Hearing about an animal giving birth for the first time is exciting. It’s also exciting to hear when an animal gets rescued from captivity. But it’s even more thrilling when an animal gets rescued from captivity and then gets the opportunity to give birth to her first child.
The latter scenario occurred to a sweet orangutan named Susi. Her story started out sad but ended up being quite joyful.
Susi lived her life with a chain around her neck, that is, until she was rescued by BKSDA (Bali Natural Resources Conservation Center) and IAR (International Animal Rescue) Indonesia on July 30, 2011 and rehabilitated at IAR’s Ketpang-based Orangutan Conservation Center. Five years later, the orangutan was released into a protected forest in Gunung Tarak.
“I will never forget when we had to remove the chains from Susi’s neck. We were so very sad to see the state she was in. Now, it is very encouraging to see orangutans who used to live in confinement and suffering being able to live freely and even breeding in their natural habitat,” the program director of IAR Indonesia, Dr. Karmele L. Sanchez said.
Also according to Dr. Sanchez, Susi has dramatically improved since she was treated and temporarily rehomed.
“During her treatment and rehabilitation, Susi’s condition improved, not only physically but also mentally. Susi has also proved that she can adapt and become a true wild orangutan in her new home in Gunung Tarak.”
This is fantastic to hear! Susi deserves nothing more than to live life on her own terms.
But her rescue and release is more important than we could ever imagine. Ir Wiratno, a director-general for KSDAE, explains that the orangutan species are imperative for ecosystems.
“Orangutans are an ‘umbrella’ species, they play an important part in protecting an ecosystem due to their wide range and positive impact on their local habitat by spreading seeds into forest areas.”
Ecosystem benefits aside, Susi is just one of several orangutans that have gotten the luxury of receiving start a fresh start.
Not only does she live a happier life, but since Susi has been released back into the wild where she belongs, she was able to give birth to a healthy baby named Sinar.
In fact, Sinar was “the second to be born to a female orangutan rehabilitated at IAR’s center,” according to Chief Executive of International Animal Rescue, Alan Knight OBE. “The Bornean orangutan is Critically Endangered and so new arrivals like Sinar, and Tarak before her, bring hope for the future and the survival of the species as a whole.”
This is good news for both Susi and her little one, for everyone involve in Susi’s rescue and release, for the orangutan species, and for the ecosystem that Susi and Sinar reside in.
Meet Susi and Baby Sinar below!
Susi is so protective over her infant.
And here’s a close-up!
Welcome to motherhood, Susi!
