Bukit Merah’s orangutans could become a lifeline for the species

At just one year old, Orked has no idea what extinction means, or why the future of her species may one day depend on orangutans like her.

She is the youngest of 15 orangutans living at Bukit Merah Orang Utan Island, Perak, where conservationists are working towards a long-term goal: building a population large and diverse enough to serve as a biological safety net.

The aim is to eventually maintain around 50 orangutans, a number the foundation believes could offer some hope of rebuilding populations if a severe collapse were ever to occur in the wild.

Foundation adviser Azmil Khuzaid Zakaria said reaching that point could take 15 to 20 years. “The 50 orangutans are essentially to maintain that assurance population. If there is any massive failure in the wild, this is enough to start repopulating,” he told Bernama.

“Of course, it will take decades,” he added.

The island’s present residents range from Orked and two-year-old Aggy to much older orangutans such as BJ, 40, Baboon, 39, and Ah Ling, 32.

An earlier ambition had been to release suitable orangutans back into the wild as the island population increased. That plan has since been put on hold, partly because animals accustomed to long-term care would need extensive preparation before release, while wild populations themselves remain vulnerable.

Instead, the island is being viewed increasingly as a place where a carefully managed population could be preserved over the long term.

At present, slightly less than 2ha of the 6ha island are in use, and the existing space is close to capacity. Azmil said another 2ha could comfortably support a much larger population, although the goal would remain around 50 rather than filling every available space.

Still, simply adding more orangutans is not as straightforward as it sounds. Eight of the island’s 15 orangutans are male, and as males mature, dominance and territorial behaviour can become an issue.

Azmil recalled one serious confrontation between Mike, the island’s former dominant male, and BJ, which reinforced the need to carefully manage how animals are housed and separated.

“Mike got into a fight with BJ and lost. We then separated them, but Mike didn’t live much longer after that,” Azmil recounted.

Genetics adds another layer of complexity. Different Bornean orangutan subspecies need to be managed appropriately, while the island must also avoid allowing a relatively closed population to become too closely related over successive generations.

To widen the gene pool, the foundation has been exploring exchanges and breeding arrangements with zoos and other organisations that care for orangutans.

Natural population growth is slow in any case: a mother typically remains closely involved with her infant for five to seven years and may not become pregnant again during that time.

“So, if we solely rely on organic growth, it will take too long,” Azmil said, adding that bringing in orangutans from elsewhere may also be necessary.

Learning from orangutans themselves

A larger population could also help researchers better understand orangutan behaviour. In the wild, the animals can be extremely difficult to observe, with researchers sometimes spending days trying to locate even one individual.

A managed population offers more consistent opportunities to study social behaviour, interactions and development over time. That could make the island useful not only as a refuge, but also as a place where knowledge about the species continues to grow alongside the animals themselves.

For the 17 people who care for them – including rangers, nurses and a veterinarian – that responsibility is already substantial.

The island relies on a diesel generator, and power is currently available for about 12 hours a day. A planned move towards partial solar energy is expected to ease some of that burden, while round-the-clock power would improve food storage and emergency readiness.

As the orangutan population grows, so too will the cost and complexity of caring for it.

Additionally, the foundation is considering reviving its volunteer programme, which has not resumed since the pandemic. Before then, local and overseas volunteers spent weeks helping with everyday work on the island, including the decidedly unglamorous job of cleaning enclosures.

For Azmil, that kind of involvement reflects a larger truth about conservation: keeping a species safe cannot rest entirely on one organisation or one source of support.

Reaching 50 orangutans will require new enclosures, careful breeding and genetic management, more resources, and years of patience.

For Orked and the 14 others already calling the island home, that long horizon carries a much bigger purpose: ensuring that, if the worst ever happens beyond the island, there is a population left from which to begin again.

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