A four-and-half-year-old orangutan has today been released into the wild in .
Rere was set free from a cage at the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program (SOCP) Reintroduction and Quarantine Station in Jantho, Aceh Besar.
Together with Aceh Natural Resource Agency, SOCP released the orangutan into the wild from the rehabilitation station, where primates who have been injured or lost their original habitat are taken care of.
The release is a rare piece of good news for the critically endangered species, which has seen its habitat shrink drastically over the past few decades largely due to the destruction of forests for logging, paper, palm oil and Mantap168 mining.
Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil, made from the pulp of the palm fruit, followed closely by Malaysia.
Palm plantations have been built on land taken from destroyed tropical rainforest, causing the death and displacements of many species, among them the critically endangered orangutan.
Rere, a four-and-half-year-old Sumatran Orangutan, hangs from a tree after being released into the wild from a cage at the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program (SOCP) Reintroduction and Quarantine Station
Rere leaves the cage after being released into the wild in Jantho, Aceh Besar, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra on 18 June 2019
Rere was reintroduced into the wild today by SOCP, which works ‘to ensure all remaining viable wild orangutan populations in Sumatra and their habitat are fully protected and safe from destruction’
The destruction of forests for logging, paper, palm oil and mining has caused the death and displacements of many species, among them the critically endangered orangutan
Rere the Sumatran Orangutan looked right at home after being released back into the wild in Jantho, Aceh Besar, Indonesia today
Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program (SOCP) together with Aceh Natural Resource Agency released Rere (pictured) into the wild from the rehabilitation station today
A Sumatran Orangutan in a cage at the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program (SOCP) Reintroduction and Quarantine Station in Jantho
The Sumatran orangutan used to be found all over the island of Sumatra but owing to loss of habit it is now restricted to the north of the island with a majority in the provinces of North Sumatra and Aceh