Baby orangutan drugged in smuggling attempt earlier this year makes first public appearance at Bali Safari

Bonbon, the two-year-old orangutan that a Russian national attempted to smuggle out of Indonesia earlier this year, made his first appearance before the public at the Bali Safari and Marine Park yesterday. 

In a photo shared by Bali Safari on Instagram, Bonbon appears to be enjoying a refreshing drink from a coconut while looking all cute and adorable. 

 

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Let’s all welcome Monday with a cheer! Bon Bon here seems like he’s enjoying a drink by himself, meet and keep him company today between 1pm – 2pm in Bali Safari Park for World Orangutan Day! #worldorangutanday #balisafari #balisafaripark #baliadventure #wonderfulindonesia #bali #gianyar #safaripark #safariadventures #orangutan

A post shared by Bali Safari Park (@balisafari) on Aug 18, 2019 at 4:00pm PDT

According to a report from Tribun-Bali, Bonbon was active and playful while the public kept him company for an hour-long public session at Bali Safari yesterday afternoon during which he hung around on trees and played with twigs. 

In March, Bonbon was at the center of a criminal case involving Andrei Zhestkov, a Russian national arrested after he was caught carrying the orangutan in his suitcase. Zhestkov allegedly drugged the little guy, who he reportedly intended to bring home to keep as a pet. 

Zhestkov was sentenced to one year in prison just last month after judges at the Denpasar Court found him guilty of violating Indonesia’s 1990 Law on Conservation. 

The Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) in Bali had placed Bonbon under Bali Safari’s care after he was found by authorities. At the time, Bonbon reportedly had a fever and other injuries. 

“We quarantined him for 30 days and gave him the necessary treatments. At this point, Bonbon is healthy. He’s even able to walk with his hands and feet and he can hang on trees. When we first got him, he wasn’t able to walk properly,” Ni Made Yunik Novitadewi, a veterinarian from Bali Safari, told Tribun-Bali. 

Yunik added that Bonbon is a Sumatran orangutan, which is a critically endangered species. According to data from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), there are an estimated population of about 14,000 Sumatran orangutan remaining worldwide, while the total remaining orangutan population in the world are only about 100,000. 

Bali Safari is still waiting for a decision from BKSDA as to whether or not Bonbon will be released back into the wild. 

According to the park’s administrative manager of life science, Ayudis Husadhi, Bonbon was introduced to the public yesterday as part of an effort to increase awareness about wildlife protection in conjunction with World Orangutan Day.