Bunga is still living on Pak Ali Island where she is able to live like a wild orangutan and practice her foraging and nesting skills. The team continues to monitor Bunga’s behaviour, to determine when she has learnt all the skills necessary to survive in the wild. Bunga likes to travel a lot throughout the day which is an excellent skill to have for jungle living since she will be more likely to come across more food sources. Her foraging skills are excellent and she eats a wide variety of forest food including fruit, leaves and bark.
Bunga began her rehabilitation process in 2010. The veterinary team recently implanted a radio transmitter between Bunga’s shoulder blades which makes her a release candidate for the near future. This is such exciting news!
The IAR permanent reintroduction site is located within the borders of Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park and has been has been fully operational since January 2016, during which time 19 rehabilitated orangutan have been released. This National Park covers a total area of 181,000 ha of mostly pristine primary forest with a small wild orangutan population present that can be reinforced with reintroductions from orangutans undergoing rehabilitation at the West Kalimantan centre and translocations of wild orangutans. It is a long trek to reach the release site- it takes around 36 to 52 hours depending on the condition of the road. We are sure this journey will be well worth it for beautiful Bunga when freedom awaits her!
