An orangutan named Raymond has been causing disturbances in Pelangsiran transit settlement, worrying locals and prompting our Post-Release Monitoring (PRM) team to take swift action. 

Translocation is the act of relocating an orangutan who is at risk, which often comes in the form of conflict with humans, to safe area which far from human presence. Our PRM team only decides to carry out translocations when they receive repeated and frequent reports from villages of an orangutan causing disruptions in the settlement.

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Raymond’s was first seen in the Pelangsiran area in August 2023, alongside of another trouble-making orangutan, Bungan. Shortly after, in September, Bungan was translocated to the Gunung Bagong area. However, even in the absence of Bungan’s bad influence, Raymond has continued his antics and, now, it was time for him to be translocated to the Persemaian area, which is far from human activities.

The PRM team had formed a translocation task force to make preparations including deciding the capture strategy, determining the translocation release point, ensuring the availability of supplies and food for Raymond during the journey, and arranging transportation for the trip to the translocation point. Once everything was ready, the translocation team hurried to Pelangsiran to meet Raymond.

The next day, the translocation team found Raymond behind the home of a local resident. This sort of intrusive behaviour is practically unheard of in wild orangutans, but for those who were traumatised as children and had to undergo rehabilitation, their fear of humans is much lower. The translocation team acted swiftly and our veterinarian successfully anesthetised him. Once sedated, a health check was conducted on Raymond by the veterinarian. This included recording his physical condition, heart rate, and respiration rate, as well as collecting some non-invasive biological samples.

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After that, Raymond was placed in a transport cage and brought to the boat. Upon arrival in the Persemaian area, the team immediately released Raymond’s back into the wild, hoping that he could now live his life free of human contact. Go explore, Raymond, go!

Text by: PRM Team at Camp Lesik, Kehje Sewen Forest, East Kalimantan