Following the death of a 50-year-old male after 22 gunshost wounds in Gunung Leuser National Park, head of the N.P. Andi Basrul called local NGOs to discuss measure preventing such tragic death of orangutan.
During the meeting on Monday (October 26), Andi Basrul asked the NGO’s to provide supports by sending staff to monitor the N.P. in Langkat regency especially during durian season when orangutans always come out of the N.P. and go to local community durian farmland eating durian.
In the meeting, Scorpion Director Gunung Gea urged to report the case to the police to carry out full investigation. “Such investigation is important to make people aware that shooting orangutan is a crime,” he said.
The N.P. head Andi Basrul asked the NGO’s to prepare suggestion in writing and submit it to the N.P. authority this week.
World Conservation Society (WCS), the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP), and Scorpion Foundation attended the meeting at the N.P. office. These NGOs will meet on Wednesday to prepare recommendation to the NP authority.
HIV AIDS Can be Transmitted to Orangutan
In the discussion that took place Monday at the office of the Gunung Leuser N.P. , SOCP vets Yenny Saraswaty reminded that direct contact between humans and orangutans have to be stirckly prevented because human diseases can be transmitted to orangutan.
Yeni Saraswaty further explained that she had never come across a variety of human diseases contracted orangutans in Bukit Lanwang including HIV AIDS had also been found in the orangutan from the N.P. However, the news of HIV infected orangutan did not get published because the orangutan died before long at the SOCP quaranine.
Gunshot wounds
(Photo: OIC)
Meeting at Gunung Leuser N.P office. (Photo: Scorpion)
