JEFFREY SHARES HIS ISLAND HOME
Jeffrey, an unreleasable male orangutan too old to undergo rehabilitation, is now sharing Island 0 with Yuyun, a female orangutan who the BOS Foundation team transferred to the island in February.
Jeffrey was born in 1998 at the Samboja Lestari Rehabilitation Centre, which at the time was located in Wanariset, in the Bukit Suharto Forest of East Kalimantan. Hepatitis B has been a constant struggle for Jeffrey ever since his birth. He had contracted the disease from his mother and was always in the quarantine complex for orangutans with Hepatitis B. Unfortunately, Jeffrey’s mother passed away from tuberculosis, and the veterinarians extended his quarantine to prevent the transmission of the disease to other orangutans. As a result, Jeffrey missed out on the chance to learn essential forest survival skills from his mother or in Forest School during the rehabilitation process.
Fortunately, it turned out that Jeffrey belongs to the category of orangutans with Hepatitis B who are harmless and have no clinical symptoms. The hepatitis he has is non-contagious, and he cannot transmit it to other individuals. Thus, it was safe to transfer Yuyun to Island 0 to accompany Jeffrey.
READ ALSO: YUYUN JOINS JEFFREY
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- Jeffrey seems at peace with his surroundings…
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- …and so far hasn’t interacted with Yuyun.
Jeffrey has been on Island 0 since 6 March 2020 after undergoing treatment for a dislocated pelvis. Since then, he has lived alone and seems at peace with his surroundings. He is not aggressive, never breaks the branches of trees, or tries to cross off the island. Jeffrey has a habit of hanging around the feeding platform and will approach the technicians who arrive by boat to deliver his food.
After three years on Island 0 alone, Jeffrey now has the company of a new friend. His calm demeanour has not changed since Yuyun entered his territory. Yuyun, who is still adjusting to island life, has kept her distance from Jeffrey, and the two have yet to be seen together. When Jeffrey is at the edge of the island, Yuyun is usually in its centre. While there hasn’t been any interaction between Jeffrey and Yuyun to date, both seem to be enjoying life on Island 0.
Keep on exploring, Jeffrey and Yuyun!
