Indonesia introduces baby born to rescued orangutan

By Hayati Nupus

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) – A female orangutan recently born at the Mt. Tarak protected forest on the island of Borneo now has a name.

The baby born in March was named Sinar by Indonesia’s Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya.

“Sinar was born last month in a healthy condition. She was observed actively suckling from her mother Susi,” said Wiratno, who goes by one name, head of nature conservation and ecosystems at the ministry, in a statement on Tuesday.

The mother Susi was rescued from captivity by the Natural Resources Conservation Agency in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province in 2011.

She went through various stages of rehabilitation at a pre-release forest at Mt. Tarak before being returned to the wild in May 2016.

As umbrella species in the forest ecosystem, orangutans play a critical role in maintaining ecological sustainability, particularly by spreading plant seeds through their droppings.

* Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita