Mother And Baby Orangutan Rescued In Sumatra

Yesterday a rescue team from the Orangutan Information Centre in Sumatra, Indonesia, evacuated a mother orangutan and her baby from condemned forests that are about to be bulldozed. The photos below show the reality of orangutan protection. These orangutans are amongst the 'lucky' ones, thanks to the amazing work of this rescue team.

The orangutans were isolated in some trees that were due to be cleared and planted with oil palms to produce palm oil, an ingredient found in up to half of packaged foods found on supermarket shelves.

Helen Buckland, Director of UK charity the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS) explains: "As more forest is replaced by oil palm plantations, more orangutans become isolated in tiny forest patches, without enough food to survive. They are at serious risk of starvation or being killed if they wander into plantations in search of food. We set up the Human Orangutan Conflict Response Unit (HOCRU) with the OIC, our partners in Sumatra, to address this problem."

These photos tell the story of the rescue, which had a happy ending.

Craig Jones for the Sumatran Orangutan Society / Orangutan Information Centre

The mother orangutan is shot with a tranquiliser dart and drops from the treetops into a net held below by the rescue team. Her baby clings to her side.

Craig Jones for the Sumatran Orangutan Society / Orangutan Information Centre

The mother orangutan is checked over by the team's vet, Dr Ricko

Craig Jones for the Sumatran Orangutan Society / Orangutan Information Centre

The baby orangutan is in safe hands, but is distressed and uncertain.

Craig Jones for the Sumatran Orangutan Society / Orangutan Information Centre

The baby orangutan gets a health check too.

Craig Jones for the Sumatran Orangutan Society / Orangutan Information Centre

A member of the Human Orangutan Conflict Response Unit (HOCRU) carries the mother orangutan to safety.

Craig Jones for the Sumatran Orangutan Society / Orangutan Information Centre

Both mother and baby were given a clean bill of health, and placed into the transport cage as the team get ready to take them to safe forests - not a straightforward operation, as can be seen from the photo below.

Craig Jones for the Sumatran Orangutan Society / Orangutan Information Centre

The rescue team carry the orangutans across deep water to reach the safety of the Gunung Leuser National Park.

Craig Jones for the Sumatran Orangutan Society / Orangutan Information Centre

The mother orangutan peers out of the transport cage just before being released back to freedom.

Craig Jones for the Sumatran Orangutan Society / Orangutan Information Centre

The mother orangutan is released from the transport cage and heads straight for the nearest tree, with her baby clinging to her side.

Craig Jones for the Sumatran Orangutan Society / Orangutan Information Centre

The mother orangutan quickly climbs up into the canopy with her baby, before swinging off into the forests, to freedom.

The OIC's rescue team do an incredible job, delivering urgent assistance to orangutans in desperate situations. They have saved the lives of more than 50 orangutans in the last two years.

Sumatran orangutans are critically endangered and without urgent action could be the first Great Ape species to become extinct, so protecting every individual is crucial.

Sadly, there are many more orangutans that need help to return to the wild, where they belong.

To support this vital work, please donate today and share this post.

Every rescue is a high-risk operation for both the orangutans and the team, and an evacuation is only carried out as a last resort when the orangutan's life is in greater danger if left in their current situation. With only around 6,500 Sumatran orangutans left in the wild, every individual is crucial for the survival of the species.