Viral orangutan bus ride was part of rehabilitation transfer, says conservation group

A video showing a group of orangutans travelling on a bus has gone viral on social media, prompting Indonesia's Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) to clarify that the journey was part of a rehabilitation programme involving the transfer of young orangutans to a new forest school in Nyaru Menteng, Central Kalimantan.

The footage attracted widespread attention online, with some viewers questioning why the animals were being transported by bus.

BOSF Chief Executive Officer Jamartin Sihite said the animals featured in the video were young orangutans undergoing rehabilitation before their eventual return to the wild.

"If you look at the video, the orangutans at BOSF are actually young orangutans that we rehabilitate so they can return to living in the wild. In the process, there are schooling stages, and at that time their school was being relocated," Jamartin said on Thursday.

He stressed that the move did not alter the learning programme provided to the animals.

"The lessons remain the same, only the location has changed. If compared to humans, it is like replacing an old school building with a new one," he said.

More than 10 young orangutans transported

Jamartin said the foundation used a bus because of the number of orangutans involved, making individual transfers impractical.

"If we moved them one by one, it would be difficult. So we placed them inside the bus together with caregivers and accompanying staff," he explained.

According to Jamartin, the group shown in the video consisted of more than 10 orangutans aged between one and four years old.

"For those on the bus, I cannot remember the exact number, but there were more than 10 individuals. They were around one to four years old," he said.

Forest school programme

The rehabilitation programme includes supervised learning designed to help young orangutans develop the skills necessary for survival in the wild.

Jamartin said each caregiver, or babysitter, typically looks after two to three orangutans at a time during the forest school sessions.

"Usually one babysitter handles two to three orangutans. They are supervised while learning to climb, find food and carry out other activities," he said.

Foundation explains relocation

In a caption accompanying the video on its TikTok account, BOSF described the journey as a relocation to the new Nyaru Menteng Forest School involving orangutans, surrogate mothers and veterinary staff.

"Throwback to the Nyaru Menteng Forest School relocation, where orangutans, surrogate mothers, and the veterinary team travelled together to a new rehabilitation site," the foundation wrote.

The organisation said the move formed part of efforts to provide a calmer and more natural environment for the animals.

"This step is part of an effort to provide a quieter and more natural environment, helping orangutans focus on learning the skills they need to return to life in the wild," the caption said.

The foundation added that further relocations were expected as the rehabilitation programme continued.

"And this journey is still continuing ... stay tuned for the next relocation story."