Orangutans at Greater Danum

The orang-utan was selected as a flagship species for conservation in Malaysia, and is therefore an ambassador for the protection of habitat and other wildlife. Since the past 40 years, this species has been thoroughly studied in Sumatra and Borneo including Sabah. John MacKinnon was the first field worker to have done complete observation on orangutans in the wild in 1968. Followed by Birute Gladikas at Tanjung Puting, Horr at Lokan-Kinabatangan, Rijksen at Ketambe and Rodman at Kutai more or less around the same time. These areas differ in many ways in types of habitat and orang-utan composition. Populations at Ketambe and Tanjung Puting held confiscated orang-utans while the rehabilitation centre initiated by Barbara Harrisson in 1965 for orangutans released at Sepilok are at semi-wild state. In 1998, the Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Prject was established, resulting from the collaboration between Hutan, a French NGO and the Sabah Wildlife Department. A research station was set up in Sukau, Kinabatangan and has employed 30 trained local staffs to do collection of observation data, faecal sampling for genetic work and density counts around the state of Sabah. Faunal survey was also part of the work genre, including commuunity work such as awareness programme, wise alternative use of natural resources and a community based tourism model project and homestay programmes, as well as appointed game wardens, and wildlife control unit for improvement of social economics along with the protection of wildlife.