Rehabilitation programme rehabilitated 35 orang utan in Malaysia since 1995

Orang utan

Thirty-five orang utans have been rehabilitated at the Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort's Nature Reserve conservation centre of Malaysia since its inception in 1995.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu said the rehabilitation programme was complementary efforts conducted by the department's Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sandakan. These orang utans spend their first two parts of the rehabilitation programme at the resort's nature reserve before being sent back to Sepilok for the their last part of  programme. A veterinarian on 24-hour call is available at the Sepilok centre because the rehabilitation programme is being strictly supervised. Medical checks were also done on all the orang utans in Rasa Ria, he added. The programme which undertaken at the resort's nature reserve is although much smaller in scale compared to Sepilok, has given opportunity for the public and schoolchildren to experience first-hand the rehabilitation process. Representatives from NGOs who have attended the recent conservation workshop were als pleased with the conservation efforts.