50 per cent of all EU imports. Palm oil is used in
half of all the products in supermarkets – from
processed foods, snacks, chocolate and margarine to
toiletries such as soaps and cosmetics.
This orangutan’s history is fairly typical. With forest
and native fruit trees gone, he and a couple of fellows
invaded farmland looking for food. Unfortunately,
the penalty for raiding crops is death; during the past
year alone, irate villagers in the area have killed two
orangutans, even though it is illegal in Indonesia to harm
the species. So the reprieve of an orangutan caught in
the act represents progress.
Rather than exact retribution, the village elders
informed the authorities of the ‘troublesome’ apes.
The Forestry Department in turn contacted HOCRU,
whose rescuers have now endured 12 hours of twisting,
broken roads and frenetic traffic to drive 500km to
the west coast of Aceh Province from Medan City, the
capital of North Sumatra.
Once health checks are complete, the male
orangutan is eased into a reinforced cage on the back
of the team’s 4WD. On the way to the release site, our
truck stops briefly in the village’s main street. A crowd
of children and adults soon gather to peer at the cage
and chat with the team.
“This is not just about saving one orangutan. People
need to be educated,” says Lainojaya as the truck heads
on down the road, escorted by a Forestry DepartmentTransporting orangutans in a
100kg cage is no easy task for
the members of HOCRU.Illegally planted oil palms are being cut down in this
forest-restoration project in Aceh ProvinceNATURE