Victoria and one of her friends at SOC before her release
VICTORIA SHANGHAI ACADEMY AND MASARANG HK SPONSOR
RELEASE OF VICTORIA
The August 19 is International Orangutan Day. We are celebrating this year with news of the successful release of Victoria and two of her orangutan friends from the Sintang Orangutan Centre (SOC) as well as another successful collaboration with the wonderful Victoria Shanghai Academy (VSA). We have worked with the VSA for over 10 years and remain very proud of this special and successful team effort.
The Primary Principal, Mr Ross Dawson, with his students and staff, wanted to celebrate Victoria’s release with awareness raising activities about endangered animals, especially orangutans, as well as a fund-raising activity. Masarang Animal Day proved fun for all as well as a wonderful fund-raising opportunity. The Secondary School community also contributed to the fund raising efforts so a big thank you to the Secondary section too! Please watch the video below to find out more about the wonderful motivation, care and effort by the VSA to celebrate the release of Victoria.
Victoria, named in honour of the long-term support and partnership from the VSA, was released along with two other graduates from SOC: Felix and BOSS Benni. The cost of rescuing orphaned baby orangutans and providing them with up to eight years of ‘forest school’ is a very expensive undertaking but it is vital for these critically endangered beings in order for them to be successfully returned to their natural environment. The professional and experienced team at the Sintang Orangutan Centre have to take over this task when they rescue orphaned orangutans. Without learning the skills needed for life in their natural environment, orphaned orangutans would not be able to be successfully released.
The experience of orangutan forest school may appear to be more familiar to you than you would imagine. With up to eight years of care and lessons from highly trained and skilled staff, appropriate care and nutrition, lots of opportunities for lessons to learn essential skills (as well as have fun) and team work with other ‘students’, some of whom become very good friends, is an essential part of the forest school experience. In the wild, a baby orangutan would learn these skills at their mother’s side as a baby orangutan would stay with their mother for approximately 8 years. Unfortunately, poachers, deforestation and the palm oil business has resulted in the rise in orphaned orangutans as well, the serious decline in adult orangutans in the natural environment and a huge loss to biodiversity.
Dr Willie Smits visiting the students at the VSA
The release process is a vital but very expensive undertaking due to the planning, preparation and manpower involved in transporting a small group of orangutans to a chance of life in a forest, as far from humans as possible and in a protected environment. An update on the latest release of Victoria and her two friends can be found below in the latest newsletter from SOC.
We are very proud to celebrate International Orangutan Day. We are also very proud to work with the VSA school community and very grateful for their support.
Victoria as a baby when rescued
Victoria out of transport cage
Victoria eating leaves at the release site
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