Pictures: Saving Sumatra's Orangutans

Ablaze

Photograph by Paul Hilton

Although it is illegal to clear forests by burning, it still happens, as seen in a picture of Tripa in June 2012. The long-smoldering fires continue to threaten Tripa and its remaining orangutans.

In May 2012, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and the country's attorney general launched a criminal investigation against companies responsible for the destruction and burning of the Tripa peat lands, according to the Jakarta Globe.(Get the facts on deforestation.)

At the center of the ongoing legal battles is palm oil company PT Kallista Alam, which environmental groups including Friends of the Earth Indonesia (WALHI) and SOCP argued was given permission to clear land in Tripa for a new plantation in an area off limits under the government's moratorium.

The company has denied responsibility for any illegal activities—including the massive fires that swept through Tripa in March 2012—and is currently suing the new Aceh governor for cancelling their permit, said Singleton.

Published February 28, 2013

Heavy Load

Photograph by Paul Hilton

It took several people to carry the 200-pound (90-kilogram) Avatar out of the forest and into a nearby vehicle to be relocated, as seen in April 2012.

This was the conservation organization's second attempt that month to catch the orangutan, who often hid in the undergrowth of the peat forests. According to Singleton, the process of capturing orangutans is very risky for the animals' health. (Also see "Hundreds of Orangutans Killed Annually for Meat.")

Once Avatar was spotted at the top of a tree, the team moved quickly to prepare the tranquilizer gun. The first hit proved ineffective as the distressed orangutan moved from branch to branch after pulling the dart out.

After a passing rain shower, the team regrouped, moving in to surround Avatar in one small section of the forest. A member took another shot and this time hit the ape directly in the leg. As Avatar slowly lost consciousness, the team prepared a net at the bottom of the tree for his fall.

Avatar missed the net completely, but his fall was cushioned by the thick undergrowth of the forest.

Published February 28, 2013

Saved

Photograph by Paul Hilton

Yenny Saraswati, a member of the SOCP, holds a two-year-old orphaned orangutan confiscated from a family in April 2012.

The youngster was immediately brought to a quarantine center outside Medan, the capital city of the province of North Sumatra, where he was named Rahual.

As the second rescue that week, the confiscation of Rahual prompted environmental groups to stress the need for urgent action against the illegal wildlife trade. (Read about Asia's wildlife trade in National Geographic magazine.)

Published February 28, 2013

Held Captive

Photograph by Paul Hilton

Undercover investigators confiscate an infant male orphan illegally held by wildlife traders in the Babahrot, a small village on the outskirts of the Tripa peat forest, in June 2012.

Photographer Paul Hilton and SOCP members had discovered the animal when they posed as tourists interested in buying a pet orangutan. (See pictures of wild orangutans in National Geographic magazine.)

When SOCP later returned to the house with police, they failed to find the young animal. It took days of pressuring and threats of punishment to persuade the traders to bring him in. When the traders finally complied, police warned them of the possible penalties if they were caught again.

The malnourished juvenile, later named Chocolate, had been fed only rice and had been captured after his mother was beaten to death—a common tactic used by traders to make mothers release their babies.

"Since 1970, when rescue and rehab really started, numbers of illegal pets are as high as ever," Singleton said. He added it would only take a few days to find a trader ready to sell an illegally captured orangutan.

"There aren't hundreds of [wildlife traders], but there are always a few and they are known by communities. And word gets around."

Published February 28, 2013

Illegal Pet

Photograph by Paul Hilton

A young boy shows off his illegally owned pet, a two-year-old orphaned orangutan that was later confiscated by SOCP and the local police, in April 2012.

When the team first discovered the ape, he'd been tied up to the back of the house in a village located on the outskirts of the Tripa peat forest.

A prompt health inspection by veterinarian Saraswati found that the young orphan was not in good health. "He's suffering from malnutrition, his skin is bad, and he has a wound from where he had been tied with a rope," she said in a statement.

Although trading and owning wildlife is illegal in Indonesia, the government does not impose strict penalties for those who are caught. Instead, they are only given a warning. (Watch video: "Grisly Wildlife Trade Exposed.")

According to Singleton, based on the number of cases reported to rescue centers since 1970 in Sumatra and neighboring Borneo, there have been at least 2,800 confiscations—only three of which he knows resulted in prosecution of the owners.

"People are not afraid of being arrested for it, and the only way to change that is to see more arrests and prosecutions," he said.

Published February 28, 2013

See Pictures of Other Forests in Danger

Photograph by Bruce Dale, National Geographic

Published February 28, 2013