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VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES REPORT - October 19, 1999
Tanjung Puting National Park
by Drh. I Gede Suarsadana
During the day, I let the babies out into the forest surrounding the station to find and recognize their own food and to begin learning to make their own nests. Bonsen, the older baby is quite good at making a nest and the other babies are learning from Bonsen.
As the weather condition with rains coming quickly in the afternoon, I fear letting them in the trees too long at this stage had contributed to their influenza. I treated the babies with influenza syrup and supportive therapy vitamins without anti-biotic because I thought they had no other infections. The other day I noticed the babies with diarrhea with watery green color. I did a fecal examination for parasites and the result was negative. I predicted the diarrhea was not caused by infection but caused by dietary changes.
After 2 days their diarrhea had stopped. Another former orangutan rehabilitant who still comes to the feeding occasionally is Davida with her 3 year-old boy. I have a problem with Davida as if I feed her each day, she will not return to the forest and will just stay around the station as she is capable to find her own food. She rarely comes to the station now and hopefully will not depend on human contact.
PONDOK TANGGUI
Neither at this station have I found any serious health problems with the orangutans.
As the orangutans here are juvenile and adult, they adapt easier to the weather changes
in their natural habitat. There is improvement with the situation of Kopral and Korin
who were moved to this station from Tanjung Harapan last August. They are now living
in the forest and sometimes do not come for the feedings so a good sign they are now
capable of finding their own food. When they do come to the station, they are still
keen to touch and play with visitors and I have instructed the rangers to avoid
having them have close contact with people. Too much human contact will only hinder
them to get into the wild.
