REST IN PEACE, ROMEO

We are heartbroken to share the passing of our beloved orangutan Romeo. It is an understatement to say that this Samboja Lestari resident will be greatly missed by our teams and all who have met him.

The initial necropsy findings by our medical team suggested heart failure. However, our veterinarians can only determine the final cause of death after receiving the lab results.

Romeo had a challenging life. He was repatriated from Taiwan at six years old and transferred to BOS Foundation’s Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in East Kalimantan. Here, he would have the chance to join our rehabilitation program. However, fate cruelly intervened to put yet another obstacle in Romeo’s way: He tested positive for hepatitis B, a contagious virus known to be transmittable among humans and orangutans.

Back then, in 1993, orangutans with hepatitis B had no choice but to be separated from the other orangutans to avoid disease transmission within the population. For Romeo, this meant he needed to stay within an isolation complex and obviously could not join Forest School.

Over the past two decades, advanced medical science has determined that hepatitis B, found in orangutans, naturally occurs in the wild and is not dangerous. This finding was great news for Romeo. It meant he could finally socialise with other orangutans and move to one of our sanctuary islands, where he lived out his final years in an open forested area, closely assembling his natural habitat.

Romeo left us at age 38 after over 30 years under the BOS Foundation’s care.

Photo: ©BPI

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