Endangered orangutans must go to wild: Environmentalists

At Malaysian orangutan sanctuary -- which is touted as the world's only rehabilitation and preservation facility for the endangered primates -- the staff is dedicated to saving its tiny patients -- infant orangutans. A nurse makes up a bottle of formula while another prepares a bath for the tiny apes. The environmentalists say that animals cannot be treated like humans and prevented from learning natural skills in the wild. "It is ridiculous to have orangutans in nappies and hand-raised in a nursery. How are they going to reintroduce the primates back in the wild," says senior wildlife veterinarian Roy Sirimanne. Sirimanne has worked in zoos in Southeast Asia and the Middle East over the past four decades. He says baby orangutans need to be with their mothers to learn survival skills; Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.chinaview.cn for full version