Orangutan Diary (2007) s02e01 Episode Script

STEVE: We're on a mission to save some of our closest animal relatives.
Their homes are being destroyed at a terrifying rate.
Many are killed by poachers or taken as illegal pets.
Their best hope lies with the team at the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, who rescue these animals in the hope they can be released back into the wild.
It's been over a year since we last shared their stories with you.
(STEVE LAUGHING) There were scenes of joy and laughter, but there was also tragedy.
There's definitely nothing lower than losing a little baby.
STEVE: And since our last visit, things have got worse.
There are now over 600 orangutans at the centre.
The challenges the team faces grow more urgent by the day.
And there have been some dramatic developments.
So, join us, as we experience the trials and triumphs of Orangutan Diary.
Yeah! Yeah? Now no-no's.
Yes, they are.
Ooh! STEVE: Lone Droscher Nielsen runs the largest ape rescue operation in the world.
LONE: You just want to be tickled, don't you? STEVE: It was built 10 years ago for just 100 babies, orphaned when their forests were destroyed.
But, since then, the environmental crisis has deepened and, together with her team, she now cares for over 600 orangutans.
Once a day, the younger ones come together for a drink and a play.
So, Steve, it is fantastic to be back, and see so many of them here, and be amongst them all.
But, I also feel quite sad to see how many there are here.
There are a lot more than last time.
This lawn is packed now.
Look at them all.
STEVE: I know.
It seems nothing can stop the flood of orangutans arriving at the centre, as many as 17 a month.
They'll all need at least five years of schooling before they can be released.
But the staff still have hope.
It's been Lone's dream to get every single one of these orangutans back out into the wild.
And, thankfully, just a few months ago, she found another safe haven for a handful and I was lucky enough to be there.
Finding anywhere for them hasn't been easy.
International demand for palm oil is the biggest threat orangutans have ever faced.
It's found in 10% of supermarket products, consumed by over a billion people every day, in things like crisps and oven chips, bread and soap.
Chances are you don't even know you're using it but worldwide demand is driving the destruction of Borneo's forests at a rate never seen before.
And it could drive orangutans to extinction.
(GRUNTS) They haven't got any lighter.
Every one of the orangutans in Lone's care has experienced tragedy.
So choosing the handful to release has been tough.
It has to be the most recently rescued because the skills they'll need in the wild are still fresh in their minds.
STEVE: Have you woken up already? Among them are mothers with babies, who now get a second chance to bring up their little ones in safety.
Most of them have been sedated, most of the orangutans, some of them haven't.
And some of them are waking up already, but it's not a long flight.
So it shouldn't be too traumatic.
But it's great knowing that, at the end of it, they're gonna be out in the wild again.
With the number of orangutans in the wild rapidly declining, every life is precious.
Each crate has been measured and every orangutan weighed to make sure as many as possible make it on board.
- STEVE: Ah! Front door.
Excellent.
- Yeah! Front door, right at you.
- STEVE: (CHUCKLES) Hey, nice! - No problem, yeah.
STEVE: This is first class.
We're in business.
All the orangutans on board have lost infants, been close to starvation or had their homes ripped from under them.
But, they're finally on their way to freedom.
Amongst them is one very special mother and her baby.
We were there at the start of her tragic story, and I'm thrilled that we can be back to, hopefully, see a happy ending.
MICHAELA: Most orangutans arrive at the centre as helpless orphans.
And without mothers of their own, it's up to Lone and the team to teach them all they need to know.
It'll take years of schooling before they can be released back into the wild.
The youngest go to nursery but when they're older, they come here, to Forest School, where I'm hoping to catch up with one very special orangutan.
Last time I was here, there was one particular orangutan that absolutely stole my heart.
His name was Lomon and when I first saw him, he was incredibly skinny, traumatised and very ill.
And, in fact, we wondered whether he would ever recover.
Well, apparently he's doing really well now in Forest School.
And, after two years, I can't wait to see him.
MICHAELA: I remember the day I met Lomon.
It was the rainy season and next to the clinic was one very poorly baby.
He was incredibly thin.
For some reason, his head had been shaved.
And when he first came in, he couldn't bear to look at anybody.
Probably because he had been beaten.
Well, I'm finally here.
This is Lomon's group, I think.
But, they all look huge.
So I'm sure I'm not going to recognise him.
Hi! (SPEAKING BAHASA INDONESIA) - Which one is Lomon? - Lomon is here.
(GASPS) Lomon! Hello! You've got so big.
Look at you.
Aw! Hello.
He was my favourite.
Yeah! You love playing with Lomon? MICHAELA: And that tummy, look at you.
And you're eating so well.
It's unbelievable to see the difference.
The things I remember about Lomon, obviously he came in, he was so sick, and he just would not eat.
But, with a lot of patience from the babysitters, he started to eat.
And then he would not stop.
He hoovered everything up.
And he got quite a little belly on him.
You can see, he's just got bigger all around.
He looks so healthy.
All his hair's grown back.
It's incredible to think that we were worried that he wouldn't survive and now look at him.
The other thing with Lomon is, once he got enough confidence to come out into Forest School, he was a bit of a slow learner, especially with climbing.
And it took a lot of time and patience to get him to go just a few feet up a tree.
But, now, apparently, he's off.
He's up trees.
He's making nests.
He even stays out overnight.
He has come on so, so well.
He's getting a medal for improvement.
You're our star pupil, aren't you? Are you going to show me how you can climb, Lomon? Go on! Lomon has made an incredible recovery.
Thanks to the staff of the centre, there really is a chance that, one day, he could make it into the wild.
STEVE: The release team and the orangutans are well on their way to an airstrip right in the heart of Borneo.
It may be the third largest island in the world, but almost 90% of orangutan habitat has already disappeared.
It's a struggle to find anywhere safe.
Lone can't stop the destruction entirely.
Instead, her mission is to convince the mining, logging, and plantation companies to act more responsibly.
(GRUNTING) Eh-up, we're leaking oil.
Never mind.
- Hello.
- Hello.
- How are you? - Good.
A handful of companies support her work, and have paid for an aircraft, and have provided space for the team to set up a base camp.
With so much of Borneo's land all ready promised to companies wanting to exploit it, working with them is the only way she can offer a better future for orangutans, including one I've waited over a year to see.
In one of these crates is a very special orangutan that I met last time I was here.
And I can't wait to see her.
She, and 35 others, will soon be back in the wild.
(SPEAKING BAHASA INDONESIA) MAN: Yeah, one, two, three! (COUNTING IN BAHASA INDONESIA) All these orangutans learnt how to survive in the wild the hard way, by living in it.
They're still wary of people, which should keep them away from danger in the forest.
Okay! STEVE: But even though they have the skills to make it, releasing orangutans like this fully-grown male requires careful planning.
(MAN SPEAKING BAHASA INDONESIA) We can't, obviously, just drive up here and turf them out into the forest.
It all has to be done very slowly and carefully.
So these cages have been built specially to house these orangutans for the next few days.
'Cause that's gonna be how long it takes us to get them back out into the wild.
Hopefully, one day, all the orphans in Forest School will head back to the wild.
But it'll be harder for them.
The babysitters do their best, but this baby, the one I've waited so long to see, has a teacher no human can compare to, her own mother.
That mother and baby in there are very special to me because we were there when they first came in to the centre.
That's Mama Abut.
And when she arrived with her little baby, she was in a shocking condition.
She was very close to starvation.
When she fell from the crate in front of us, it was hard to believe she was still alive.
She was ravaged by hunger, wasting away with her need to provide milk for her baby.
Her forest home had been ripped up and replaced with a palm oil plantation, where there was almost nothing to eat.
It's where 90% of the orphans arriving at the centre are found.
(BABY ABUT SQUEALING) Mama Abut and her baby were rescued in the knick of time.
A few more days and they would have died.
But Lone and her team successfully nursed them back to health.
(SQUEALING) Now, eight months on, Mama Abut's life is about to change.
You must be pretty excited about all this.
LONE: It's always good.
It's nice to get anything out of the project.
It's so lovely.
How many does this leave you with at the centre, roughly? - Exactly 600.
- Exactly 600! Mmm-hmm.
That's crazy 'cause you just had I think you had just over 300 when I was last here.
LONE: No, we had 430 then.
STEVE: Oh, right.
LONE: We had 635, but then we got one more in, just as we were going to release yesterday, we got another one in.
So, we just hit 600 again.
- Nothing to be proud of, I must admit.
- STEVE: No.
Just shows, really STEVE: Rescued and confiscated orangutans arrive at the centre faster than Lone can release them.
But, at least, this handful have a second chance.
Mama Abut has come a long way from the palm oil plantation where she was found.
And to see her now, fit and healthy, and her baby looking 100% as well, that's awesome.
And now, over the next couple of days, we're gonna be able to see her released back where she belongs.
You can imagine the trauma all these orangutans have been through.
But, with Mama Abut, I saw it first hand.
Seeing her released, will bring home how important the work of the centre really is.
MICHAELA: What's happened to Baby Abut is tragic, but at least he still had his mother.
All the babies in this centre's nursery are orphans.
Most of these little ones' mums have been killed by poachers or hunters.
And many of these had been kept as pets.
When they lose their mum at such a young age, it can be a huge disadvantage.
The mother-baby connection of orangutans is one of the longest of any animals, except humans.
They stay with their moms until they are about eight years old, before they're independent enough to survive in the wild.
So, without their moms, it's up to the babysitters to teach them all they need to know.
First of all, here in the nursery, and, when they're old enough, out in Forest School.
(BABBLING) But, for now, Forest School and being out in the wild, is a long way off for orphans like little Pickle here.
It's all about getting plenty of sleep.
These guys have such a long learning journey ahead of them.
If they'd arrived with their mothers, they'd be first in line for release.
Instead, they face years at the centre, well loved but so far from home.
STEVE: The release team is heading deep into the jungle.
We're taking a boat ride to recce the site where the orangutans will be released.
In the wild, orangutans lead solitary lives.
So we can help them by getting into the forest first and choosing the perfect place for each one.
MAN: We want to get a bit of a move on, the river level's falling very fast out there and so there's the problem of the last rapids.
STEVE: Getting around this huge island can be a struggle.
But Borneo's rivers spread out from the central highlands all the way to the coast.
They're the best way of getting around.
Mama Abut is making her own way there, which leaves us to enjoy a ride through some spectacular scenery.
So, why the lifejackets, then? That'll be the rapids.
(CHUCKLES) Don't worry, the orangutans aren't coming this way.
They're travelling first class.
In places, there's barely enough water for the boat.
When it's low, you have to get out and walk, which might not've been a bad idea.
(LAUGHS) The most important thing about this site, is that it's one of the few protected areas in Borneo where Mama Abut and the others can be released.
- That is where we're going.
- STEVE: Oh! We're finally here and, somewhere out there, the first orangutans are already on their way.
We have to get ready.
There's just time to make a few last-minute preparations and this bright, red flag is going to help them find us.
So, this is it, Eden for our orangutans.
I think they're gonna like it here.
This place is a protected research area, surrounded by pristine forest and with all the fruit trees the orangutans need to survive.
And they'll soon be here, swinging through the trees.
MAN: I can hear it! Chopper! Chopper! STEVE: Swinging, that is, beneath the helicopter.
Flying is just another in the long list of things these orangutans should never have had to deal with, but this place is so remote, it's the best way of getting them in here.
And freedom is their ultimate reward.
Watch out! STEVE: The chopper will soon be back with more orangutans.
So it's up to us to carry these first two the last few metres to the forest and freedom.
STEVE: I think it's sat in that end, actually.
This end, there's hardly any weight in it at all.
LONE: It's Pagon.
STEVE: This is Pagon.
Okay, yeah.
This is the male, then.
(LONE SPEAKING BAHASA INDONESIA) Well, it's raining.
But it'll take more than bad weather to stop us now.
The 150 people who work at the centre, devote their lives to the orangutans in their care.
For them, putting the animals back into the wild, is what the hard work and sleepless nights are all about.
It's taken a huge team of people, months of planning, lorries, cargo planes, boats and helicopters, but we're finally ready for the first release.
This is the male.
This is the big lad.
Got to be a bit careful, he's very, very strong.
(PAGON GROANING) And it sounds like he's woken up.
Okay.
That's a big arm.
Look at him.
Look at that.
Fantastic.
That is very good.
Good man, keep going.
That is beautiful.
He looks fantastic.
For the rescued orangutans at the centre, it's a long and often tough road to freedom.
There's a lot for them to learn before they can be released back into the wild.
Just like human kids, they start in the nursery and then it's Forest School.
And once they've graduated from there, they come to the more isolated islands, here in the river, where they can gain a little bit of independence.
On the islands, the orangutans get to practise what they've learnt in Forest School.
There are no babysitters or technicians that stay here.
So the only contact they have with humans, is when they get fed twice a day.
MICHAELA: If the orangutans on these islands are ever going to make it in the world, it's vital they gain independence from the human foster parents that raised them.
Like kids going off to university, these islands are a place where they can learn to live away from home, but with a support system still in place.
These islands are the last stages of rehabilitation for these orangutans before they can go back to the wild.
In fact, most of them are ready to go.
But finding safe and protected forest to release them into is a real challenge for Lone.
STEVE: It doesn't help that, in the wild, every orangutan needs a huge area of forest to survive.
The fruit they eat is so widely dispersed, it takes several square kilometres to support each one.
It's taken an incredible amount of time and energy to get the orangutans into the forest.
But we have to push on and find somewhere further upriver to release Mama Abut and her baby.
They need their own patch of forest to survive.
Even in lush lowland forests, you don't get many orangutans per kilometre.
So, up here in the hills, where food is even more scarce, we're gonna have to spread them way out, when we restock here.
That means walking quite a distance.
Mama Abut's brush with death may have been the best thing that ever happened to her.
This is a protected research area.
It's safe.
And there will be people here to keep a close eye on her and her baby, once they're free.
Oh! This is great.
This is just the spot.
Nice, open area in the forest.
Chopper's gonna have no problem getting in here and spotting us.
Orangutans are on their way.
And it's not raining.
And Mama Abut will soon be here.
Eight months after she was pulled half starved from an oil palm plantation, her frightened baby clinging to her wasted body, Mama Abut is about to start her new life.
Not in a cage or on an island, but in the wild, in a forest that everyone hopes, will never be ripped from under her.
(INAUDIBLE) Mama Abut.
(SPEAKING BAHASA INDONESIA) STEVE: Oh, you didn't eat your bananas.
Come on, Mama.
(CHUCKLES) She hasn't quite grasped the momentousness of the moment.
Maybe, I think she has now.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, she's looking.
Come on, Mama.
Oh, Mama.
There you go.
Oh! She's still a little bit sleepy, yeah.
There you go.
Look at that baby.
That is a much, much better picture, isn't it? That's what we wanted to see.
Right, it's up to her now.
She's this is her second chance.
That's great! If you weren't here, I will be sobbing.
(BOTH LAUGHING) I always do.
- Do you? - Yeah, I do.
LONE: I get a bit emotional about the whole thing.
Every time I see her, I just constantly think of that time she fell out of the cage and she was so skinny.
LONE: I actually didn't think she was going to make it.
STEVE: Good job.
Well done.
That's amazing.
- We still got another 600 to go.
- Yeah, exactly.
STEVE: It's taken incredible dedication to get 36 orangutans back into the wild.
But their forest homes are destroyed so fast that, in just two months, there could be that many new arrivals at the centre.
Releasing them all seems an impossible goal.
But it doesn't stop everyone here from trying.
MICHAELA: Over the next few weeks, we'll be following Lone and her dedicated team, here in the nursery with the babies who need 24-hour care, out in Forest School with the orphans, who're learning the skills they'll need for a life back in the wild and on the river islands, already overcrowded with orangutans ready for release.
So join us as, together, we meet a whole host of orangutan stars.
Here, on Orangutan Diary.