A Sumatran orangutan is seen in a tree near the Ketambe Research Station in Mount Leuser National Park (TNGL), Ketambe district, Southeast Aceh, Aceh, Saturday (6/5). The Leuser Ecosystem (KEL) is one of the last places on earth where orangutans, rhinoceroses, elephants and tigers live together in the wild. Environmental damage to the KEL further endangers the existence of these protected animals.
The Leuser ecosystem not only supports human life but is also home to endangered species. The region is home to hundreds of species of mammals, birds and reptiles. One of the most phenomenal animals there is the Sumatran orangutan.
“Handsome, handsome!” Garry Sundin, 54, shouted. The Australian was elated at seeing a Sumatran orangutan hanging from a tree in Mount Leuser National Park (TNGL) in Ketambe village, Ketambe district, southeast Aceh, on Saturday (6/5/2017) afternoon.
Sundin aimed his camera at the orangutan and took a picture. The thick-red-haired mammal was seemingly unperturbed by the presence of humans. It relaxed on a tree branch while eating figs, the favorite fruit of the orangutan.
The orangutan was seen 2 kilometers from the Ketambe Orangutan Research Station. Sundin was accompanied by a few other people, including Leuser Conservation Forum director Rudi Putra, wild animal and plant expert Ibrahim, five journalists, Orangutan Research Station manager Erwin and several animal protection officers.
Sundin became even more elated upon seeing five orangutans – two adult males, one adult female, one younger female and an infant – on the 70-meter tree. “Extraordinary. They are all so beautiful,” he said in broken Indonesian.
Sundin felt lucky. On his first day in Leuser, he had seen orangutans. Usually, a few days are needed to find a group of orangutans. Fruit on the tree had yet to ripen in May and not many orangutans were expected to be found wandering in the forest.
“Fruit season isn\'t for another three months. The orangutans should have adequate food stock for now,” Erwin said.
The sky was cloudy in Ketambe that afternoon, but the scene at the top of the fig tree was brimming with fun. The infant orangutan swung from one branch to another. Its mother guided it to swing on smaller branches.
Drizzle began to fall. The orangutans looked for shelter but did not move away from the fig tree. They seemingly did not want to leave the tree and its delectable fruit. It looked like they would spend the night in the tree. Dead branches and leaves were arranged to make a nest.
“I will show this video to my friends in Australia. I will bring them here in August. They need to see the beauty of Leuser with their own eyes,” Sundin said while recording the scene in the treetop that afternoon.
Day was turning to night. The team walked back to the research station. The way back was easier compared to the steeper route they took earlier in the day. The sounds of animals, falling branches and rustling leaves accompanied them.
Observing behavior
The next day, the team returned to the location to observe the orangutans’ activities. The team wanted to arrive at the location before sunrise. By 5 a.m., the team was prepared. “Wear a shirt to protect against leeches,” Erwin advised the team.
Leeches are rife in the Leuser forest. We found five or six leeches on our arms, feet and necks when we arrived back at the research station the previous evening.
We walked along the forest trail by the light of a flashlight. The leaves were wet and animals hooted in a natural melody. The sound of a great argus (Argusianusargus) was heard in the distance.
When the team arrived at the fig tree, the orangutans were already out of the nest. They were eating figs for breakfast. The remained in the tree until 9 a.m. “They will only move to another tree when the figs in this tree run out,” Erwin said.
Erwin is often involved in orangutan behavioral studies. His most shocking finding was that the orangutans in Leuser are carnivorous. He said he saw with his own eyes an adult female orangutan and its baby eating a slow loris.
“This means that the orangutans in Leuser are not pure herbivores as they also eat meat,” Erwin said.
According to Erwin, orangutans are smarter than other animals. They can use tools to get food. When they want to take honey from a hole in a tree, they use a twig to do so.
This way the hive is not damaged and the food supply is ensured. This is different from the sun bear, which will split open a tree to take honey and means the honey can be enjoyed only once.
Erwin has also seen orangutans banging coconuts on a rock to split them open after stripping off the coconut husk. The orangutans then eat the coconut flesh.
Erwin said it was important to write books about the latest studies to enrich global knowledge. “There is so much new research that has not be publicized,” Erwin said.
Endangered
Orangutans are effective sowers of fruit seeds. Fruit seeds that they ingest and defecate are superior seeds that will grow on the spot where they are dropped. This helps maintain the forest. Orangutans are also important in maintaining the balance of nature.
In Indonesia, orangutans are found in two regions, namely Sumatra and Kalimantan. However, the species is endangered as a result of hunting and shrinking habitat.
Rudi Putra estimates that the orangutan population in Leuser is 14,000. “The number continues to dwindle as hunting is still rampant,” Rudi said.
According to him, efforts to protect orangutans are undertaken by 23 patrol teams. The teams patrol the Leuser area 15 days a month to deter hunters.
The Aceh Natural Resource Conservation Office (BKSDA) works together with conservation civil society organizations to establish a special conservation area for the release of orangutans seized from locals or rescued from the forest.
The conservation area is located in Jantho, Aceh Besar, Currently, 99 orangutans have been released into the Jantho conservation area.
The BKSDA Aceh also distributes campaign posters on the protection of orangutans and other protected animals to raise awareness among locals residing around the protected forest.
The establishment of two orangutan research stations in Ketambe, southeast Aceh, and Soraya, Subulussalam, is also part of efforts to encourage locals and researchers to help protect orangutans.
