A heartfelt farewell as three smuggled young orangutans return home

The three orangutans, smuggled from Indonesia into Thailand years ago, were sent home today.

They are the last group of orangutans that came under the care of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, after being rescued from the smuggling ring.

Their caregiver, Kanok-orn Senanon, was at Suvarnabhumi International Airport to bid farewell to ‘her children,’ for whom she had cared for over six years.

Kanok-orn Senanon

Two of the three, Nobita and Shizuka, both aged 7, were named after characters in the famous Japanese animated series ‘Doraemon’, while the third is named Brian, aged 4.

Kanok-orn said “The three have distinct characters. Shizuka always seeks attention and loves making “sweet eyes”. She enjoys interacting with people, loves people to call her name and has a preference for fruit, such as bananas, papayas and guavas.”

“Nobita is strong and fierce, like a boy, not fond of being touched, while Brian is reclusive and has been fearful since his childhood. When Brian is unhappy, he tends to stand with his arms crossed like a child and prefers having his meals punctually at 9am and 2pm,” she explained.

Kanok-orn said that she is happy that the three are finally able to return home, but she is also going to miss them, due to the bond she has formed with them over the years.

‘I have taken care of them with all my heart, to compensate for what they had been through and because they were separated from their mothers,’ she said. She wished the three orangutans a safe journey home.

The department took custody of the great apes in 2019 and kept them at Khao Zon Wildlife Breeding Station in Ratchaburi province.

Since 2016, 71 orangutans have been returned to Indonesia. Narin mentioned that two, named Oong Ing and Nathalie, were returned to Jakarta in 2020.

These young apes, protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), were kept here, after they had been smuggled into the country, as evidence in smuggling trials. A young orangutan is reported to be worth about Bt1 million on the black market.