Orangutans: The Great Ape Escape

Download Subtitles

Transcript

0:00:16 > 0:00:21Carried over the remote forests of Borneo is a very precious cargo.

0:00:25 > 0:00:27Meet Leonora.

0:00:27 > 0:00:30She doesn't know it but she is a pioneer.

0:00:35 > 0:00:40With a handful of old friends, Leonora is on an adventure into the unknown.

0:00:44 > 0:00:50She and her baby boy are leaving behind the security of a lifetime in captivity...

0:00:52 > 0:00:54..for a chance of freedom.

0:00:57 > 0:01:01For the chance of a new life

0:01:01 > 0:01:03as a truly wild orangutan.

0:01:17 > 0:01:21A quiet Monday morning on Katya Island in southern Borneo.

0:01:28 > 0:01:32Leonora is relaxing in her cosy orangutan commune,

0:01:32 > 0:01:36unaware of the life-changing events around the corner.

0:01:38 > 0:01:40Leonora and her friends are orphans

0:01:40 > 0:01:43and in the safety of their island sanctuary

0:01:43 > 0:01:46they've developed some unusual habits.

0:01:55 > 0:01:58Orangutans are supposed to spend all their time high in the trees.

0:02:01 > 0:02:05Leonora has spent the last eight years here...

0:02:05 > 0:02:08with private health care

0:02:08 > 0:02:12and twice daily deliveries of the freshest fruit and veg.

0:02:19 > 0:02:22It's far from a natural existence

0:02:22 > 0:02:25but for many of them, it's the only life they've ever known.

0:02:31 > 0:02:33Hundreds of orphans have been saved

0:02:33 > 0:02:36by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation.

0:02:42 > 0:02:46Each animal has its own tragic story to tell,

0:02:46 > 0:02:48of homes destroyed and mothers killed.

0:02:55 > 0:03:00But here they've found new hope and a new mother,

0:03:00 > 0:03:03the centre's founder, Lone Droscher Nielsen.

0:03:09 > 0:03:12When they reach their little hands and their little arms up

0:03:12 > 0:03:15and go like, you know, "Please help,"

0:03:15 > 0:03:17how can you not?

0:03:18 > 0:03:21Oh, you know, your heart just sinks

0:03:21 > 0:03:25when you look into their eyes and see that, "Help me,"

0:03:25 > 0:03:28you know, "Do something for me. I need you."

0:03:29 > 0:03:32And how anybody can turn their back on that, I don't know.

0:03:34 > 0:03:37They're so human that to me it would be the same

0:03:37 > 0:03:42as turning away a child needing my help.

0:03:45 > 0:03:49Lone's dream is to put all her orphans back in the wild.

0:03:49 > 0:03:53But it's taken nearly a decade to start making it a reality.

0:03:56 > 0:04:01Now, at last, she's about to release the first eight orphans.

0:04:08 > 0:04:11Their world is about to be turned upside down.

0:04:14 > 0:04:17And for Leonora, she'll have the added challenge

0:04:17 > 0:04:22of caring for her own little one, mischievous Lamar.

0:04:27 > 0:04:30Lone is particularly concerned about Leonora.

0:04:30 > 0:04:33She's so tame that adapting to life in the wild

0:04:33 > 0:04:36might just be too big a challenge.

0:04:41 > 0:04:44When I saw Leonora for the first time,

0:04:44 > 0:04:46I thought, "She looks just like my grandmother,"

0:04:46 > 0:04:48hence the name Leonora.

0:04:49 > 0:04:53When you look at her she's just a very gentle, kind orangutan.

0:04:56 > 0:04:59Leonora seems to love company

0:04:59 > 0:05:02but life in the wild will be much more solitary.

0:05:05 > 0:05:08Fortunately, one of her closest friends, Emen,

0:05:08 > 0:05:11has also been chosen for release.

0:05:11 > 0:05:15Emen has already proved to be a born survivor.

0:05:15 > 0:05:18She came in and I remember everybody just looked horrified

0:05:18 > 0:05:21because four of her fingers had been cut off.

0:05:21 > 0:05:23It might have happened when the mother was killed

0:05:23 > 0:05:26because they hack them with machetes

0:05:26 > 0:05:30and her hand, the baby's hand, is always one on the back and one on the front.

0:05:31 > 0:05:34One of the first things I did think about was

0:05:34 > 0:05:36how is she going to ever, you know, be able to climb trees?

0:05:36 > 0:05:40Because she can't do anything with that one thumb, can she?

0:05:40 > 0:05:42But, you know, she totally proved me wrong.

0:05:42 > 0:05:45It's never, ever looked to be a handicap.

0:05:47 > 0:05:50Emen also has a son, little Embong.

0:05:52 > 0:05:55And like Leonora's baby, he's dependent on his mum.

0:05:57 > 0:06:00It's time for their last meal on the island.

0:06:02 > 0:06:06Leonora and Emen sit back to enjoy their last supper.

0:06:08 > 0:06:13Finding food in the wild is going to be much more difficult

0:06:13 > 0:06:18but Lone has always tried to give every orphan some lessons in survival.

0:06:21 > 0:06:23They're all graduates of Lone's school.

0:06:26 > 0:06:28Here their foster mothers teach them the basics.

0:06:31 > 0:06:34Show them how to find different sources of food.

0:06:36 > 0:06:39Encourage them to build nests for sleeping.

0:06:44 > 0:06:48And try to teach them that they belong up in the trees.

0:06:49 > 0:06:51Finally they graduate to the island,

0:06:51 > 0:06:54the last stage in their rehabilitation.

0:06:58 > 0:07:02But for Leonora and Emen, that was all a long time ago.

0:07:05 > 0:07:08And no one knows if they'll be able to cope in the wild.

0:07:16 > 0:07:22There's a great deal riding on the success or failure of these eight orphans.

0:07:28 > 0:07:32Over the last 12 years, the rescue centre has been inundated

0:07:32 > 0:07:35with orphaned and rescued orangutans.

0:07:38 > 0:07:43The numbers have swollen to over 600 individuals.

0:07:47 > 0:07:50After spending their day in the forest,

0:07:50 > 0:07:52they're returned to their cages.

0:08:03 > 0:08:06They're bored in those cages, even though we give them enrichment.

0:08:06 > 0:08:10It shows in their eyes. Their eyes tell everything.

0:08:15 > 0:08:19Everything that we've been working for for the last 12 years

0:08:19 > 0:08:22is obviously getting these orangutans out.

0:08:22 > 0:08:25If they make it, we don't have any problems.

0:08:25 > 0:08:27If they don't make it, we'll have to reconsider

0:08:27 > 0:08:29everything called orangutan rehabilitation.

0:08:30 > 0:08:33If we fail we are standing with a very, very, very big problem.

0:08:42 > 0:08:44BIRDS CALLING

0:08:49 > 0:08:52The big day is finally here.

0:08:56 > 0:08:58Leonora and Emen are on the lookout

0:08:58 > 0:09:02for their early morning delivery of cucumbers and bananas.

0:09:03 > 0:09:05But there's no sign.

0:09:12 > 0:09:15Lone and her team are loading everything they need

0:09:15 > 0:09:17for the big move.

0:09:22 > 0:09:25Everything has been planned with military precision.

0:09:29 > 0:09:32Lone hopes Leonora will walk into her crate

0:09:32 > 0:09:36but is concerned about baby Lamar, who's wary of people.

0:09:46 > 0:09:51Emen might also prove a problem, so they're preparing a sedative.

0:10:08 > 0:10:11SPEAKING LOCAL LANGUAGE

0:10:12 > 0:10:14We've got both Emen and Leonora here,

0:10:14 > 0:10:17so we should be able to get hold of them quite quickly.

0:10:17 > 0:10:19SPEAKING LOCAL LANGUAGE

0:10:20 > 0:10:25Leonora would normally do anything to get her hands on fresh bananas.

0:10:26 > 0:10:29Come on, Leonora.

0:10:32 > 0:10:36If you're a good girl you can have all these bananas inside the cage.

0:10:36 > 0:10:39Would you like that? Hm, you get one. You come with me.

0:10:39 > 0:10:41She knows something's going on.

0:10:41 > 0:10:43At the other end of the beach,

0:10:43 > 0:10:46Emen is being distracted by some cucumber.

0:10:46 > 0:10:49She hasn't spotted the blow pipe.

0:10:51 > 0:10:54Hey, girl, hey, Emen.

0:10:54 > 0:10:56HE BLOWS

0:10:58 > 0:11:00The sedative makes her sleepy in minutes.

0:11:00 > 0:11:03Good girl. Come on now. It's OK, sweetheart.

0:11:05 > 0:11:09- Oh...- But she still manages an iron grip with her left foot.

0:11:10 > 0:11:14Oh, come on, give, give, give, give. That's a good girl.

0:11:14 > 0:11:18Little Embong desperately clings on to his mum, where he feels safe.

0:11:31 > 0:11:33Leonora is next.

0:11:38 > 0:11:40DESPERATE SQUEAKING

0:11:40 > 0:11:44Her baby, Lamar, has become separated. He's too young to dart.

0:11:49 > 0:11:52Yeah, it's OK, it's OK. Yeah. We had to catch him.

0:11:52 > 0:11:54He was trying to get away from his mother.

0:11:54 > 0:11:57We were trying to carry the mother and he was...

0:11:57 > 0:11:59HE SQUEAKS

0:12:01 > 0:12:04Sh! SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE

0:12:04 > 0:12:07It's more safe there with Emen, yeah?

0:12:09 > 0:12:11SHRILL SQUEAKING

0:12:13 > 0:12:17They're totally mother-oriented and they're very afraid of us.

0:12:17 > 0:12:21Catching a baby that's so... They bite very hard, believe me.

0:12:26 > 0:12:29This strange experience will be the first of many

0:12:29 > 0:12:31as they head to their new life.

0:12:37 > 0:12:42The other adults chosen for the project are all sedated.

0:12:42 > 0:12:45Yeah, he's dropping now. Yeah.

0:12:45 > 0:12:48Those darted in the tree tops are safely caught in nets.

0:12:50 > 0:12:54There are three females with infants.

0:12:54 > 0:12:56And three males.

0:13:22 > 0:13:25The orangutans are taken back to the centre,

0:13:25 > 0:13:28where they'll undergo a thorough health check.

0:13:40 > 0:13:44Eight long weeks of quarantine are finally over.

0:13:44 > 0:13:49Last minute preparations for the next stage of the release are underway.

0:13:51 > 0:13:54Leonora, Emen and the other orphans have been given

0:13:54 > 0:13:55a clean bill of health

0:13:55 > 0:13:59and had radio transmitters implanted under their skin.

0:14:01 > 0:14:03They're all set.

0:14:24 > 0:14:28No road trip would be complete without some snacks.

0:14:29 > 0:14:32They have their favourites, sweet corn for Emen...

0:14:35 > 0:14:38..and for Leonora, bananas.

0:15:09 > 0:15:13They're heading north into deepest, darkest Borneo.

0:15:20 > 0:15:24Over the last 20 years, Indonesian Borneo has lost

0:15:24 > 0:15:27vast areas of its ancient, pristine rainforest

0:15:27 > 0:15:31to logging and palm oil plantations.

0:15:31 > 0:15:35For Lone it's made finding a safe protected area of forest

0:15:35 > 0:15:37all the more difficult.

0:15:38 > 0:15:41It doesn't matter how far I have to move them.

0:15:41 > 0:15:43We took their forests away.

0:15:43 > 0:15:45We took their home and killed their mothers

0:15:45 > 0:15:48and I think that they deserve to go back to the forest.

0:15:48 > 0:15:52No matter how much money and how much effort it's going to take,

0:15:52 > 0:15:54we owe it to them.

0:16:01 > 0:16:05Since leaving home, the orangutans have endured travelling

0:16:05 > 0:16:08by boat, by truck and by plane.

0:16:09 > 0:16:13To reach their new home they must take to the skies once more.

0:16:15 > 0:16:20This time, suspended underneath a helicopter.

0:16:20 > 0:16:21HUMAN VOICES

0:16:23 > 0:16:26HELICOPTER ENGINE STARTS UP

0:16:40 > 0:16:44Leonora and her friends seem to be taking it all in their stride.

0:16:45 > 0:16:48Below them is the forest canopy

0:16:48 > 0:16:51that their kind have climbed through for millennia.

0:16:53 > 0:16:57Now they swing above it in a most unlikely fashion,

0:16:57 > 0:17:01carrying the hope of a new and better future.

0:18:04 > 0:18:07At last, back on terra firma.

0:18:13 > 0:18:16The release team spring into action.

0:18:19 > 0:18:23Lone's first priority is to check on Leonora and Emen.

0:18:23 > 0:18:24Emen!

0:18:26 > 0:18:28Emen!

0:18:28 > 0:18:30Leonora!

0:18:30 > 0:18:32Sweetie! Hey, sweetie.

0:18:40 > 0:18:44The operation to put these orphaned orangutans back to where they belong

0:18:44 > 0:18:47has been a huge effort from the whole team.

0:18:49 > 0:18:51Emotions are running high.

0:18:51 > 0:18:55I can't even describe it in words how I feel about it

0:18:55 > 0:18:57because it is extremely overwhelming for me.

0:18:59 > 0:19:02I really feel like a proud mother having to release them,

0:19:02 > 0:19:05to actually know that they are now finally going.

0:19:07 > 0:19:10For Emen the waiting is over.

0:19:10 > 0:19:13Hey, Emen, darling.

0:19:15 > 0:19:17It's your turn, sweetie.

0:19:18 > 0:19:21In her lifetime she's survived the trauma of losing her mother

0:19:21 > 0:19:24and most of her right hand.

0:19:24 > 0:19:29Now she faces her greatest challenge yet - life in the wild.

0:19:43 > 0:19:44Hello, Emen.

0:19:47 > 0:19:49That's it.

0:20:12 > 0:20:14THEY LAUGH

0:20:18 > 0:20:21Can we do another one? Let's get to the next one.

0:20:21 > 0:20:23Come on, now. Get them out.

0:20:31 > 0:20:35One by one, the released orphans instinctively head for the treetops.

0:20:47 > 0:20:49Leonora has been sitting quietly.

0:20:51 > 0:20:54After four years at the rescue centre

0:20:54 > 0:20:56and eight years waiting on an island sanctuary,

0:20:56 > 0:20:59she's about to see her new home.

0:21:27 > 0:21:29Ah!

0:21:51 > 0:21:54Leonora is entering a world of uncertainty,

0:21:54 > 0:21:58a world full of challenges,

0:21:58 > 0:22:01a world away from what she's used to.

0:22:03 > 0:22:08- Oh, I've got total faith in them. - Ah!

0:22:08 > 0:22:12I've got faith in them more than anybody else, I think, actually.

0:22:17 > 0:22:20Lone and the team have done all they can.

0:22:21 > 0:22:23Now it's up to them.

0:22:43 > 0:22:46ANIMAL CALLS ECHOING

0:22:51 > 0:22:55Somewhere out there are eight orphaned orangutans.

0:23:04 > 0:23:08At camp, Lone and seven monitoring teams are heading out

0:23:08 > 0:23:10for a long day in the forest.

0:23:17 > 0:23:21Lone's keen to check up on Leonora and Emen.

0:23:28 > 0:23:32The first major test will be finding their own food

0:23:32 > 0:23:35and Lone is anxious to see if they're up to the challenge.

0:23:38 > 0:23:42She heads to the release site but there's no sign.

0:23:45 > 0:23:48They go deeper with the radio tracking equipment.

0:23:53 > 0:23:58Even with the transmitters, the orangutans are proving tricky to find.

0:24:00 > 0:24:02SHE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE

0:24:04 > 0:24:06STATIC NOISE

0:24:06 > 0:24:08After half an hour of searching,

0:24:08 > 0:24:12they pick up best friends Leonora and Emen in the same area.

0:24:26 > 0:24:28BRANCHES BREAKING

0:24:28 > 0:24:30Just heard something. BIRDS SCREECHING

0:24:32 > 0:24:34It was just above us.

0:24:34 > 0:24:35Something moving up there.

0:24:41 > 0:24:43Yeah, that is Leonora.

0:24:44 > 0:24:49Oh. I'd be a bit careful. She might decide to chuck some of it at us.

0:24:49 > 0:24:52And little Lamar is hanging in a vine,

0:24:52 > 0:24:55going, like, "Oh, go away."

0:24:55 > 0:24:59It's always the babies that get most upset. It's the same on the island.

0:25:03 > 0:25:09Below Leonora's tree, there's the evidence Lone has been hoping for.

0:25:09 > 0:25:11Almost looks like a big apple or something. Look at that.

0:25:14 > 0:25:15I think that's wild mango.

0:25:15 > 0:25:16Almost smells more like a...

0:25:18 > 0:25:20Oh, it's... God, it's sour.

0:25:22 > 0:25:24They suddenly have to change from eating aubergines

0:25:24 > 0:25:26and bananas and cucumbers and stuff

0:25:26 > 0:25:29and eating these really, really sour

0:25:29 > 0:25:31and very often very bitter forest fruits,

0:25:31 > 0:25:32so it must be quite a change for them.

0:25:32 > 0:25:34But they seem to enjoy it

0:25:34 > 0:25:36and I think that's, again, that's their natural food

0:25:36 > 0:25:39and there must be something that makes them just go, like,

0:25:39 > 0:25:41"Oh, that's quite all right."

0:25:43 > 0:25:45She's paying me absolutely no attention.

0:25:45 > 0:25:48This is where life changes.

0:25:48 > 0:25:50Food becomes more important than attention, you know,

0:25:50 > 0:25:52from somebody they know.

0:25:52 > 0:25:56She knows that she needs to be able to find food and get food first.

0:25:58 > 0:26:00Leonora is making a promising start

0:26:00 > 0:26:03but she faces the constant challenge of deciding

0:26:03 > 0:26:06which plants and fruits are safe to eat.

0:26:08 > 0:26:12Wild orangutan infants spend up to eight years with their mothers,

0:26:12 > 0:26:14learning these invaluable lessons.

0:26:14 > 0:26:18Leonora has to rely on her instincts to guide her.

0:26:19 > 0:26:22All Lone can do is watch and hope.

0:26:22 > 0:26:24BABY SQUEAKING

0:26:24 > 0:26:28Oh, I can hear Emen's baby getting upset.

0:26:28 > 0:26:31It's probably because the mother is moving and he wasn't right next to her.

0:26:31 > 0:26:34Yeah, they're all... They're way up in the top up there.

0:26:37 > 0:26:39Just as they did on their island,

0:26:39 > 0:26:42Emen and Leonora are hanging out together.

0:26:45 > 0:26:47Emen's also found some wild fruit.

0:26:47 > 0:26:50It's not as juicy as her favourite sweet corn

0:26:50 > 0:26:53but it's nutritious and she's getting a taste for it.

0:26:57 > 0:27:00Little Embong is also starting to test out the new menu.

0:27:06 > 0:27:09Leonora and Emen may still have each other for company

0:27:09 > 0:27:14but the constant search for food may eventually test their friendship.

0:27:27 > 0:27:31Over the next week, the monitoring teams are seeing positive signs

0:27:31 > 0:27:33from most of the orphans.

0:27:36 > 0:27:39They're staying high up in the trees.

0:27:39 > 0:27:43They've seen them feeding on dozens of different plants and fruits.

0:27:54 > 0:27:59And in the evening they're making fresh nests for sleeping.

0:28:04 > 0:28:07Day by day, the team is becoming more impressed

0:28:07 > 0:28:09with one in particular.

0:28:11 > 0:28:13Leonora may have been the tamest

0:28:13 > 0:28:17but she's undergoing the biggest transformation.

0:28:18 > 0:28:20She's reached a major milestone.

0:28:21 > 0:28:22Like a truly wild orangutan,

0:28:22 > 0:28:27the constant search for food is making her and her son more solitary.

0:28:30 > 0:28:32Emen has been following them around

0:28:32 > 0:28:34but there's not enough fruit to share

0:28:34 > 0:28:38and their relationship is changing.

0:28:38 > 0:28:40LEONORA SQUEAKS AND GRUNTS

0:28:42 > 0:28:46Leonora's kiss squeaks tell Emen she no longer wants her around.

0:29:02 > 0:29:06Emen has no choice but to find her own patch.

0:29:08 > 0:29:11It may be sad to see the friends part

0:29:11 > 0:29:16but it's also a sign that things are going well,

0:29:16 > 0:29:20as the orangutans continue to behave more and more naturally.

0:29:28 > 0:29:32Two days later, there's a worrying development.

0:29:39 > 0:29:43One of the orangutans is giving serious cause for concern.

0:29:44 > 0:29:46SHE SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE

0:29:48 > 0:29:50It hasn't moved for 24 hours.

0:29:51 > 0:29:53When they've done so well the first week

0:29:53 > 0:29:58and then they suddenly do not move for a day, you get a bit worried.

0:29:59 > 0:30:00It's Emen.

0:30:05 > 0:30:07She looks not too happy.

0:30:07 > 0:30:10I wonder if she might have a bit of a bad stomach

0:30:10 > 0:30:13because she didn't move yesterday at all

0:30:13 > 0:30:15and her stomach is a bit flat today.

0:30:19 > 0:30:22Their stomachs need to get used to this kind of new diet and stuff

0:30:22 > 0:30:25but there are also things in the forest can be slightly poisonous.

0:30:25 > 0:30:29Right now for them it's just, you know, try it and see what happens.

0:30:29 > 0:30:31If it doesn't taste good you spit it out

0:30:31 > 0:30:36but even something that tastes nice could probably potentially be slightly poisonous.

0:30:38 > 0:30:40We'll just have to follow her a little bit today

0:30:40 > 0:30:42and make sure she gets something to eat.

0:30:54 > 0:30:58Emen's three-year-old baby, Embong, is still dependent on his mum's milk.

0:31:00 > 0:31:03She needs to consume around 2,000 calories per day.

0:31:05 > 0:31:09The fruit she needs is in the treetops

0:31:09 > 0:31:13but Emen does what a wild orangutan mother would almost never do.

0:31:13 > 0:31:15She comes to the ground.

0:31:30 > 0:31:34Borneo's forests are home to many dangers -

0:31:34 > 0:31:38clouded leopards, wild pigs and deadly snakes.

0:31:41 > 0:31:43Lone doesn't want to intervene

0:31:43 > 0:31:46but she watches to make sure they're safe.

0:31:50 > 0:31:52I think she's a bit weak today.

0:31:52 > 0:31:56She conserves energy by walking on the ground rather than going through the trees

0:31:56 > 0:31:58but, again, there's also not much fruit down here.

0:32:28 > 0:32:30She's going to lie down, yeah.

0:32:35 > 0:32:42Sleeping on the ground is a worrying sign. Lone will stay with them.

0:32:52 > 0:32:57After two hours, her concern is growing.

0:32:57 > 0:32:59What we need to worry about is more him, actually, than Emen.

0:32:59 > 0:33:02Emen could easily go for a long time without food, probably,

0:33:02 > 0:33:07whereas Embong, he will get weaker faster if he doesn't get enough food.

0:33:07 > 0:33:11We will only give food if the animal seems to be in proper distress,

0:33:11 > 0:33:14meaning that they're really, really weak,

0:33:14 > 0:33:17we have not seen them eating for, maybe three or four days.

0:33:17 > 0:33:20If the animal gets really sick, if there's anything else wrong,

0:33:20 > 0:33:21we might take them back.

0:33:21 > 0:33:23But it will only be in those situations

0:33:23 > 0:33:27when we really, really feel that we need to go in and help.

0:33:29 > 0:33:31THUNDER RUMBLES

0:33:36 > 0:33:40A change in the weather is a new challenge for the orangutans.

0:33:46 > 0:33:49Despite the deluge, Leonora is still feeding.

0:33:49 > 0:33:52She's found some tree ants

0:33:52 > 0:33:54and has worked out a neat way of catching them.

0:34:00 > 0:34:04She lets them get entangled in her hairs and then she picks them off.

0:34:10 > 0:34:15This could turn out to be one of Lamar's most valuable lessons.

0:34:15 > 0:34:17When fruit is scarce, they will need to rely

0:34:17 > 0:34:19on these lower-grade food sources.

0:34:28 > 0:34:33Leonora is learning and adapting quickly to her new life

0:34:33 > 0:34:36but the same cannot be said for her old friend Emen.

0:34:41 > 0:34:43Marios the vet has been called in.

0:34:50 > 0:34:53Emen has spent the last two days up the same tree.

0:34:57 > 0:35:02Her transmitter is still sending a signal but there's no sign of her.

0:35:21 > 0:35:23They wait for an hour.

0:35:24 > 0:35:26There's no movement.

0:35:31 > 0:35:34- WOMAN:- What are you thinking, Marios?

0:35:34 > 0:35:38I don't know, I'm a little bit sad.

0:35:46 > 0:35:48Are you really worried about her?

0:35:48 > 0:35:51Yeah.

0:35:57 > 0:35:58I'm sorry.

0:36:13 > 0:36:15ALL SPEAKING LOCAL LANGUAGE

0:36:21 > 0:36:24When you haven't seen them move for a few days, you start worrying

0:36:24 > 0:36:28and then the fear kicks in, the fear of not being able to help

0:36:28 > 0:36:31if it is so bad that we can't medically help her

0:36:31 > 0:36:33or she might already be dead.

0:36:37 > 0:36:40They hope to tempt her out with a rescue package.

0:36:40 > 0:36:45Rehydration salts and milk formula are added to water.

0:36:49 > 0:36:53The tree is too dangerous to climb, so they'll hoist it up on a line.

0:37:00 > 0:37:03Yeah.

0:37:25 > 0:37:28Emen and Embong are nowhere to be seen.

0:37:47 > 0:37:50- LEAVES RUSTLING - Then, at last...

0:37:53 > 0:37:55There she goes. Here she comes.

0:38:00 > 0:38:03Emen goes straight for the bananas!

0:38:12 > 0:38:14Then she discovers the bottle of water.

0:38:24 > 0:38:27Hope Embong will come out and get some.

0:38:27 > 0:38:30- He's normally quite forward. - Oh, here he's coming, here he's coming.

0:38:30 > 0:38:32Here he comes.

0:38:43 > 0:38:47After not eating for several days, they devour the whole package.

0:38:51 > 0:38:52It was very much a sense of relief

0:38:52 > 0:38:56because by her starting to eat, Embong was also going to get some food

0:38:56 > 0:38:58and she did share

0:38:58 > 0:39:03and I was actually more concerned that she got fluids.

0:39:03 > 0:39:05Fluid balance is so much more important than the food

0:39:05 > 0:39:08and she did drink.

0:39:08 > 0:39:09Obviously, she was hungry

0:39:09 > 0:39:13and I think she just didn't dare to eat any wild fruits

0:39:13 > 0:39:16because she didn't know what it was that had actually made her sick.

0:39:18 > 0:39:19Wow.

0:39:42 > 0:39:46For the next few days, they'll need to follow Emen's every move,

0:39:46 > 0:39:50to make sure she and little Embong are getting enough to eat.

0:39:58 > 0:40:02The transition into life in the wild was always going to be a challenge

0:40:02 > 0:40:09but one orangutan has far surpassed their expectations -

0:40:09 > 0:40:10Leonora.

0:40:24 > 0:40:26I think I'm as proud as any mother would be

0:40:26 > 0:40:28who's just sent their kids out,

0:40:28 > 0:40:31not just to university but it's actually graduated from university as well

0:40:31 > 0:40:34and then go out in the big world and succeed.

0:40:34 > 0:40:37That's what they're doing. They're succeeding right now.

0:40:41 > 0:40:45I think we all know when we have found that place

0:40:45 > 0:40:47that we really want to live

0:40:47 > 0:40:49and I think that, you know, they feel the same way.

0:40:49 > 0:40:52This is their home where they're going to have to put down roots

0:40:52 > 0:40:54and they're going to have their babies.

0:40:54 > 0:40:56I'm sure that they must feel that, as well.

0:41:18 > 0:41:21The orangutans are making the forest their home.

0:41:24 > 0:41:27They're finding their own food, learning to live alone

0:41:27 > 0:41:30and establishing their own territories.

0:41:37 > 0:41:39Best of all, after giving everyone a scare,

0:41:39 > 0:41:42there's good news for Emen and Embong.

0:41:47 > 0:41:50They're well and are thriving on their own.

0:42:03 > 0:42:06Leonora and her friends are living proof

0:42:06 > 0:42:12that orangutans brought up by humans can indeed survive in the wild.

0:42:17 > 0:42:20It's the news Lone has been longing for.

0:42:20 > 0:42:25It means there is a future for orphaned and rescued orangutans.

0:42:28 > 0:42:31And now these eight orangutans have actually succeeded,

0:42:31 > 0:42:34it means freedom for all those orangutans that's been sitting there,

0:42:34 > 0:42:37waiting in the cages for so many years,

0:42:37 > 0:42:39waiting for their chance to get out in the forest.

0:42:42 > 0:42:45Now I've got to get the next 600 out.

0:42:45 > 0:42:49And I'm sure that the next 600 are going to do just as well as these guys.

0:42:56 > 0:42:58Any animal you can give freedom, it touches you

0:42:58 > 0:43:01in some places you don't even really know exists.

0:43:01 > 0:43:04You know, it's just something so deep inside of you.

0:43:11 > 0:43:15Lone hopes that very soon Leonora will be joined

0:43:15 > 0:43:17by many more orangutans

0:43:17 > 0:43:22and that they will found a brand new wild population

0:43:22 > 0:43:26which will thrive here for generations to come.