NEW-BORN: A keeper offers Lela a banana.
KUCHING: Lela the orangutan has given birth to her fourth baby in the wild at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre.
Sarawak Forestry managing director and CEO Ali Yusop said the 31-year-old orangutan was spotted carrying her new offspring high in the canopy around the feeding area.
He, however, said they were not sure yet of the gender of the baby but believed it was about two months old.
“It is difficult for the keepers to get close to Lela and her baby as she is extremely protective – a typical behaviour of an orangutan after her labour.”
Ali Yusop, who is also the controller of Wildlife and director of Forests added: “In memory of the late keeper Hillary Kiding Jugah, who passed away while in service at Matang Wildlife Centre, we are honoured to name the new baby orangutan ‘Kiding’.
The late Hillary had contributed to the conservation of wildlife and was fondly remembered for having a special trait and skill in handling orangutans, he added.
He said Sarawak Forestry would continue to monitor the progress of Lela and Kiding, and welcomed public participation in orangutan conservation through various activities organised by Sarawak Forestry, especially in its Orangutan Adoption and Heart-to-Heart with Orangutan programmes.
Kiding’s birth has added another feather in the cap for Sarawak Forestry in its rehabilitation activities at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre.
The centre was established back in 1975 to care for wild animals which had either been found injured in the forest, orphaned, or were previously kept as illegal pets. It is situated within the boundaries of the Semenggoh Nature Reserve, approximately 24 km from Kuching. Currently, there are 25 orangutans at the centre.
Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, managed by Sarawak Forestry, has become a successful centre for rehabilitation of orangutans in Sarawak. Many orangutans have been successfully reintroduced into the surrounding forest reserve through its rehabilitation programme. It has also become a centre for the study of orangutan biology and behaviour, as well as a safe and natural haven for dozens of semi-wild orangutans born in the wild to rehabilitated mothers.
A visit to Semenggoh Wildlife Centre is a once-in-a-lifetime experience – a chance to see semi-wild orangutans, ranging from tiny infants to boisterous adolescents to dignified mature adults, enjoying life in a secure natural habitat.
If you are interested in the conservation programme at Sarawak Forestry, please email your interest to [email protected] or visit their website at www.sarawakforestry.com.