KOTA KINABALU: A male orangutan, which has been foraging at a banana farm in Kunak’s Kampung Dasar Baru for some time now, has been caught by wildlife rangers.

       The wildlife rangers believed the ape had been going from one place to another to look for food after leaving the jungle.

       The 69kg ape, believed to be about 20 years old, would be translocated to Danum Valley in Lahad Datu district where it would be safe and free, said Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga.

       He said it would be able to roam freely in the conservation area. Orangutan have a lifespan of 45 years.

       It is learnt that villagers were able to get close to the ape on Tuesday morning, before they called in the rangers.

       “The rangers found the ape at about 9am and shot it with tranquilisers,” Tuuga said when contacted.

       The orangutan was put into a cage and brought in for a medical examination as the department prepared its translocation.

       “There were no external injuries or abnormalities. Its heart and respiratory rates were within the normal range,” Tuuga said.

       He added the ape was strong and healthy, and even tried to break open the cage when it regained consciousness.

       He said efforts to take it to Danum Valley were underway.

       Tuuga thanked the villagers for their cooperation in alerting wildlife officials, instead of hurting the orangutan.

       He stressed that it required the full cooperation of all parties, including villagers, estate owners and workers as well as the authorities, to ensure a balance between development and animal conservation.

       “Humans and animals can live together harmoniously, we just need to understand and respect that boundary between wildlife and man,” Tuuga said.

       The habitat of the orangutan has been decreasing due to clearing of land for farming and agriculture as well as development over the years.

       However, efforts by various agencies, including NGOs, have helped stabilise their number to about 11,000 in the last 15 years.

       This was noted in a research paper Changes to Sabah’s orangutan population in recent times: 2002-2017 by World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia’s orangutan team in 2019.