Orangutan Translocation
The SOCP also rescues and relocates wild orangutans that have become isolated in areas being converted to non-forest uses, such as oil palm plantations.
Such drastic interventions are always a last resort since it is usually a difficult, risky and stressful operation for all involved, and are only undertaken if the orangutans will surely die if left where they are. Sadly, such rescues are becoming increasingly necessary as forest patches become ever smaller and more isolated.
If healthy, rescued individuals are relocated to safer habitat, normally at one of two Reintroduction Centres. If sick or injured, they are treated first at the Orangutan Quarantine Centre before being released at a later date.
"We really don’t like capturing wild orangutans, but as the forests get chopped down, they often become isolated in tiny fragments of a few trees left standing here and there. Since there’s not enough food anymore they either die gradually of starvation or get killed deliberately for stealing crops to eat. For this reason we will intervene and move them to a safer location if we’re convinced they’re not going to survive."
