Category FAQs Search : Wildlife rehabilitation Malaysia
Question: Matang Wildlife Centre
Answer: Matang Wildlife Centre is a unique wildlife rescue project, as it aims to rescue any and all protected wildlife in Sarawak, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. The centre is owned by the Sarawak Government and managed by Sarawak Forestry Corporation. Rehabilitation of the iconic Orangutan is one of the the centre’s activities, but there are other animals such as small primates, big cats and sun bears, usually rescued from captivity and the illegal pet trade. Orangutan Project is a Malaysian conservation organisation working in partnership with SFC and they have committed to helping this centre in terms of providing food, building infrastructure, assisting with releases, commissioning research where required, providing expert consultation and assisting with the daily management requirements.
Matang’s original mandate was to be a rehabilitation centre, but it is actually almost impossible to successfully release to the wild any animal that has been kept in captivity, even for a short time, and most animals that end up at Matang do so as a consequence of illegal pet trade. Therefore, it performs much more of a sanctuary role for the majority of animals that arrive. There are ongoing attempts to release animals. A local team has been trained and investment made in the technology to collar any animal that is put back in the jungle.Recently, two orangutan have been released to semi-wild in Kubah National Park and a group of 6 orangutan under the ages of 8 spend almost every day in the park for training, but stay at the centre at night.
(Source: Malaysian Wildlife, 24 Jul 2021)
Source Link: https://malaysianwildlife.org/conservation-projects/matang-wildlife-rescue/