A HAVEN FOR UNRELEASABLES
Sanctuary Islands are not just islands; they offer life-changing opportunities for orangutans, who would otherwise be condemned to live in cages.
Not all residents of the BOS Foundation’s rehabilitation centres can return to a natural forest to live freely. Currently, 128 orangutans, known as the “unreleasables,” are unable to live independently due to factors like infectious diseases, physical disabilities, and prolonged captivity that prevent them from developing natural behaviours. As a result, they will likely remain in the rehabilitation centre for the rest of their lives.
Still, our unreleasable orangutans do not have to spend their lives in captivity. At BOS, we are committed to providing them with a brighter future. For those without significant physical impairments, we strive to offer freedom on specially designed sanctuary islands.
On these secure forested islands, orangutans lacking survival skills can live outside the confines of a cage in an environment similar to a natural forest, all while benefiting from the security and support of a dedicated team of technicians and on-call veterinarians. The river boundaries help keep out most predators, while the technicians deliver food daily to supplement the natural resources.
The largest of these islands is Badak Kecil Sanctuary Island, which covers an area of 105 hectares. Opened in 2018, Badak Kecil is the world’s first natural reserve island dedicated exclusively to orangutans.
Sanctuary Islands are purpose-built islands covered in natural vegetation, allowing orangutans to live cage-free in a safe forest environment.
One of the main challenges in providing sanctuary care for unreleasable orangutans is securing the necessary funding. Long-term care for these animals involves significant costs, including decades’ worth of food, medication, and the expenses associated with constructing suitable sanctuary enclosures and islands. In fact, the financial requirements for lifelong care are greater than those needed for rehabilitating an orangutan.
While we urgently need additional sanctuary islands at both centres, we specifically require help building five more islands at our new Nyaru Menteng location. We must relocate our current centre because we do not own the land and have to return it. Moreover, the orangutans’ safety is at risk due to increasing human activities in the area.
The good news is that the BOS Foundation has acquired land we entirely own, allowing us to develop a new centre and sanctuary islands. However, we need to act more quickly than planned.
Each island requires extensive construction work to ensure the safety and well-being of our orangutans, allowing them to live as close to their natural habitat as possible. The islands will need fencing, canals, and other supporting infrastructure, a financial burden we cannot handle alone.
Will you help us raise $50,000 by 25 December to build five new sanctuary islands this holiday season? These islands will provide a dignified and species-appropriate life for orangutans desperately waiting behind bars. Together, we can change their destiny and work towards our ultimate goal of moving all our orangutans out of their cages.
Photos: ©Andrew Suryono (orangutan image)/©BOSF
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