The world’s leading orang utan expert, Dr Birute Mary Galdikas, in an interview with Sabah’s Daily Express is full of praise for the Sabah Government’s conservation efforts to save the orang utans. The efforts in eliminating illegal logging, illegal poaching and finding a permanent home in the Malau forest reserve for one of the world’s most endangered spieces.
Dr Galdikas is based in Indonesia, and has been studying and living with the orang utans at a reserve in Kalimantan since 1971. She has worked ceaselessly to save the orang utans and rainforests, and in bringing their plight to world attention.
- Orang Utan In Sabah
In Her Words
“The forest (Danum Valley) is awesome and just takes one’s breath away. The only forest that comes close to the forest of Sabah in Danum are the redwoods in northern California. They are beautiful, breathtaking.”
“In Danum Valley, there are 400 different types of birds recorded, but in Tanjung Puting where I work, we have something like 200 recorded. That in itself tells you about the richness in Danum Valley, and I am so glad it is protected.”
Sabah Conservation Efforts
The Government is going to create corridors to protect the wildlife of Sabah. 250 000 hectares of lowland forest in the Ulu Segama-Mulau area would be set aside for the orang utans. The current estimate of orang utans in the Malau forest reserve numbers more than 3 000.
The Sabah Government announced that it intends to purchase privately-owned land in zones around the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary to ensure the survival of Sabah’s wildlife such as the orang utans, rhinos and elephants.
A committee has been set up under the State Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry to prepare the
policy that will be known as Kinabatangan Corridor of Life.
Some Orang Utan Facts
- Tropical rainforests constitutes the orang utan’s only natural habitat.
- In Kalimantan, there are an estimated 30 000 orang utan population. But they are declining. While the battle is not lost, we may also not be winning it.
- Palm Oil plantation is the number one enemy of the orang utans. Due to the destruction of their natural habitat to make way for this cash crop.
- There are an estimated 5 000 orang utans in Danum Valley.
