KOTA KINABALU: The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre (PPOUS) in Sandakan has succeeded in reducing the number of endangered orang utans apart from increasing global awareness on the importance of protection of the species.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Laurentius Ambu said the centre had received 758 orangutans since its inception 50 years ago.
“Of this number, 81.6 per cent underwent the rehabilitation process but only 66 per cent were released back into forest reserves where their protection was guaranteed,” he told a press conference in conjunction with the 50th anniversary celebration of the centre at its headquarters here yesterday.
He added that from January to September this year, the centre only received one orangutan, which had become an orphan. — Bernama