nature Reserve

Gilbert, 40, works for South East Asia filming and photography company, Scubazoo, which is dedicated to raising awareness of rainforest and marine conservation.

He said: “The baby was released first and then the mother.

Baby Kebaco enjoys her return to the wild forests of Malaysian Sabah

“We left them to acclimatize to their new surroundings and on returning an hour later, we found the mother in the process of building a nest for them both for their afternoon siesta.

“It’s a fantastic sign that they are happy in their new home and have a bright and wild future ahead.”

For more information about the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Malaysia visit here: http://www.orangutan-appeal.org.uk/about-us/sepilok-rehabilitation-centre