April to May is a month of joy. We also wish a Happy Eid Al-Fitr to all of you who celebrate. Even though April is the month of Ramadan, we continue to work wholeheartedly for the preservation of the animals, especially those we care for here to keep them healthy. We have managed to do this tough job well, even though it has taken a lot of energy, thought, and time.
Sun Bear Translocation
On the morning of April 16, Viko, The sun bear (Helarctos Malayanus) from an unlicensed zoo who came to our place in March and we took care of temporarily, finally managed to translocate. Together with BKSDA Jogja and COP, the sunbear safely landed at a sanctuary at Samboja Lestari, East Kalimantan.
During a general examination of the sunbear, our vet team found damage to the canines. In a few days, assisted by veterinarians from the GL Zoo, our vet team performed dental surgery and extracted the damaged teeth. All these processes have been successfully carried out. Finally, Viko can eat voraciously without suffering.
Internship Program
At the end of April, we got six internship students from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bogor Agricultural Institute. Five of them are international students from Malaysia, and one is a local student. For 3 weeks, they have helped us take care of animals and also practice Veterinary Science on wild animals. Continue with three students from Veterinary Medicine at the same University, who came in the middle of May. For two weeks, they have been helping us while doing health tests on the Malayan giant turtle project. In addition, all interns received enrichment material and practiced it on the animals at WRC Jogja. Enrichment is given to stimulate animal behavior.
Malayan giant turtle Conservation Program
At the end of May, we started the Turtle conservation project supported by IUCN ASAP and conducted health tests again. Starting with taking blood, sexing, morphometry, and other tests that support the needs of our program. In this project, we are directly assisted by students from Brawijaya University who are also conducting research on this Malayan Giant Turtle (Orlitia borneensis).
In addition to conducting direct animal health checks, in the context of World Turtle Day on May 23, we also conducted a talk show program via live Instagram with speakers from turtle experts in Indonesia, Joko Guntoro from the Satucita Foundation, and our veterinarian from the YKAY Foundation, Irhamna Putri, who did the turtle conservation research program. With the theme: Turtle Conservation in Indonesia: “Current Condition and Future Recommendation”. This event was held on May 24 with approximately 30 viewers.
Animal Adoption
During April-May, we had nine adopters who helped us in the form of donation support for animal care at WRC Jogja. In this period, Genbi, a siamang, became a favorite animal for adoption. Through this animal adoption program, all of you can help us conserve animals at WRC Jogja.
We really hope that conditions will improve, and although there are still many new diseases that appear, our program to meet daily operational needs must continue. But the health and safety of animals is the main thing.
Last but not least,
If you are interested in joining the Volunteer program, please contact us via email at [email protected]. For those of you who are still university students in veterinary medicine, biology, forestry, or various other fields of science, you can join our internship program. In addition, we also continue to carry out Conservation Education programs, especially for school students, with the aim of raising awareness from an early age about the importance of conserving wild animals and the surrounding environment that supports animal habitats.