BOS Australia celebrates one year of saving
Daily Telegraph: May 18, 2013
A baby orangutan at the Borneo Orangutan Sanctuary
BABY orangutans orphaned by logging in Borneo have been given a new chance of life thanks to an Australian-run charity.
Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Australia is celebrating their first year of rehabilitating and releasing orphaned orangutans.
The baby orangutans – including little Elder fast asleep on his rug – need foster mothers to raise and comfort them. They also attend a jungle kindergarten to equip them with skills such as tree climbing and nest making to survive in the wild once they are released.
This month BOS returned Leo, Juminten and Titin into a safe rainforest in Borneo after their mothers were killed in the late 1990s.
Louise Grossfeldt and a foster mum care for baby orangutans at the Borneo Orangutan Sanctuary
“Everybody had a tear in their eye,” BOS Australia president Tony Gilding said.
“Having seen their mother killed we assign a human mother to the orangutans and it’s just like having a baby.
“It’s exactly the same as sending your own child off into the world. You’re happy they are ready, but there’s some trepidation about seeing them leave.
A baby orangutan at the Borneo Orangutan Sanctuary.
Tragically, the Borneo and Sumatran orangutans are listed as critically endangered.