Jakarta, Jan 16 (IANS): As many as four orangutans have been released into a protected forest in the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan after completing their rehabilitation programme, the province's regional conservation agency said in a statement on Thursday.

The East Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Centre (BKSDA) said that the release of the four orangutans, named Paluy, Bonti, Jojo and Mary, took place in the Gunung Batu Mesangat Protected Forest in the East Kutai region on Saturday last week.

According to the agency, Paluy, an 18-year-old male, was evacuated after he suffered a negative interaction in July last year. He later received medical treatment until he recovered before being released into the wild.

Bonti, Jojo and Mary, all females aged 12, 12 and 10, were previously held as pets by locals. They were evacuated by the agency between 2017 and 2019, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The release is aimed at giving them... a chance to live in the wild. The release can also increase the population of orangutans in their natural habitat," said Ari Wibawanto, the agency's head.

He explained that captive orangutans need to undergo a rehabilitation programme in a bid to restore their natural behaviour and break their dependence on humans. In the rehabilitation center, they adapted to being able to live independently in the forest, Wibawanto added.

According to the data from the Forestry Ministry, there was a rise in the orangutan population in 24 monitoring sites in Sumatra and Kalimantan from 1,441 in 2014 to 2,431 in 2022.

Last July, Indonesia had welcomed a new baby Sumatran orangutan, born at Orangutan Reintroduction Centre in Jantho Nature Reserve in the Aceh province.

The nature reserve, home to a variety of wildlife, had seen its seventh orangutan birth since the reintroduction programme began in 2011.