Orangutan Rehabilitation Center in Gunung Leuser National Park (TNGL) Bahorok, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra Province in 1973-2015

Muhammad Ibrahim; Budi Agustono; Rahimah  Rahimah

doi:10.55927/eajmr.v4i7.294

Authors

Muhammad Ibrahim Universitas Sumatera Utara
Budi Agustono Universitas Sumatera Utara
Rahimah Rahimah Universitas Sumatera Utara

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55927/eajmr.v4i7.294

Keywords:

Rehabilitation, Orangutan, Management, TNGL

Abstract

Orangutans are endemic great apes in Indonesia and Malaysia, now limited to parts of Kalimantan and Sumatra. Their population continues to decline due to poaching, illegal trade, and deforestation, causing them to be classified as critically endangered by the IUCN. This research aims to describe the establishment and development of the Bahorok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. The method used is historical research comprising heuristic, verification, interpretation, and historiography combined with a conservation ecology approach and field observations. Findings show the center was founded in 1973 by Swiss zoologists Regina Frey and Monica Borner to reintroduce confiscated orangutans into the wild. The center contributed to orangutan conservation, public awareness, and the protection of Gunung Leuser National Park. Although its function as a rehabilitation site ceased due to tourism pressures, it played a vital role in conservation and transformed Bahorok into a global ecotourism destination.

References

Almeira. Adriano. Guidebook to The Gunung Leuser National Park. Foundation Sumatran Orangutan Lestari Orangutan Information Center (YOSL-OIC). 2009

Lalat Regency Central Statistics Agency. 2024, "Bahorok District in Numbers", vol 17,

Bemment. Neil. 2018. Orangutan EEP Best Practice Guidelines. Barcelona: European Association of Zoos and Aquaria.

Borner. Marcus. Sumatra's Orangutans. Oryx,Volume 13,Issue 3, February 1976 , pp. 290 – 293

Boomgard. Peter. Oriental Nature, its friends and its Enemies: Conservation of Nature in Late Colonial Indonesia, 1889-1949. The White Horse Press.1999.

Courant, Deli "Catching Orangutans: The So-Called Cruelty" 28 August 1928

Cousins, Don. "The Discovery and Early History of the Orangutan" in International Zoo News. Vol. 56. No. 2. 2009.

Cribb, Robert. et al. Wild Man from Borneo: A Cultural History of Orangutan. Hawaii: University of Hawai'i Press. 2014.

Cribb, R., Gilbert, H., & Tiffin, H. (2014). Wild man from Borneo: A cultural history of the orangutan. University of Hawaii Press.

Dellatore. Fenwick. David. "Behavioural Health of Reintroduced Orangutans (Pongo Abelli) in Bukit Lawang". Phd Dissertation, Oxford: Oxford Brookes University. 2007.

Dordrecht, Springer. (1982). "The Orangutan: Its Biology and Conservation". London: Kluwer Academic Publisher Group.

Department of Forestry. (1995). History and development of Gunung Leuser National Park. Jakarta: Ministry of Finance.

Eipper, Paul & Patrick Kirwan. Animals looking at you. New York: The Viking Press. 1929.

Gottschalk Louis, Understanding history, translation by Nugroho Notosusanto, Jakarta: UI Press. 1985.

Harrison, Barbara. "The Immediate Problem of the Orangutan", The Malayan Nature Journal. Vol.16. 1962.

Hornaday, Willian T. Two Years in the Jungle: The Experiences of a Hunter and Naturalist in India, Cylon, the Malay Peninsula and Borneo. New York: C. Scribner's Sons. 1887.

IUCN. "IUCN 2019: International Union for Conservation of Nature Annual Report 2019." IUCN 2019: International Union for Conservation of Nature Annual Report 2019, 2019, xx–52.

IUCN. "IUCN 2004: Orangutan Population Habitat Viability Assessment 2004." IUCN 2004 : International Union for Conservation of Nature Final Report 2004.

Jepson, Paul & Robert Whittaker. "Histories of Protected Areas: Internationalisation of Conservationist Values and their Adoption in the Nederlands Indies (Indonesia)". in Environment and History. Vol. 8. 2002.

Jones, M.L. "The Orangutan in Captivity" in The Orangutan its Biology and Conservation. (Ed) Leobert E.M. de Boer. The Hague: Dr. W. Junk Publishers. 1982.

Kaplan, Gisela & Lesley J. Rogers, The Orangutans: their evolution, behavior, and future, Massachusetts: Perseus Publishing Cambridge, 2000.

Kopp, S, Kathrin. 2018. "Conflict Resolution in Socially Housed Sumatran Orangutans (Pongo Abelli)". San Diego: Peer J Press.

Kuntowijoyo, 2001, Introduction to Historical Sciences, Yogyakarta: Yayasan Bentang Budaya.

Kusumasumantri, Yudistira, Pandji. History of the First 5 National Parks. Jakarta: Directorate General of KSDAE. 2016.

Kusumasumantri. Yudhistira. Pandji. The Role of Sultans and Monarchs in History. Directorate General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation through DIPA FY 2022 funding.

Kevin J. Gaston, "Global Patterns in Biodiversity," Nature 405, no. 6783 (2000): 220–27, https://doi.org/10.1038/35012228.

Kusumasumantri, P. Y. (2016). History of the First 5 National Parks in Indonesia. Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press.

Kopp, K. S. (2018). Conflict resolution in socially housed Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii). Primates, 59(3), 219–229. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-018-0654-2

Langer LL.M, Jurian. "Danish Bottles and Austrian Animal Transport: The Continuing Story of Free Movement, Environmental Protection and Proportionality." Review of European Community & International Environmental Law 9, no. 2 (July 17, 2000): 188–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9388.00250.

Lee, R. "Orangutan Conservation and Rehabilitation: A Historical Perspective." Journal of Wildlife Management 82, no. 4 (2018): 563–75. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.21485.

Mackinnon, John, In Search of the Red Ape, London: Collins St James's Place, 1974

Minarcheck, Joseph, Matthew. "Militarized Ecologies: Science, Violence, and the Creation of Sumatra's Leuser Ecosystem (Indonesia), 1890-1945". New York: Cornell University Press. 2019.

Minarchek, M. J. (2019). Militarized Ecologies: Science, violence, and the creation of Sumatra's Leuser ecosystem (Indonesia), 1890–1945 [Doctoral dissertation, Cornell University].

Naharia. Orbanus. Ecology. Source: Eureka Media Script. 2023

Onrizal. On the Verge of Extinction: A Million Hopes to Save the World's Wealth in North Sumatra. Journal of the Indonesian Geography Expedition 2009 North Sumatra: 101-103, 2009.

Payne, J. (2008). Orangutans: Behavior, ecology, and conservation. Oxford University Press

Palmer, Alexandra. Saving and Sacrificing: Ethical Questions in Orangutan Rehabilitation. "Thesis" University College. 2018.

Payne, Junaidi. 2008. "Orangutans: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation". Massachusetts: MIT Press.

Primack, Richard.B. "Essentials of Conservation Biology 6th Edition". English: Sinauer Associates is an imprint of Oxford University Press. 2014.

Purwoko. August. Orangutan Ecotourism on Sumatra Island: Current Conditions and a Call for Further Development. . Sustainability 2022, 14, 11328. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811328.2022.

Putro, Haryanto R. et al. 2019. The Ecology of the Tapanuli Orangutan. Bogor: Working Group on Sustainable Batang Toru Landscape Management. 2019.

Primack, R. B. (2014). Essentials of conservation biology (6th ed.). Sinauer Associates.

Rijksen, H.D. A Field Study On Sumatran Orangutans (Pongo Pygmaeus Abeli Lesson 1827) Ecology, Behaviour and Conservation, Wageningen: H. Veenman & Zonen B.V. 1978.

Rijksen, H. D., & Meijaard, E. (1982). The orangutan: Its biology and conservation. Springer Dordrecht.

Saragih. Anwar. A Disaster Management Model in the Gunung Leuser National Park National Area in an Ecological Political Perspective. POLITICS, Vol. 7, No.1, April 2016

Schaik, of. "Orangutan Rehabilitation" in Leuser: A Sumatran Sanctuary. Depok: Indonesian Bioscience Development Foundation. 1996.

Loyal. Dual. Ahmad. Proceedings of the National Seminar of the Indonesian Biodiversity Society. biodiversitas.mipa.uns.ac.id/psnmbi.htm 2015.

Siburian, Robert. "Ecotourism-Based Management of Leuser National Park Bukit Lawang Section". Journal of Society and Culture, Volume 8 No. 1. 2006

Singleton, Ian. "The Status of Orangutan Populations and Their Habitats in Sumatra and Borneo". UNEP/UNESCO, 2022.

Singh. Mewa. Tree architecture model of Sumatran Orangutan Pongo abelii Lesson, 1827 (Mammalia: Primates: Hominidae) nests at Soraya Research Station, Leuser Ecosystem,Indonesia.10.11609/jott.2024.16.5.25119-25282www.threatenedtaxa.org. 2024.

Sitompul. Rahmad. An Ambigious Perception Of Sumatran Orangutans (Pongo abelii) By Local CommunityIn Tangkahan, Leuser Ecosystem, Indonesia. Wild Journal Vol. 7, No. 1, March 2024 (41-53). https://belantara.unram.ac.id/index.php/JBL/article/view/1009

Skott, Christina. "Linnacus and the Troglodyte" in Indonesia & The Malay World. Vol. 42. No. 123. 2014.

Soehartono, Tonny, Herry Djko Susilo, Noviar Andayani, Sri Suci Utami Atmoko, Shihite Jamartin, Chairul Saleh, and Sutrisno Arifien. "Orangutan Conservation Strategy and Action Plan 2007-2017 Department." Ministry of Forestry, 2019.

Speha, Stephanie N. "Orangutans Venture Out of the Rain Forest and Into the Anthropochene". Science Advance. 2024.

Suryadi, H. "The Role of Rehabilitation Centers in Orangutan Conservation in Sumatra." Biodiversity and Conservation 28, no. 3 (2019): 761–76. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-019-01736-3.

Suhud. Muhammad. et al. "The Impact of Climate Change on Orangutan Habitats". Jakarta: WWF Indonesia. 2007.

Singleton, I., et al. (2020). Orangutan population and habitat viability assessment. IUCN.

Science Advance. (2024). Orangutans: Icons of extinction. https://www.science.org/

Trinirmalaningrum. 2016. Portrait of Illegal Wildlife Trade in Indonesia. Jakarta: Partenrship Scale for Sustainabilty.

Valk, A.C. van der. Capture and hunt in Sumatra's wilderness. Amsterdam: J.M. Meulenhoff. 1940.

Weigh, Richard. "Some Notes on Orangutan Captive History and Longevity" in International Zoo News. Vol 58. No. 2. 2011.

Wich, Serge A, et al, (ed), Orangutans: Geographic Variation in Behavioral Ecology and Conservation, New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Widodo. Dyah. Ecology and Environmental Sciences. Medan: Yayasan Kita Menulis. 2021.

Olive, A. (2021). Vegetation structure of Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii) habitat in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Biodiversity Journal of Biological Diversity, 22(1), 275–283.