THREE orangutans in the care of a rehabilitation centre in West Borneo have been taken on an incredible journey to their new home in a vast national park.

Male Sabtu and females Butan and Marsela spent several days travelling by road, river and on foot to reach the release site in Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park (BBBR NP) in the Heart of Borneo conservation area.

Video released by Uckfield-based International Animal Rescue (IAR) documents the different stages of the journey,

Their release coincides with news that the species has been reclassified from endangered to critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – a stark warning of the increasing threats to the population’s survival.

Phily Kennington, from Brighton, is a member of International Animal Rescue’s UK team and was lucky enough to join the release operation.

She said: “It was incredible to see for myself the team spirit, skill, determination and strength of our team in Indonesia.

“The journey was long and challenging but attention was given solely to the welfare and safety of the orangutans being transported.

“The moment when the cages were opened and the orangutans burst out into the trees was the most beautiful sight I have ever witnessed.

“These orangutans have been given back their freedom and it was a privilege to join them on their incredible journey back to the wild.”

Sabtu, meaning Saturday, is a wild orangutan of about 25 years old with large cheekpads.

He was rescued in March this year from a village plantation not far from IAR’s orangutan centre and had gone in search of food after his home in the forest was destroyed by fire.

Residents called in IAR’s rescue team and he was shot him with an anaesthetic dart to be brought back to the centre for a health check and treatment before he was returned to the wild.

Butan and Marsela were only two or three years old when they were rescued. Having been taken from their mothers when they were still babies, they never learnt the forest survival skills. They were both found in areas where the forest had been destroyed to make way for massive palm oil plantations.

When she was rescued in 2011 Butan was in a shocking condition and in danger of dying of malaria. She was put straight into intensive care at IAR’s clinic and needed six months’ treatment to cure her of the disease.

Marsela was also found alone in a palm oil plantation belonging in Ketapang.

A charity monitoring team, supported by people from villages near the national park, will follow the orangutans using a radio-tracking device for one or two years to ensure their long term survival in the forest.