JAKARTA: A 38-year-old female Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) named Pesek gave birth to her seventh child in Mount Leuser National Park (TNGL) in North Sumatra on Tuesday (March 24), marking a major milestone for orangutan conservation in the wild.
TNGL confirmed that both the mother and baby orangutan were healthy in the national park’s Bahorok district in Langkat regency.
TNGL is located the in Aceh regencies of Aceh Singkil, Aceh Tamiang, Bener Meriah, Central Aceh, Gayo Lues, South Aceh, Southeast Aceh, Subulussalam and North Sumatra regencies of Dairi, Karo and Langkat.
Agency official Palber Turnip said that the baby orangutan has yet to be named and its sex has yet to be identified.
Because the agency team is still keeping a distance so as not to disturb the baby orangutan’s natural birth process.
“We will keep monitoring in the field to ensure the safety and development of the newly born baby orangutan in its natural habitat without any disruptions from humans,” Palber told The Jakarta Post on Thursday (March 26).
He said the baby orangutan’s birth is a major achievement for conservation efforts in Indonesia because Pesek, an orangutan mother who was born in rehabilitation, has given birth seven times in the wild, showing proof of successful conservation efforts.
“Our efforts to rehabilitate orangutans and keep the integrity of their habitat in TNGL has come to fruition,” he said.
“An orangutan mother in rehabilitation can give birth to seven children.” Palber said Pesek is one of the orangutans from a rehabilitation center who currently live in TNGL's wildlife.
Pesek was initially a pet and when she was five years old, her owner in Binjai city, North Sumatra, handed over to the rehabilitation center in 1993.
“After being rehabilitated, Pesek was released to the wild in TNGL in 2008,” he said.
Pesek’s children are April, who was born in April 1997, Hirim, who was born in 2001 but then died in 2002, Alam, who was born in 2004, Wati, who was born in 2006, Valentino, who was born in 2013, Pandemik, who was born in 2020 and the unnamed baby orangutan born on March 24.
Palber said that Pesek, who was already in late pregnancy, was seen in a nest she made in a tree since March 20.
Pesek did not behave as aggressively as usual when encountering tourists who went to see orangutans in the Bahorok area of TNGL.
“We were expecting that Pesek would soon deliver her baby,” he said.
“The guess was correct because Pesek gave birth to her seventh baby on March 24 at about 1pm.”
He added that the birth of Pesek’s seventh child has increased the number of orangutan population in TNGL.
So far, the agency has identified and named 206 orangutan individuals in the national park.
“Overall, the orangutan population in TNGL must be higher than 206 because many of the orangutans are not yet identified and named,” he said.
In addition to the Sumatran orangutan, North Sumatra is also home to another orangutan species, the Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis), which can only be found in Batang Toru, South Tapanuli regency.
The orangutan is categorised as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
They are legally protected from capture, harm or killing in both Malaysia and Indonesia.
Orangutans also are listed under Appendix I by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which prohibits their unlicensed trade under international law. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
