International Orangutan Day

Our mission to Sumatra hit a popular, if annoying setback when first myself, then Sara succumbed to the COVID-19 virus as the landing wheels touched the tarmac at Medan airport. An additional forced quarantine - essential to protect the orangutan, saw a delay in us reaching the rescue centre but once here we have hit the ground running. After almost three years, it is once again amazing and strangely comforting to be immersed in jungle life - the noisy cacaphony is familiar and as I write this in the evening the deep rumbling bellow of Fahzreen an adult cheek padded male's long call echoes eerily through trees telling his ladies he is around and available! Nestled under our reassuring mosquito net in our wooden cabin, the regular nightly tropical rain doesn’t bother us and obviously pleases the raucous high decibel frog right outside our shutters.

As always the vets are busy, performing six health checks under sedation in the last few days whilst today was spent anaesthetising and treating an orangutan's recently amputated injured finger. The very nature of a strong and very active orangutan making simple daily dressings and treatment impossible. As usual too, the young vets are eager to learn and thirsty to increase their knowledge and despite today being a national holiday the whole day was spent in the clinic. International orangutan day will be the same - no rest for the wicked. Each day the vets throw topics at us and we will try to cover anaesthesia, fluid therapy, intensive care, Tuberculosis, Malaria, heatstroke, emergency care and more while Sara also guides Yanti the clinic nurse, through correctly packing sterile surgery kits,  barrier nursing and organising her clinic as efficiently as possible.

Checking the resident orangutan is never a chore and certainly not when you must stand back off the jungle path to allow the passage of keepers with their hairy orange charges heading to forest school and you can then spend several minutes seeing the young orangutan climb high in the trees. Delighted to be free they scramble through branches, sampling leaves, playing together and launching themselves, precariously testing the strength and ‘whip’ of a tree learning to reach from tree to tree high in the canopy, nestbuilding and socially learning. All essential preparation for their hope-filled new life free in the forest sometime in the future.

We have missed them even more than we thought and as we spend our time here we reflect on just how priveleged we are to be able to help these wonderful sentient animals and the vets dedicated to looking after them. We will be returning with the satisfaction of helping, the frustration of not doing more and with the inevitable list of veterinary items needed for when we are lucky enough to return.

Missed the previous updates? Go back and read our first blog here.

Dr Nigel Hicks & Sara Fell Hicks
Co-founders
Orangutan Veterinary Aid

www.ovaid.org

Help us to help them...

At J.A.K we provide ongoing support to OVAID through both financial and equipment donations. This month*, along with our usual Purfect Disposable Drapes offer (10p from each pack/roll and 50p from each box donated), we are donating 5% of any Biolight sale. These patient monitors are also on a 15% discount this month, meaning it's win-win, with donation amounts from each machine listed below:

Biolight M12 - £97.33 Donated to OVAID
Biolight S12 - £110.29 Donated to OVAID
Biolight P12 - £178.50 Donated to OVAID
Biolight M800 - £12.54 Donated to OVAID
Biolight M850 - £29.54 Donated to OVAID
Biolight M860 - £29.54 Donated to OVAID
Biolight M880 - £59.29 Donated to OVAID

*T&Cs apply, ends 31/08/2022.