Source : The Star, Malaysia, 26 Apr '08
By : Jack Wong
  

	Endangered: File photo of an orang utan at the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sabah.

Sarawak Forestry Corporation managing director and CEO Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the centre would highlight the commitment of state authorities towards the conservation of the endangered primate.

Batang Ai National Park is adjacent to the Lanjak-Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary established 25 years ago as a haven for orang utans.

The state has an estimated orang utan population of 2,000.

Len Talif said the centre would help address issues related to orang utans as the state had been accused of not taking care of the protected animal.

He said the state was accused to allowing the clearing of forests for oil palm cultivation, which adversely affected orang utan survival.

“We work with zoos, universities and wildlife experts worldwide to conserve orang utans in their natural environment,” he told reporters after opening an international conference themed “Towards sustainable land use in tropical Asia” at Kuching Hilton recently.

Len Talif also said that an expedition involving Universiti Malaysia Sarawak and other universities would be conducted in the Lanjak-Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary in June to search for new plant and animal species.