We Have the Power!

Panut Hadisiswoyo

   

I went to a talk in Oxford in Spring by Panut Hadisiswoyo 

who leads the ground team for the non-profit organisation

SOS (Sumatran Orang-utan Society). He was incredibly inspiring, showing slides and videos of the work that is 

being done each and every single day by a dedicated team 

in Sumatra. However one thing he said really stayed with me. Given all this bad press about palm oil and how it is destroying the habitat for thousands of species, I thought he would stand there and try to rally us all together to campaign against the use of palm oil in our food and cosmetic products. But what he actually said was:

“Palm oil is in ~80% of what you buy from the supermarket. Plantations provide jobs for hundreds of thousands of people across Southeast Asia. The biggest demand for palm oil comes from Europe and China. If Europe stops demanding palm oil, all that will happen is producers will continue to sell to the enormous Chinese market. The problem with that is China doesn’t necessarily care how the palm oil is made, which will only encourage countries like Malaysia and Indonesia to produce unsustainable, ‘dirty’ oil. Therefore what Europe needs to do is demand sustainable palm oil. It is possible and it does happen in certain plantations already. So Europe’s responsibility now is to make sustainable palm oil trendy. And with this, hopefully China and other nations will follow suit.”

      Those weren’t his exact words but that is what I took from his speech.  It really made me think... Maybe the solutions aren’t that far away.We in Europe, America and around the world have the power to demand that our local supermarkets and cosmetic companies use sustainable palm oil, just like we demanded organic produce, animal free testing products or free-range eggs! 

Gives you hope doesn’t it? It certainly does to me. 

S x

      

Orang-Utan "Person of the Forest"

So who are these big furry creatures? 

Orang-utans are some of our closest living relatives after gorillas and chimps and we share over 96% of our genetics with them. They are primates which belong to the Hominidae family (same as us), where they diverged into the Ponginae Subfamily and Pongo Genus, which is made up of two species P. pygmaeus (Bornean Orangutan) and P. abelii (Sumatran Orangutan). The latest estimates (2000-2003) put Bornean Orang-utan population between 45,000-69,000 and the IUCN Red List classifies them as endangered. The Sumatran Orang-utan are estimated at 7,300 remaining in the wild and classified as critically endangered by the IUCN.

Sexual Dimorphism is Obvious Between Orang-utans by the
Mature Males Face Pads

A male’s average standing height is 1.40m and weighs between 90-110kg, whereas females are smaller at 1m and weigh 45-68kg. In the wild orang-utans are expected to live between 35-40yrs and in captivity can surpass their 50s. Males are solitary and when sexually mature they develop their distinct face pads. Females give birth only every 8 years and young are extremely dependent, staying with their mothers for up to 7 years. They are incredibly shy creatures, living in the canopy of the jungle about 90% of the time. They are omnivorous primates eating mainly plants and fruit, but also insects and small mammals. Orang-utans travel on average between 90-3050m/day and build a new nest every night out of leaves and branches to sleep in, sometimes using giant leaves to shelter under during torrential downpours. Orang-utans are semi-social creatures coming together to feed during times of plenty or during copulation. Females travel alone with their young and do not form groups with other females however dominance hierarchies exist between males.   

Male Face Pads are Thought to be for Visual Communication,
Making Them Appear More Threatening to Other Males and to
Channel Their Vocalisations like a Megaphone

 So why are we trying to save them? 

United Nations Environment Programme Predictions for
Malaysian Borneos Virgin Rainforest 1950-2020

Malaysia has developed rapidly over the last 50+ years since its independence from the British in 1963. Malaysia is made up of the mainland and the northern part of Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah). It is a country rich in natural resources of which the two most important are petroleum and palm oil.

In order for these industries to grow hundreds km² of virgin rainforest have been and continue to be cut down, destroying and fragmenting the habitat of our beautiful orange cousins and many other species. Fragmentation prevents the primates from moving freely to find food, shelter and mates. 

Virgin Rainforest Fragmented by Oil Palm Plantations
Photo by: Ulet Ifansasti/Greenpeace

A second problem is the illegal poaching of orang-utans to sell as pets in China and around the world. Orang-utans are protected in Borneo and poachers are known to machete the young away from their mothers, which often leaves them disabled or worse dead.

So what work does Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre do?

 Once I arrive and have my briefing I am sure I will be able to give you a better overview of their work but for now here are a few key facts: 

• The centre is run by the Sabah Wildlife Department
• The centre is located within a wildlife reserve where more than 4,500 hectares of virgin rainforest has been dedicated to the orang-utans
• They rescue abandoned, injured or orphaned orang-utans
• They  have a veterinary team on site to nurse back to health any sick orang-utans
• There are two main areas within the centre: The Indoor Nursery (0-4yr olds) and The Outdoor Nursery (5-8yr olds). Each is specialised to help the orang-utans at the various stages in their life
• They teach orphaned orang-utans how to fend for themselves in the wild e.g. choosing correct plants for nest building
• When the teams deem the time is right they capture, sedate and relocate the orang-utans deep in the wild
• Two other main aims stated by them are to: 1) Educate the public on conservation 2) Research and assist into other endangered species such as Bornean Sun Bears

Volunteers at Sepilok Cleaning a Baby Orang-utan.
Something a Mother Orang-utan would normally do
in the Wild

Volunteers at Sepilok Teaching Orang-utans Vital Climbing
Skills That They Will Need to Survive in the Jungle

This is a very general overview on orang-utans, the threats facing them and the work Sepilok carries out. Personally I'm very excited to see what other work is being done on the ground by both the rehabilitation centre and other organisations, to combat these problems. If you have any questions please ask! I'll do my best to answer them.

S x

My National Geographic Dream

Whenever I imaged the time that I would start travelling I always considered having a blog as a huge part of the experience. In my head I would fantasise that my blogging would be top class and someone like National Geographic would employ me to travel the world and write for them. The thing that amuses me most about this fantasy is I was never very good at English in school and always struggled to write anything that would get me over a 7*. However I feel this 'assignment' might be a little easier than my 6th year essay on Hamlet titled 'An actor who cannot act'. If any of you understands what that means, please go back in time to help out poor 16 year old Shannon, she'll appreciate it greatly.

I guess for those who don't know me I should give you a little introduction. I'm a Swiss-born, Italian bred, 21 year old, born to a Welsh father and Scottish/Irish mother. I grew up mainly with my dad and my brothers Kyle (24) and Gareth (24). Luckily I got to see my oldest brothers Rhys (32) and Sean (30) frequently during school holidays when they came back from the UK. I had a lovely upbringing in the gorgeous Italian countryside next to Lake Maggiore, Northern Italy. I went to a privately run European School where I learnt a hell of a lot of languages (despite being very unaverage at them all) but also found my love of science and sport. Unfortunately though my school was amazing in many ways, if you weren't a linguist, into politics or science, your future prospects were limited. Luckily I found my passion in Biology** and applied to do Animal Biology and Conservation at Oxford Brookes University.

My time at uni was incredible. I found interests particularly in animal behaviour, evolution and development of animals and threatened species (to name a few). I worked with some of the top scientists in their field such as Alistair McGregor, Casper Breuker, Bruce Riddoch, Daniela Santos-Nunes and Stewart Thompson. All inspiring people who showed me what passion for your work really looks like. Obviously there were moments when it was tough and I had doubts whether I should be there, but I always remember thinking "each moment that I sit in a lecture or seminar and learn something new, it always outweighed the stress of coursework and exams". I feel very lucky to have enjoyed my course as much as I did.

So finally getting to the real reason I started this blog - I know you weren't here just to hear about my life! I've always wanted to work with orangutans at some point in my life and throughout university I saved up money to make that dream come true. My housemate Becki and I found a project based in Sepilok - Malaysian Borneo. We are heading out on 19th October to travel Bali and Borneo before starting our volunteering at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre for two months. When we finish Becki will be flying back to her natural habitat of tropical North Wales and I'll carry on my travels to NZ and Australia.

If I may speak for the both of us I think we are very passionate about saving the environment and doing what we can to make our planet just that little bit better. I feel our volunteering project is so important in helping orphaned or injured orangutans successfully make it back to the wild. I will dedicate an entire post to 'everything orangutan' soon. I'll outline the work that Sepilok does and hopefully help you understand the reasons why we need to help these gorgeous primates.

In the mean time, if anyone would like to pass on this post to National Geographic that would be great ;)

S x

*For all you non-European School folk that's very average.
** Thank you Simon and Mrs Parnell for your patience

Lake Maggiore seen from Isola Bella

   

Lake Maggiore seen from Isola Madre

My ridiculous family (L-R): Gareth, Me, Kyle, Sean, Rhys, Dad

Doing field work in Oxford for uni. Evidently an expert at all things mud and water