Natural World (1983) s29e07 Episode Script
Radio Gibbon
Gibbons - the elusive singing apes of Asia.
Their magical love songs herald the coming of each new day.
Now their songs are falling silent as Indonesia's forests are destroyed.
But help is at hand from an unexpected place.
Good Morning Kalimantan In Borneo, there's a radio station with a distinctive new sound.
It's the brainchild of 29-year-old Chanee.
His life's mission is to save the gibbon.
It's a journey that has taken him away from his native France and deep into the heart of Borneo.
He's developed a talent for helping gibbons to fall in love and he uses the airwaves to spread his message.
And it's nice also to save animals with good music.
Music and matchmaking are helping Chanee achieve his lifelong ambition, giving these wonderful singing apes a chance of life in the wild.
Kalaweit Radio 99.
1 FM.
Kalimantan, in Borneo.
Today, Chanee and his team are on a rescue mission to the remote town of Tumbangsamba.
So the plan is to try to find some animal over there and hopefully rescue them and release them into the wild.
Chanee was just 18 years old when he first arrived in Borneo.
His fascination with gibbons began as a teenager in France.
It was a desire to see them in the wild that first brought him to Asia.
But it was here in Borneo that he realised just how precarious the gibbon's existence was and his childhood passion became a lifelong commitment to save the gibbon.
Ten years ago, Chanee established the Kalaweit Foundation.
The word Kalaweit means gibbon in the local language.
Before to go into the town, we need to clean the sign so people know Kalaweit is coming and sometimes people just come and give us animals when they realise the Kalaweit team is around.
The town of Tumbangsamba is in an area where illegal logging, deforestation and gold mining are widespread.
This has led to a boom in the number of gibbons who end up in captivity.
Although it's illegal to keep a gibbon as a pet, has a pet gibbon.
She's badly malnourished, far too small for her age.
Chanee can tell she's been fed mostly on rice.
Kalaweit have arrived just in time to rescue this gibbon.
Chanee has secured an island in the middle of the forest.
It's here that he brings animals rescued from the pet trade.
Hampapak Island provides a home for nearly 150 gibbons.
But this unique sanctuary is a temporary home.
Chanee's ultimate aim is to release his precious gibbons back into the wild.
It was just interest at the beginning, why they are so different, why it is so difficult to take care of them, why so many of them die in captivity? And with time, I start to understand them and it's when I start to love gibbons and be specialised in gibbon.
I like to say I speak gibbon.
Adult gibbons live as couples and are fiercely territorial.
If an adult is released alone, it's likely to be attacked or even killed by a wild pair.
For this reason, the most crucial part of the rehabilitation process is a successful pairing with a mate.
But that's no easy task.
It's not like chicken, you can't put one male and one female in one cage and for sure it will be a good pair.
You need to find the right character, the right gibbon with the right partner.
Luckily for these individuals, Chanee has been pairing gibbons since he was a teenager volunteering at French zoos and now he's the most experienced gibbon matchmaker in the world.
Today, Chanee is assessing which gibbons might make a good couple.
He's helped by Lia, the camp paramedic, and Nanto, the staff manager.
It's the key of the rehabilitation.
Gibbons have to be in a pair to be released.
We never know if it will work, but what we can anticipate is who will be the boss in the enclosure.
In every pair we have one dominant.
Sometimes it's the female, sometimes it's a male.
If both gibbons don't want to be dominated, they will fight until one dies.
When gibbons are paired, there are three potential outcomes - aggression, indifference, or attraction.
Chanee may be an expert, but it's an inexact science.
Bundad, a young male, is unaware he's about to be introduced to Leoni, a young female.
The best plan is to release the gibbons in a new enclosure so they don't feel like it's my enclosure and somebody is coming in.
Each gibbon has to be tranquilised before being moved.
Just like the local Dayak hunters, the team use blowpipes.
Surgical masks are essential to prevent the transmission of human diseases.
The dart delivers a mixture of the sedative ketamine and an anti-convulsant.
Usually the tranquiliser takes effect within minutes.
Leoni is already waking up from her sedation.
So these two gibbons, Leoni and Bundad, have been for pet for many, many years, in very small cages in town.
So now they can be mixed and hopefully, if everything is going well, one day they will come back into the wild.
A sleepy Bundad is put into the new enclosure first.
Both Leoni and Bundad were snatched from their parents as youngsters.
This will be the first time either has ever met or touched another of their kind.
The team anticipate that Bundad will establish himself as the dominant gibbon in their relationship.
However, Leoni is eating all the bananas, taking advantage of the fact that Bundad has yet to recover from his sedation.
But there are some positive signs.
I think it's good because the female Leoni already tell the male he is the boss.
I mean, she come close to him and she do it right now.
A little grooming to him and it means, "OK, you are the boss, no worries, you don't have to attack me.
" It's what we want just for the few first minutes.
The situation in the cage is clear who is dominant.
But we still have to be careful because the male, Bundad, is not yet fully awake.
And we still have to wait to be sure everything will be OK.
Although Hampapak offers hope for a lucky few, there are far too many captive gibbons in Borneo for Kalaweit to rescue them all.
Chanee has realised that the key to the survival of gibbons in the wild is raising public awareness.
Downriver from Hampapak is the bustling town of Palangkaraya.
Many people here make their living from the timber trade or the palm oil industry.
Chanee has found a unique way of gaining local support in his fight to save the gibbon.
Good Morning Kalimantan HE SPEAKS IN THE LOCAL LANGUAGE In 2003, Radio Kalaweit, Radio Gibbon, was born.
In between playing the latest hits, Chanee asks people to call in if they, or anyone they know, is keeping a wild animal in captivity.
And five times every hour, he pushes his conservation message.
Managed by Chanee's wife, Prada, Radio Gibbon is aimed at a young audience.
Most of the listeners are aged between 15 and 25.
They like Kalaweit because it's cool, there's a lot of modern music.
It's a very modern image and the young love that.
We have to give them what they want, but between every two or three songs we have this short message about conservation.
So it's working very well.
I'm very happy.
And it's nice also to save animals with good music.
Kalaweit Radio 99.
1 FM.
At Hampapak, the weekly delivery of bananas has arrived.
Keeping the gibbons fed and watered twice a day is a costly and time-consuming operation.
Chanee employs a team of 35 local villagers to do the job.
Every week, the animals get through 5,000 kilograms of fruit.
It's Leoni and Bundad's first dinner together as a couple.
Chanee has brought Prada, and their son Andrew, to watch.
Unfortunately, Leoni's desire to get the food first is causing conflict.
Now that Bundad is fully awake, there are worrying signs.
Leoni doesn't want to be dominated by him.
At the feeding time, the female come first and she don't want to go away, so she was eating alone all the food.
It means for the male she's too confident and he don't want that, he want to be the boss.
That is why until now, we are still fighting.
She have to learn.
He have to go first and decide.
It can be dangerous because she don't get it yet and if no-one between Bundad and Leoni accept to be dominated, they can kill each other.
The new couple have got off to a rocky start.
It's vital they resolve their differences.
For now, all Chanee can do is keep a careful eye on Leoni and Bundad.
Separating them only if the arguments get out of hand.
'OK, good morning, Kalimantan' Chanee and Prada are following up on a tip from a listener to Radio Kalaweit.
The caller heard about a gibbon being kept as a pet at a wood shop in town.
The wood shop owner's links to the timber industry and the clearing of the forest have left him with a few souvenirs.
This gibbon is badly stressed.
So now we're waiting for the guy who owns this gibbon.
Hopefully he will give us the opportunity to rescue this animal but there is no guarantee at all.
We have some macaques also.
Oh, God.
CONVERSATION IN LOCAL LANGUAGE Chanee tries to negotiate with the owner.
Although keeping pet gibbons is illegal, Chanee is powerless to force him to hand over the animal.
Cute young gibbons make appealing pets.
But confined in small cages, once they reach adolescence, they begin to experience extreme stress.
So, he say, for the moment, he don't really want to give us the gibbon.
Some day.
It's very sad because it's very poor condition.
It's a female.
She would probably die also in a few months if we don't receive her, because she's already big, so she's very sensitive from stress.
So we just try again.
So we have to leave now without the gibbon.
The man say he will call me in the next two days, but I'm not very optimistic.
We can do nothing because we are not the police and, for sure, the police will not confiscate these animals.
And he was very surprised when I try to explain to him that a gibbon lives 30 years in the wild and he was like, "Whoa, I was thinking they just live around five or seven years, "because I have gibbon before and they always die before seven.
" In the past, Chanee's collaborated with the police and confiscated captive gibbons, but he and the organisation suffered alarming repercussions.
His house-boat was sunk, the Kalaweit office vandalised and he was even attacked by a man with a knife.
We did many confiscations in the past but all the time a lot of trouble for us and it can be dangerous for us.
We can have an attack at the office days or weeks after the confiscation.
So we'll see.
Back on Hampapak, feeding time has had devastating consequences for Leoni.
She refused to accept Bundad as the boss and as a result, he attacked her.
Leoni's injuries require stitches.
Just after I left her with Bundad she get bite by Bundad very badly.
You can see.
We are lucky Leoni just get these small injuries.
He can kill her.
There's no chance of reconciliation for Leoni and Bundad.
The team have no option but to try pairing them with different mates in the future.
So after this bad experience for Leoni, she need to be alone for a while and after that we will try to pair her with another male, but probably we'll try with a very calm and quiet male who will accept to be dominated by a female.
So it will be the next step for her if she want to one day come back into the wild.
Of course she want.
As a result of the radio show, Hampapak is now home to a number of other animals.
There's a baby sun bear.
And 12 pigtail macaques.
But one of the most unusual animals Chanee has received is Graham, a rhinoceros hornbill.
Graham came to Hampapak after a listener who was keeping him as a pet turned up at the radio station with the hornbill on the passenger seat of his car.
Chanee plans to release Graham at Hampapak.
But he's been attracting some unwanted attention from his neighbours.
It's OK.
He's in a large enclosure.
But close to the enclosure are the pigtail macaques, and if we release him here, he can fly inside the pigtail enclosure, he can be killed by the macaques.
Chanee doesn't want to release Graham so close to the pigtails so he's moving him to a different enclosure.
But first, he has to catch him.
Come on, Graham.
BIRD SQUAWKS This is Graham.
Magnificent bird.
OK, you're fine now.
You're OK.
You're OK.
The move will give Graham a chance to adjust to his new surroundings before he's realised.
This is a very small cage, but he will here a maximum of two weeks, and after that, we will do a small window in the top of the cage to make him getting out.
I don't think he can one day come back into the wild and be wild again because he has been for so long with humans and he's just like a chicken.
So, he will be free, but I think we have to feed him forever.
That's a magnificent bird.
Chanee has had a lot of success at the rather more complicated task of matchmaking gibbons and Hampapak is home to many happy couples.
The sure sign of a strong pair is a baby and some of the females are pregnant, including Tongkey and Sisi.
Sisi is due to give birth any day now.
Chanee and the team are planning another blind date.
They are going to introduce Holly, a young female, to Habir, a male who has been at Hampapak for five years.
We tried to make a pair a few months ago but it was not working very well.
He was not very aggressive to the female but it was just it looked like he don't have any feeling for this female.
So, hopefully now he will have some feelings for Holly.
Hee hee! He piss on me! With Habir sedated, the team move on to Holly.
Chanee must pair the couple and leave enough time to observe their first interactions before nightfall.
I got her with the blowpipe but it was not enough of anaesthetic inside, so she's not sleeping.
Chanee is cautious to avoid an overdose, so the team are left with no other option but to try and catch Holly.
Even semi-sedated, this agile gibbon is more than a match for five men.
But eventually Holly gets tired.
It's really a sport, catching gibbon.
First in the new enclosure is the still groggy Habir.
He meets Holly for the very first time.
Holly and Habir's first meal is going well.
There are no signs of squabbles and Holly is allowing Habir to eat before she does.
The team need to keep a close eye on the couple during their first vital hours together.
Radio Gibbon is booming.
A growing team of DJs now help Chanee to spread the word around the clock.
HE SPEAKS IN HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE HE SPEAKS IN HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE It's the most popular radio station in Borneo, with a daily audience of around 40,000 listeners.
Kalaweit has grown much bigger than Chanee ever dreamed when he first arrived ten years ago.
Chanee was just 18 when he made the journey upriver into the heart of Borneo.
He was pursuing his childhood dream, to live in the forest, helping gibbons.
Back home in France, Chanee was already something of a boy wonder.
He spent much of his early teenage years in zoos studying gibbons.
He even had a book published at the age of 15.
He built his first sanctuary deep in the forests of central Borneo with the help of French film star, Muriel Robin.
The first Kalaweit sign I build here, nine years ago.
The design of the old camp is based precisely on pictures Chanee drew as a child.
It's so many memories around here and it's the beginning of Kalaweit and it's also a lot of memory about each gibbon was in all the cages.
I still remember the name of all the gibbons and it was also my dream when I was a little boy coming here.
The design of everything here matches my dream when I was 12.
It's the soul of Kalaweit here.
Chanee never envisaged how many gibbons Kalaweit would rescue.
In the end, this camp was just too remote to be practical and five years ago he had no choice but to relocate to the more accessible location of Hampapak.
Kalaweit Radio 99.
1 FM.
OK, Good morning Kalimantan Back at Hampapak, Chanee checks on Holly and Habir to see if the couple have fallen for each other.
It's still early days, but the signs are good.
They look very well.
Habir really is at the same level at the top.
So, for sure, during the last five days, Habir already make some strong intimidation to her to make her understand he is the boss of the cage, but not too strong because she don't look very scared at all.
So it's good, it's what we want.
In each pair we need the dominant, but not too strong because we want the other one to have a normal life, not to be scared all the time.
For the moment it's a success because the two gibbons are in same enclosure and they look OK, they don't fight.
But we are not sure yet if it's a good pair or not.
If romance blossoms for Holly and Habir, they'll be one step closer to a free life as a couple.
But rehabilitating gibbons is a complicated and difficult process.
Kalaweit is too small to pretend we can save the gibbon.
Kalaweit can't save the gibbon.
We can save some individual, it's what I'm doing.
We have to do it and I'm happy to do it.
And I give a second chance for some animals.
Even for other animals who will never come back into the wild.
The 25% gibbon infected by human disease at the project, they have a decent life.
They have a gibbon life at least.
They are not alone.
They have a partner here.
And it's what I'm doing.
I just try to make the situation better for them.
If a rescued gibbon tests positive for a human disease, Chanee can't release the animal in case the disease spreads to wild populations.
Something as simple as a cold sore for humans can prove fatal to the gibbon.
Chanee has formed a special bond with one particular gibbon who can never be released from Hampapak - Klassi.
So, Klassi is one of the first gibbon I receive at Kalaweit.
After a few years, he get pairing with a female called Moi, and it was a very, very good pair.
Sadly, two years ago, Moi die from typhoid and Klassi get very, very sick.
But he survive, but mentally he is still very weak.
Human interference has sentenced Klassi to a life in a cage, but Chanee gives gibbons like him the best life he can.
I hope very soon we can send him in a large enclosure, but, sadly, he will never come back into the wild.
Klassi! For some animals at Hampapak, being released is less complicated.
Today, there's lots of activity outside Graham the hornbill's enclosure.
The team are building perches in preparation for setting Graham free.
This is a big day for Graham because we will release him today.
He don't understand at all what's happening.
At least he will be free.
The only big concern outside the cage, he can by killed by a python or a big animal.
So, we just have to be sure he sleep in the trees not on ground.
THEY SPEAK LOCAL LANGUAGE Chanee will cut out the roof in the top of the enclosure whilst the team distract Graham with his favourite treat, bananas.
So, now we just have to be patient.
He have to realise now he can be free.
Eventually, Graham realises his enclosure no longer has a roof.
But he doesn't seem that sure what to do about it.
Unfortunately, Graham's first flight lands him on top of one of the gibbons' cages causing widespread panic.
In the confusion, Graham heads straight for the lake.
BIRD SQUAWKS You're all right.
Graham's ordeal has left him shocked and bedraggled.
But otherwise unharmed.
We are lucky because if he's strong enough to fly over the lake and come back so he don't drop into the water.
I did.
I think he learns a lesson.
Now he is more quiet, calm.
I'm very optimistic because he looked strong enough to fly long distances.
It's a first time for him for many years.
Overnight there's been a new arrival at Hampapak.
After seven months of pregnancy, Sisi has given birth to a baby boy.
So, Sisi just get her baby last night, so we just look at her for the first time.
Last night it was raining all night long, so we have a little bit of worry.
But she have her baby on her, which is good.
But now we have to find out if the baby get the milk or not.
So we have to stay here and observe.
THE GIBBON HOOTS With her new family, Sisi has come a long way since being rescued from a tiny cage in town.
Calls from radio listeners continue to flood the station with news of captive gibbons from all over Kalimantan.
In Palangkaraya at least, the message of Radio Gibbon is doing the trick.
Now, after five years, we don't have any animal market any more in public place in Palangkaraya just because of the simple fact if someone try to sell a gibbon in the market in Palangkaraya, I believe in the next 30 minutes we will receive a call here telling us the situation.
Expanding on his local success, Chanee is spreading the message across Indonesia.
Kalaweit now has a second rescue centre.
Almost 1,000 miles away, off the west coast of Sumatra, is the island of Marak.
Marak is a virgin island.
With an untouched jungle interior and no pre-existing human population, it's the perfect location for the Sumatran arm of Kalaweit.
Marak now provides a safe home to around 45 Sumatran gibbons and 100 siamangs.
THE SIAMANGS HOO The siamang is the largest ape in the gibbon family.
Chanee knows much less about them than the other gibbons, so he's nervous about his latest plans.
He's in Marak to see a very special family of siamangs.
Several weeks ago, this family of four was moved to an isolated enclosure on the far side of the island.
The move gives the siamangs a chance to grow familiar with being in this new area of the forest, where in a few weeks' time they will be released back into the wild.
This family - the father Tommy, mother Dewi, baby Desri and his big sister Suci - will be the first ever family of siamang to be released in Marak.
It's quite rare for us to release a family with a very young infant.
I would never take the risk for gibbon.
But we are taking the risk with siamangs because the relationship inside the family is quite different.
The father is taking care a lot of the baby as well, and the sister also take care of the infant.
If the female get upset or tired, for sure the father will take care of the young infant.
In the wild, leaves make up 70% of a siamang's diet.
The team have been supplementing the family's usual diet of fruit with big bunches of leaves to help prepare them for release.
The family seem settled in their new environment, but Chanee really wants to know if they've started defending this territory as their own.
THE SIAMANGS CALL OU They are already calling, so they already feel confident in the forest.
Most of the siamangs in a new place are just scared to be attacked by other siamangs, so they stay quiet very long.
And if they don't start to call, we don't take the risk to release them because they will not be brave enough to try to explore, finding food.
But as you see, they start to vocalise, which is very good.
It's exactly what we need.
The signs all indicate that this family of siamangs will soon be ready for release.
Back at Hampapak, the Kalaweit staff have some sad news for Chanee.
Whilst he's been away, Sisi's baby has died.
A few days after Sisi give birth, we lost the baby, and Sisi get very depressed.
Sadly, it's very common with gibbon.
They just get depressed, and sometimes they just die.
Sisi was a devoted mother, taking very good care of her baby.
The staff can only assume Sisi couldn't produce enough milk.
When a gibbon loses a baby and start to be very depressed, we just forget about the rehabilitation process.
It's why now I'm touching Sisi.
The main point is make sure the gibbon survive.
Chanee hopes that with enough love and attention, Sisi will soon be on the road to recovery.
Sisi! Chanee's checking on the other animals at Hampapak.
There's encouraging news about Holly and Habir.
In a gibbon way, they seem to have fallen for each other.
We have some reports they already mate.
But I try to observe them this morning, but they were very interesting to each other but they didn't mate.
But it's a very good pair, and I'm very confident we can have a baby in the year coming.
It could still be years before Holly and Habir are released, but Chanee's skill at matchmaking has given these two gibbons a brighter future together.
Hey, Graham.
What are you doing on the floor? Since his release, Graham seems happiest on the ground next to the food store.
Close to the bananas.
He's looking very healthy.
And calm.
I think he really enjoy his new life.
But Graham remains in danger of attack from a python if he continues to spend so much time on the ground.
Several weeks later, and the rainy season is in full swing.
After weeks of tropical downpours, much of Hampapak island is flooded.
There's been another new arrival.
Tongkey has had a baby boy, Mito.
Tongkey gave birth to a very healthy baby.
She is taking care of the baby.
The male also reacts very well.
But we have to be very careful, because it's the raining season and the cage is flooded.
So for the next few days, all the staff will watch her very closely.
But it's great.
It's the last radio show Chanee will be doing for a while.
He's about to embark on a very important mission to Marak.
Today will be a life-changing day for the siamang family.
The team are preparing for their release.
It's important that Chanee and his team are able to make a quick getaway if necessary.
Tommy and his family feel that this is their territory now.
We are all very excited, because it's a very big day for the siamangs and big day for Kalaweit, because it's first time for us to release a big family like that on Marak.
And it's also what it's all about.
I mean, releasing animals back into the wild.
But it's always a big risk, especially for the young baby.
So, it's a lot of joy, a lot of fear at the same time.
But we have to take the risk.
I mean, they have to feel free again.
Mother Dewi and baby Desri are the first to taste freedom.
But it's not long before Tommy joins them.
Tommy and Dewi were both born in the wild but have spent most of their lives in captivity.
This is the first time they have left the confines of an enclosure for many years.
Already they seem quite at home.
For young Suci, who was born here at Marak, the prospect of life with no walls is a little more daunting.
She's frightened and calls repeatedly to her parents.
Eventually, with a little encouragement from mother Dewi, Suci plucks up the courage to join her family in the trees.
As usual after a release, we feel all very happy but scared at the same time, because we don't want any bad news in the future.
But it was all perfect.
All the family stay together.
So, so far, so good.
Now we'll see.
This is the climax of the whole rehabilitation process, the culmination of years of work that started with the rescue of each illegally held gibbon.
This family of siamangs has been given the chance to live a free and natural life - a gibbon's life in the forest.
For Chanee, every single release is a huge achievement.
But his battle to save the gibbon and the forests they depend on is far from over.
As one journey draws to a close, another is just beginning.
Back at Hampapak, Chanee has a new responsibility.
Three weeks after giving birth, Tongkey rejected her baby.
THE BABY CRIES Now Mito will have to be hand-raised by Chanee and the team at Hampapak.
The fact that Mito's mother rejected him shows just how hard it is to rehabilitate gibbons once humans have interfered with their lives.
Sadly, it's common with gibbon in captivity.
She didn't have the opportunity to watch her mother with another baby, so she never learned.
So now we have to take care of Mito for many years now until he's adult, before he gets the chance to come back into the forest.
It'll be two years before Mito is fully weaned and many more before he can released.
Kalaweit have to do everything.
Take care, of course, of the baby gibbon, but also protect the tree where the gibbon will be released, and not for a few years, but forever.
All I dreamed from 12 years old to 18 years old every day in my mind was just be in the forest with gibbon around and be happy with them, and in fact, I have to fight to save them.
And again, when I say save them, it's not saving all the gibbon, it's just saving some individuals who cross my road.
But you realise if you really love them, it's what you have to do.
Meanwhile at Hampapak, Holly and Habir's relationship continues to go from strength to strength.
The flood has finally driven Graham the hornbill off the ground and up to the safety of his perch.
And Sisi, having made a full recovery from her depression, has been happily reunited with her mate.
OK, this is the end of the show, so see you next week.
At 7am.
The only show where we talk about conservation also still on Kalaweit Radio, 99.
1.
So, best wishes for life.
Their magical love songs herald the coming of each new day.
Now their songs are falling silent as Indonesia's forests are destroyed.
But help is at hand from an unexpected place.
Good Morning Kalimantan In Borneo, there's a radio station with a distinctive new sound.
It's the brainchild of 29-year-old Chanee.
His life's mission is to save the gibbon.
It's a journey that has taken him away from his native France and deep into the heart of Borneo.
He's developed a talent for helping gibbons to fall in love and he uses the airwaves to spread his message.
And it's nice also to save animals with good music.
Music and matchmaking are helping Chanee achieve his lifelong ambition, giving these wonderful singing apes a chance of life in the wild.
Kalaweit Radio 99.
1 FM.
Kalimantan, in Borneo.
Today, Chanee and his team are on a rescue mission to the remote town of Tumbangsamba.
So the plan is to try to find some animal over there and hopefully rescue them and release them into the wild.
Chanee was just 18 years old when he first arrived in Borneo.
His fascination with gibbons began as a teenager in France.
It was a desire to see them in the wild that first brought him to Asia.
But it was here in Borneo that he realised just how precarious the gibbon's existence was and his childhood passion became a lifelong commitment to save the gibbon.
Ten years ago, Chanee established the Kalaweit Foundation.
The word Kalaweit means gibbon in the local language.
Before to go into the town, we need to clean the sign so people know Kalaweit is coming and sometimes people just come and give us animals when they realise the Kalaweit team is around.
The town of Tumbangsamba is in an area where illegal logging, deforestation and gold mining are widespread.
This has led to a boom in the number of gibbons who end up in captivity.
Although it's illegal to keep a gibbon as a pet, has a pet gibbon.
She's badly malnourished, far too small for her age.
Chanee can tell she's been fed mostly on rice.
Kalaweit have arrived just in time to rescue this gibbon.
Chanee has secured an island in the middle of the forest.
It's here that he brings animals rescued from the pet trade.
Hampapak Island provides a home for nearly 150 gibbons.
But this unique sanctuary is a temporary home.
Chanee's ultimate aim is to release his precious gibbons back into the wild.
It was just interest at the beginning, why they are so different, why it is so difficult to take care of them, why so many of them die in captivity? And with time, I start to understand them and it's when I start to love gibbons and be specialised in gibbon.
I like to say I speak gibbon.
Adult gibbons live as couples and are fiercely territorial.
If an adult is released alone, it's likely to be attacked or even killed by a wild pair.
For this reason, the most crucial part of the rehabilitation process is a successful pairing with a mate.
But that's no easy task.
It's not like chicken, you can't put one male and one female in one cage and for sure it will be a good pair.
You need to find the right character, the right gibbon with the right partner.
Luckily for these individuals, Chanee has been pairing gibbons since he was a teenager volunteering at French zoos and now he's the most experienced gibbon matchmaker in the world.
Today, Chanee is assessing which gibbons might make a good couple.
He's helped by Lia, the camp paramedic, and Nanto, the staff manager.
It's the key of the rehabilitation.
Gibbons have to be in a pair to be released.
We never know if it will work, but what we can anticipate is who will be the boss in the enclosure.
In every pair we have one dominant.
Sometimes it's the female, sometimes it's a male.
If both gibbons don't want to be dominated, they will fight until one dies.
When gibbons are paired, there are three potential outcomes - aggression, indifference, or attraction.
Chanee may be an expert, but it's an inexact science.
Bundad, a young male, is unaware he's about to be introduced to Leoni, a young female.
The best plan is to release the gibbons in a new enclosure so they don't feel like it's my enclosure and somebody is coming in.
Each gibbon has to be tranquilised before being moved.
Just like the local Dayak hunters, the team use blowpipes.
Surgical masks are essential to prevent the transmission of human diseases.
The dart delivers a mixture of the sedative ketamine and an anti-convulsant.
Usually the tranquiliser takes effect within minutes.
Leoni is already waking up from her sedation.
So these two gibbons, Leoni and Bundad, have been for pet for many, many years, in very small cages in town.
So now they can be mixed and hopefully, if everything is going well, one day they will come back into the wild.
A sleepy Bundad is put into the new enclosure first.
Both Leoni and Bundad were snatched from their parents as youngsters.
This will be the first time either has ever met or touched another of their kind.
The team anticipate that Bundad will establish himself as the dominant gibbon in their relationship.
However, Leoni is eating all the bananas, taking advantage of the fact that Bundad has yet to recover from his sedation.
But there are some positive signs.
I think it's good because the female Leoni already tell the male he is the boss.
I mean, she come close to him and she do it right now.
A little grooming to him and it means, "OK, you are the boss, no worries, you don't have to attack me.
" It's what we want just for the few first minutes.
The situation in the cage is clear who is dominant.
But we still have to be careful because the male, Bundad, is not yet fully awake.
And we still have to wait to be sure everything will be OK.
Although Hampapak offers hope for a lucky few, there are far too many captive gibbons in Borneo for Kalaweit to rescue them all.
Chanee has realised that the key to the survival of gibbons in the wild is raising public awareness.
Downriver from Hampapak is the bustling town of Palangkaraya.
Many people here make their living from the timber trade or the palm oil industry.
Chanee has found a unique way of gaining local support in his fight to save the gibbon.
Good Morning Kalimantan HE SPEAKS IN THE LOCAL LANGUAGE In 2003, Radio Kalaweit, Radio Gibbon, was born.
In between playing the latest hits, Chanee asks people to call in if they, or anyone they know, is keeping a wild animal in captivity.
And five times every hour, he pushes his conservation message.
Managed by Chanee's wife, Prada, Radio Gibbon is aimed at a young audience.
Most of the listeners are aged between 15 and 25.
They like Kalaweit because it's cool, there's a lot of modern music.
It's a very modern image and the young love that.
We have to give them what they want, but between every two or three songs we have this short message about conservation.
So it's working very well.
I'm very happy.
And it's nice also to save animals with good music.
Kalaweit Radio 99.
1 FM.
At Hampapak, the weekly delivery of bananas has arrived.
Keeping the gibbons fed and watered twice a day is a costly and time-consuming operation.
Chanee employs a team of 35 local villagers to do the job.
Every week, the animals get through 5,000 kilograms of fruit.
It's Leoni and Bundad's first dinner together as a couple.
Chanee has brought Prada, and their son Andrew, to watch.
Unfortunately, Leoni's desire to get the food first is causing conflict.
Now that Bundad is fully awake, there are worrying signs.
Leoni doesn't want to be dominated by him.
At the feeding time, the female come first and she don't want to go away, so she was eating alone all the food.
It means for the male she's too confident and he don't want that, he want to be the boss.
That is why until now, we are still fighting.
She have to learn.
He have to go first and decide.
It can be dangerous because she don't get it yet and if no-one between Bundad and Leoni accept to be dominated, they can kill each other.
The new couple have got off to a rocky start.
It's vital they resolve their differences.
For now, all Chanee can do is keep a careful eye on Leoni and Bundad.
Separating them only if the arguments get out of hand.
'OK, good morning, Kalimantan' Chanee and Prada are following up on a tip from a listener to Radio Kalaweit.
The caller heard about a gibbon being kept as a pet at a wood shop in town.
The wood shop owner's links to the timber industry and the clearing of the forest have left him with a few souvenirs.
This gibbon is badly stressed.
So now we're waiting for the guy who owns this gibbon.
Hopefully he will give us the opportunity to rescue this animal but there is no guarantee at all.
We have some macaques also.
Oh, God.
CONVERSATION IN LOCAL LANGUAGE Chanee tries to negotiate with the owner.
Although keeping pet gibbons is illegal, Chanee is powerless to force him to hand over the animal.
Cute young gibbons make appealing pets.
But confined in small cages, once they reach adolescence, they begin to experience extreme stress.
So, he say, for the moment, he don't really want to give us the gibbon.
Some day.
It's very sad because it's very poor condition.
It's a female.
She would probably die also in a few months if we don't receive her, because she's already big, so she's very sensitive from stress.
So we just try again.
So we have to leave now without the gibbon.
The man say he will call me in the next two days, but I'm not very optimistic.
We can do nothing because we are not the police and, for sure, the police will not confiscate these animals.
And he was very surprised when I try to explain to him that a gibbon lives 30 years in the wild and he was like, "Whoa, I was thinking they just live around five or seven years, "because I have gibbon before and they always die before seven.
" In the past, Chanee's collaborated with the police and confiscated captive gibbons, but he and the organisation suffered alarming repercussions.
His house-boat was sunk, the Kalaweit office vandalised and he was even attacked by a man with a knife.
We did many confiscations in the past but all the time a lot of trouble for us and it can be dangerous for us.
We can have an attack at the office days or weeks after the confiscation.
So we'll see.
Back on Hampapak, feeding time has had devastating consequences for Leoni.
She refused to accept Bundad as the boss and as a result, he attacked her.
Leoni's injuries require stitches.
Just after I left her with Bundad she get bite by Bundad very badly.
You can see.
We are lucky Leoni just get these small injuries.
He can kill her.
There's no chance of reconciliation for Leoni and Bundad.
The team have no option but to try pairing them with different mates in the future.
So after this bad experience for Leoni, she need to be alone for a while and after that we will try to pair her with another male, but probably we'll try with a very calm and quiet male who will accept to be dominated by a female.
So it will be the next step for her if she want to one day come back into the wild.
Of course she want.
As a result of the radio show, Hampapak is now home to a number of other animals.
There's a baby sun bear.
And 12 pigtail macaques.
But one of the most unusual animals Chanee has received is Graham, a rhinoceros hornbill.
Graham came to Hampapak after a listener who was keeping him as a pet turned up at the radio station with the hornbill on the passenger seat of his car.
Chanee plans to release Graham at Hampapak.
But he's been attracting some unwanted attention from his neighbours.
It's OK.
He's in a large enclosure.
But close to the enclosure are the pigtail macaques, and if we release him here, he can fly inside the pigtail enclosure, he can be killed by the macaques.
Chanee doesn't want to release Graham so close to the pigtails so he's moving him to a different enclosure.
But first, he has to catch him.
Come on, Graham.
BIRD SQUAWKS This is Graham.
Magnificent bird.
OK, you're fine now.
You're OK.
You're OK.
The move will give Graham a chance to adjust to his new surroundings before he's realised.
This is a very small cage, but he will here a maximum of two weeks, and after that, we will do a small window in the top of the cage to make him getting out.
I don't think he can one day come back into the wild and be wild again because he has been for so long with humans and he's just like a chicken.
So, he will be free, but I think we have to feed him forever.
That's a magnificent bird.
Chanee has had a lot of success at the rather more complicated task of matchmaking gibbons and Hampapak is home to many happy couples.
The sure sign of a strong pair is a baby and some of the females are pregnant, including Tongkey and Sisi.
Sisi is due to give birth any day now.
Chanee and the team are planning another blind date.
They are going to introduce Holly, a young female, to Habir, a male who has been at Hampapak for five years.
We tried to make a pair a few months ago but it was not working very well.
He was not very aggressive to the female but it was just it looked like he don't have any feeling for this female.
So, hopefully now he will have some feelings for Holly.
Hee hee! He piss on me! With Habir sedated, the team move on to Holly.
Chanee must pair the couple and leave enough time to observe their first interactions before nightfall.
I got her with the blowpipe but it was not enough of anaesthetic inside, so she's not sleeping.
Chanee is cautious to avoid an overdose, so the team are left with no other option but to try and catch Holly.
Even semi-sedated, this agile gibbon is more than a match for five men.
But eventually Holly gets tired.
It's really a sport, catching gibbon.
First in the new enclosure is the still groggy Habir.
He meets Holly for the very first time.
Holly and Habir's first meal is going well.
There are no signs of squabbles and Holly is allowing Habir to eat before she does.
The team need to keep a close eye on the couple during their first vital hours together.
Radio Gibbon is booming.
A growing team of DJs now help Chanee to spread the word around the clock.
HE SPEAKS IN HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE HE SPEAKS IN HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE It's the most popular radio station in Borneo, with a daily audience of around 40,000 listeners.
Kalaweit has grown much bigger than Chanee ever dreamed when he first arrived ten years ago.
Chanee was just 18 when he made the journey upriver into the heart of Borneo.
He was pursuing his childhood dream, to live in the forest, helping gibbons.
Back home in France, Chanee was already something of a boy wonder.
He spent much of his early teenage years in zoos studying gibbons.
He even had a book published at the age of 15.
He built his first sanctuary deep in the forests of central Borneo with the help of French film star, Muriel Robin.
The first Kalaweit sign I build here, nine years ago.
The design of the old camp is based precisely on pictures Chanee drew as a child.
It's so many memories around here and it's the beginning of Kalaweit and it's also a lot of memory about each gibbon was in all the cages.
I still remember the name of all the gibbons and it was also my dream when I was a little boy coming here.
The design of everything here matches my dream when I was 12.
It's the soul of Kalaweit here.
Chanee never envisaged how many gibbons Kalaweit would rescue.
In the end, this camp was just too remote to be practical and five years ago he had no choice but to relocate to the more accessible location of Hampapak.
Kalaweit Radio 99.
1 FM.
OK, Good morning Kalimantan Back at Hampapak, Chanee checks on Holly and Habir to see if the couple have fallen for each other.
It's still early days, but the signs are good.
They look very well.
Habir really is at the same level at the top.
So, for sure, during the last five days, Habir already make some strong intimidation to her to make her understand he is the boss of the cage, but not too strong because she don't look very scared at all.
So it's good, it's what we want.
In each pair we need the dominant, but not too strong because we want the other one to have a normal life, not to be scared all the time.
For the moment it's a success because the two gibbons are in same enclosure and they look OK, they don't fight.
But we are not sure yet if it's a good pair or not.
If romance blossoms for Holly and Habir, they'll be one step closer to a free life as a couple.
But rehabilitating gibbons is a complicated and difficult process.
Kalaweit is too small to pretend we can save the gibbon.
Kalaweit can't save the gibbon.
We can save some individual, it's what I'm doing.
We have to do it and I'm happy to do it.
And I give a second chance for some animals.
Even for other animals who will never come back into the wild.
The 25% gibbon infected by human disease at the project, they have a decent life.
They have a gibbon life at least.
They are not alone.
They have a partner here.
And it's what I'm doing.
I just try to make the situation better for them.
If a rescued gibbon tests positive for a human disease, Chanee can't release the animal in case the disease spreads to wild populations.
Something as simple as a cold sore for humans can prove fatal to the gibbon.
Chanee has formed a special bond with one particular gibbon who can never be released from Hampapak - Klassi.
So, Klassi is one of the first gibbon I receive at Kalaweit.
After a few years, he get pairing with a female called Moi, and it was a very, very good pair.
Sadly, two years ago, Moi die from typhoid and Klassi get very, very sick.
But he survive, but mentally he is still very weak.
Human interference has sentenced Klassi to a life in a cage, but Chanee gives gibbons like him the best life he can.
I hope very soon we can send him in a large enclosure, but, sadly, he will never come back into the wild.
Klassi! For some animals at Hampapak, being released is less complicated.
Today, there's lots of activity outside Graham the hornbill's enclosure.
The team are building perches in preparation for setting Graham free.
This is a big day for Graham because we will release him today.
He don't understand at all what's happening.
At least he will be free.
The only big concern outside the cage, he can by killed by a python or a big animal.
So, we just have to be sure he sleep in the trees not on ground.
THEY SPEAK LOCAL LANGUAGE Chanee will cut out the roof in the top of the enclosure whilst the team distract Graham with his favourite treat, bananas.
So, now we just have to be patient.
He have to realise now he can be free.
Eventually, Graham realises his enclosure no longer has a roof.
But he doesn't seem that sure what to do about it.
Unfortunately, Graham's first flight lands him on top of one of the gibbons' cages causing widespread panic.
In the confusion, Graham heads straight for the lake.
BIRD SQUAWKS You're all right.
Graham's ordeal has left him shocked and bedraggled.
But otherwise unharmed.
We are lucky because if he's strong enough to fly over the lake and come back so he don't drop into the water.
I did.
I think he learns a lesson.
Now he is more quiet, calm.
I'm very optimistic because he looked strong enough to fly long distances.
It's a first time for him for many years.
Overnight there's been a new arrival at Hampapak.
After seven months of pregnancy, Sisi has given birth to a baby boy.
So, Sisi just get her baby last night, so we just look at her for the first time.
Last night it was raining all night long, so we have a little bit of worry.
But she have her baby on her, which is good.
But now we have to find out if the baby get the milk or not.
So we have to stay here and observe.
THE GIBBON HOOTS With her new family, Sisi has come a long way since being rescued from a tiny cage in town.
Calls from radio listeners continue to flood the station with news of captive gibbons from all over Kalimantan.
In Palangkaraya at least, the message of Radio Gibbon is doing the trick.
Now, after five years, we don't have any animal market any more in public place in Palangkaraya just because of the simple fact if someone try to sell a gibbon in the market in Palangkaraya, I believe in the next 30 minutes we will receive a call here telling us the situation.
Expanding on his local success, Chanee is spreading the message across Indonesia.
Kalaweit now has a second rescue centre.
Almost 1,000 miles away, off the west coast of Sumatra, is the island of Marak.
Marak is a virgin island.
With an untouched jungle interior and no pre-existing human population, it's the perfect location for the Sumatran arm of Kalaweit.
Marak now provides a safe home to around 45 Sumatran gibbons and 100 siamangs.
THE SIAMANGS HOO The siamang is the largest ape in the gibbon family.
Chanee knows much less about them than the other gibbons, so he's nervous about his latest plans.
He's in Marak to see a very special family of siamangs.
Several weeks ago, this family of four was moved to an isolated enclosure on the far side of the island.
The move gives the siamangs a chance to grow familiar with being in this new area of the forest, where in a few weeks' time they will be released back into the wild.
This family - the father Tommy, mother Dewi, baby Desri and his big sister Suci - will be the first ever family of siamang to be released in Marak.
It's quite rare for us to release a family with a very young infant.
I would never take the risk for gibbon.
But we are taking the risk with siamangs because the relationship inside the family is quite different.
The father is taking care a lot of the baby as well, and the sister also take care of the infant.
If the female get upset or tired, for sure the father will take care of the young infant.
In the wild, leaves make up 70% of a siamang's diet.
The team have been supplementing the family's usual diet of fruit with big bunches of leaves to help prepare them for release.
The family seem settled in their new environment, but Chanee really wants to know if they've started defending this territory as their own.
THE SIAMANGS CALL OU They are already calling, so they already feel confident in the forest.
Most of the siamangs in a new place are just scared to be attacked by other siamangs, so they stay quiet very long.
And if they don't start to call, we don't take the risk to release them because they will not be brave enough to try to explore, finding food.
But as you see, they start to vocalise, which is very good.
It's exactly what we need.
The signs all indicate that this family of siamangs will soon be ready for release.
Back at Hampapak, the Kalaweit staff have some sad news for Chanee.
Whilst he's been away, Sisi's baby has died.
A few days after Sisi give birth, we lost the baby, and Sisi get very depressed.
Sadly, it's very common with gibbon.
They just get depressed, and sometimes they just die.
Sisi was a devoted mother, taking very good care of her baby.
The staff can only assume Sisi couldn't produce enough milk.
When a gibbon loses a baby and start to be very depressed, we just forget about the rehabilitation process.
It's why now I'm touching Sisi.
The main point is make sure the gibbon survive.
Chanee hopes that with enough love and attention, Sisi will soon be on the road to recovery.
Sisi! Chanee's checking on the other animals at Hampapak.
There's encouraging news about Holly and Habir.
In a gibbon way, they seem to have fallen for each other.
We have some reports they already mate.
But I try to observe them this morning, but they were very interesting to each other but they didn't mate.
But it's a very good pair, and I'm very confident we can have a baby in the year coming.
It could still be years before Holly and Habir are released, but Chanee's skill at matchmaking has given these two gibbons a brighter future together.
Hey, Graham.
What are you doing on the floor? Since his release, Graham seems happiest on the ground next to the food store.
Close to the bananas.
He's looking very healthy.
And calm.
I think he really enjoy his new life.
But Graham remains in danger of attack from a python if he continues to spend so much time on the ground.
Several weeks later, and the rainy season is in full swing.
After weeks of tropical downpours, much of Hampapak island is flooded.
There's been another new arrival.
Tongkey has had a baby boy, Mito.
Tongkey gave birth to a very healthy baby.
She is taking care of the baby.
The male also reacts very well.
But we have to be very careful, because it's the raining season and the cage is flooded.
So for the next few days, all the staff will watch her very closely.
But it's great.
It's the last radio show Chanee will be doing for a while.
He's about to embark on a very important mission to Marak.
Today will be a life-changing day for the siamang family.
The team are preparing for their release.
It's important that Chanee and his team are able to make a quick getaway if necessary.
Tommy and his family feel that this is their territory now.
We are all very excited, because it's a very big day for the siamangs and big day for Kalaweit, because it's first time for us to release a big family like that on Marak.
And it's also what it's all about.
I mean, releasing animals back into the wild.
But it's always a big risk, especially for the young baby.
So, it's a lot of joy, a lot of fear at the same time.
But we have to take the risk.
I mean, they have to feel free again.
Mother Dewi and baby Desri are the first to taste freedom.
But it's not long before Tommy joins them.
Tommy and Dewi were both born in the wild but have spent most of their lives in captivity.
This is the first time they have left the confines of an enclosure for many years.
Already they seem quite at home.
For young Suci, who was born here at Marak, the prospect of life with no walls is a little more daunting.
She's frightened and calls repeatedly to her parents.
Eventually, with a little encouragement from mother Dewi, Suci plucks up the courage to join her family in the trees.
As usual after a release, we feel all very happy but scared at the same time, because we don't want any bad news in the future.
But it was all perfect.
All the family stay together.
So, so far, so good.
Now we'll see.
This is the climax of the whole rehabilitation process, the culmination of years of work that started with the rescue of each illegally held gibbon.
This family of siamangs has been given the chance to live a free and natural life - a gibbon's life in the forest.
For Chanee, every single release is a huge achievement.
But his battle to save the gibbon and the forests they depend on is far from over.
As one journey draws to a close, another is just beginning.
Back at Hampapak, Chanee has a new responsibility.
Three weeks after giving birth, Tongkey rejected her baby.
THE BABY CRIES Now Mito will have to be hand-raised by Chanee and the team at Hampapak.
The fact that Mito's mother rejected him shows just how hard it is to rehabilitate gibbons once humans have interfered with their lives.
Sadly, it's common with gibbon in captivity.
She didn't have the opportunity to watch her mother with another baby, so she never learned.
So now we have to take care of Mito for many years now until he's adult, before he gets the chance to come back into the forest.
It'll be two years before Mito is fully weaned and many more before he can released.
Kalaweit have to do everything.
Take care, of course, of the baby gibbon, but also protect the tree where the gibbon will be released, and not for a few years, but forever.
All I dreamed from 12 years old to 18 years old every day in my mind was just be in the forest with gibbon around and be happy with them, and in fact, I have to fight to save them.
And again, when I say save them, it's not saving all the gibbon, it's just saving some individuals who cross my road.
But you realise if you really love them, it's what you have to do.
Meanwhile at Hampapak, Holly and Habir's relationship continues to go from strength to strength.
The flood has finally driven Graham the hornbill off the ground and up to the safety of his perch.
And Sisi, having made a full recovery from her depression, has been happily reunited with her mate.
OK, this is the end of the show, so see you next week.
At 7am.
The only show where we talk about conservation also still on Kalaweit Radio, 99.
1.
So, best wishes for life.