Aman, the big handsome male orang-utan in Sarawak bit into an electrical wire and blinded himself in the process. This resulted in Aman being confined to captivity for its own safety for 10 years. WOX explored the possibility of restoring his sight and upon positive diagnosis coordinated the eye operation. Aman trying to catch a butterfly and studying an apple in his hand confirmed the success of the world’s first phacoemulsification surgery on an orang utan!
The entire operation expenditure was approximately RM100,000.
On a wildlife monitoring trip with participants on our Sabah programme, just as we were pointing out the trees planted several years back by previous participants, a troop of approximately 40 long-tailed macaques jumped and swung through the very trees we were pointing at. What an exhilarating feeling to see wildlife actually a part of our reforested land. See video here. Now, we are waiting for the trees to grow large enough to house orang-utans and have pygmy elephants roam through! See video here
Within confined spaces and with limited trees to work with, orang-utans do not have the luxury of their natural sleeping habitat of a hammock-like nest of leaves. WOX programmes have seen volunteers designing and making hammocks for orang-utans as a substitute to their nest. Seeing orang-utans in captivity almost all the time in the hammocks is proof for the need of enrichment that volunteers are able to bring in.
When a male orang-utan was transferred from Zoo Negara for breeding exchange to another zoo, he was depressed for several weeks before the new keepers realised that he was missing his hammock. The new keepers made a trip to Zoo Negara and our facilitator taught them how to make a hammock for the happy orang-utan!
In Sukau, a village along the Kinabatangan River, WOX has established a successful conservation education programme that began in September 2008. The children in this programme have been instrumental in bringing the community a step closer towards developing their very own responsibility over the survival of their river, the environment and the wildlife that they have been born into. The children’s English have improved markedly and a school library is about to be started.
Two orang-utans, Chiam & Ganti, gave birth within 6 hours of each other at the rehabilitation centre. The “synchronised births” happened on Feb 3rd 2009 effectively doubling the captive breeding population at MWC. Plans to release mothers and babies are on the drawing board.
Sunbears are known to climb to great heights in the wild. However, captive born sunbears have not shown the same knack at climbing trees. WOX and volunteers decided to try a few enrichment ideas and before we knew it, sunbears in our care, who have never been out there in the wild before, have started to climb! Programme participants sent out to monitor sunbear behaviour on a regular basis have reported them climbing to as high as 10 feet!
7 tons of belian/ iron wood was hand-carried into the Malaysian rainforest by staff and volunteers to build this ranger station. Standing at 24ft X18ft in area and 4km into the jungle, this ranger station was built at a cost of RM30,000 over 4 months. Not only is it used for the monitoring of orang-utans under training for release back into the rainforest, it is also an ideal and safe place for the training of the orang-utans away from humans.
Behavioural enrichment is the way in which we create opportunities for animals to have meaningful interactions with their surroundings, and encourage and monitor survival specific behaviours that will become vital if they are ever to go back to the wild.
WOX has been the crux of creating an enriched environment for the orang-utans at the ape centres we work with as well as many other animals at the zoos, including the large cats, elephants, sunbears and other primates. This has resulted in livelier animals who look and behave in healthier ways.
Through the years, we have created a library of enrichment activities, used as reference during our programmes.
WOX has rebuilt 2 enclosures in Sarawak at a cost of RM120,000 each. These enclosures had fallen into derelict due to weather and lack of maintenance. Volunteers were instrumental in the construction of these structures.
Built for orang-utan enrichment within their enclosures, these climbing platforms allow orang-utans a little climbing workout at the zoo or rehabilitation centres. At the zoos, these platforms provide the orang-utans with much needed exercise while at the rehabilitation centres they provide the opportunity to practise the essential climbing skills preparing them for eventual release. Depending on the size of the platforms, they cost between RM8,000 – RM12,000 per unit and WOX has successfully built 7 platforms.
This was a great success for us knowing that mating behaviours have started among the sun bears in our care. With the construction of a large enclosure through donations from an ex-volunteer, increased enrichment and a healthier, natural diet, WOX has set the environment for sunbears that encourage more natural behaviours, including mating. We are looking forward to more baby sunbears!
Habitat restoration is the largest part of the Kinabatangan programme as the protected area is home to pygmy elephants, orang-utans and a host of other primates, birds, insects and wildlife. WOX has already successfully assisted in the reforestation of 2 plots of land and has now taken full ownership of a 3rd plot measuring approximately 2 acres. Monitoring of these planted land continue till today. WOX continues to work with WWF and other organisation in planting and monitoring of tree growth at critical areas.
