The Badak Kecil Island Orangutan Sanctuary is now open

Thanks to your support, we helped BOSF in the purchase and running costs of the Badak Kecil Island Orangutan Sanctuary to ensure the highest welfare and long-term care for these animals.

Now, after months of preparation, we are delighted to share that the island sanctuary is up and running. Two rescued orangutans, Mama Lasa and Manis, were recently transferred to the island to live out their lives freely. Watch the video of their release on the island:

When we met Mama Lasa, she had spent years living at a zoo in Indonesia and had lost her ability to behave like an orangutan. BOSF believed she was taken from the wild when she was very young, and lived most of her life in the concrete world of metal bars and hard floors at the zoo. She was eventually handed over to BOSF with her baby son, Lasa. BOSF tried to prepare both Mama Lasa and Lasa to be released back into the wild, and although her son flourished and learned how to adapt, Mama Lasa sadly was unable to find food to feed herself.

Mamalasa is the first of six orangutans to experience freedom for the opening of Badak Kecil.

Even though Mama Lasa is a good mother to her son, she does not know how to look after herself and would not survive alone in the wild. After the years of captivity and suffering that she has survived, Badak Kecil gives her the freedom she deserves, allowing her to be an orangutan once again.

In the picture: BOS Foundation vet, Dr. Vivi Dwi Santi, performs a final medical check on Manis at the Nyaru Menteng quarantine facility.

Along with Mama Lasa, BOSF released another orangutan to enjoy life on the island: Manis. When Manis arrived at BOSF, she was grossly overweight and had suffered physical and psychological abuse. She displayed aggressive behaviours due to the trauma she endured, and she was unfortunately not able to be rehabilitated for release in the wild. We hope that Manis’ new life on the island gives her the space, freedom, and natural environment she needs to become an active, happier orangutan to live the best life possible.

Because of you, Mama Lasa, Manis, and many more orangutans will finally be free to be orangutans again. Thank you. 

Now, after months of preparation, we are delighted to share that the island sanctuary is up and running.