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Islands of sanctuary for endangered orang-utans
AN AMBITIOUS project, led by a Melbourne zookeeper, to create a series of man-made islands for sick and injured orang-utans in Indonesia, is a step closer after an Australian fund-raising drive.
Earth 4 Orang-utans has secured 48 hectares in the northern part of Sumatra after raising a $150,000 down payment on the land from Australian donors, including Melbourne advertising executive Ted Horton and his wife Miche. It is understood they gave a significant sum towards the project.
The initiative is the brainchild of Jessica McKelson, head primate keeper at Melbourne Zoo, and Dr Ian Singleton, conservation director at the Sumatran Orang-utan Conservation Program (SOCP) in Indonesia.
Orang-utans are critically endangered due to the clearing of forests for palm oil in Indonesia, the last country in which the flame-haired apes are found in the wild. They also suffer from direct contact with humans, with many shot or captured illegally. Human diseases such as hepatitis are also passed on to them.
''No one has tried to educate the middle-class business people, the guys with the nice cars in the top networks,'' Dr Singleton said. ''At Melbourne or Sydney zoo, you'd get a strong education message, whereas the zoos here are all terrible, apart from, arguably, the ones in Bali. But even there you have people throwing peanuts at the animals and laughing at them.
''The perception of animals in Indonesia is alien to what we'd find acceptable. But showing people the animals and issues in a conducive setting could have a big impact.''
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AN AMBITIOUS project, led by a Melbourne zookeeper, to create a series of man-made islands for sick and injured orang-utans in Indonesia, is a step closer after an Australian fund-raising drive.
Earth 4 Orang-utans has secured 48 hectares in the northern part of Sumatra after raising a $150,000 down payment on the land from Australian donors, including Melbourne advertising executive Ted Horton and his wife Miche. It is understood they gave a significant sum towards the project.
The initiative is the brainchild of Jessica McKelson, head primate keeper at Melbourne Zoo, and Dr Ian Singleton, conservation director at the Sumatran Orang-utan Conservation Program (SOCP) in Indonesia.
Orang-utans are critically endangered due to the clearing of forests for palm oil in Indonesia, the last country in which the flame-haired apes are found in the wild. They also suffer from direct contact with humans, with many shot or captured illegally. Human diseases such as hepatitis are also passed on to them.
''No one has tried to educate the middle-class business people, the guys with the nice cars in the top networks,'' Dr Singleton said. ''At Melbourne or Sydney zoo, you'd get a strong education message, whereas the zoos here are all terrible, apart from, arguably, the ones in Bali. But even there you have people throwing peanuts at the animals and laughing at them.
''The perception of animals in Indonesia is alien to what we'd find acceptable. But showing people the animals and issues in a conducive setting could have a big impact.''
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