HILO >> Rusti the orangutan will not see the shovels at the groundbreaking for his new home, but with some luck he will be in his new digs by the end of the year. New Hilo ape house
set to break groundhttp://www.orangutan.org
By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.comAfter numerous delays, ground will be broken by the end of this month for an orangutan sanctuary to be operated at the Hilo's Panaewa Rainforest Zoo by the Orangutan Foundation International, said consultant Steve Karbank.
Construction for the first phase is expected to take three to four months.
The intended first resident, Rusti, has been waiting in a concrete enclosure at the Honolulu Zoo since 1997, after being rescued from a substandard, private zoo in New Jersey.
On Aug. 23, the state Department of Agriculture approved a permit to transfer Rusti, and other orangutans accepted by the facility in the future, to Hilo. A Hawaii County building permit for the facility was issued a few months ago.
A facility in Hilo for unwanted American orangutans has been a dream of internationally known orangutan specialist Birute Galdikas since 1993.
The site was proposed by Hilo resident Charlotte Grimm, Galdikas' niece by marriage, because of the similarity of Hilo rain forest conditions to those of the orangutan's native area in Indonesia.
Karbank said the 28-acre site is immediately off Stainback Highway, south of Hilo, next to the county's equestrian center and in front of the county zoo.
Fencing the entire perimeter of the facility with a special mesh and building a sleeping house for Rusti will be among the first priorities. Karbank put the cost of the first phase at $800,000.
Overall, the cost is $5.75 million, which is coming from donations to the foundation. Plans call for dividing the area into seven habitats able to house up to 20 orangutans.
The animals would sleep at night in houses at the center of the property and roam the existing forest during the day. A special "browse garden" would also be created facing Stainback Highway.
The facility will be as much an education center as a sanctuary, Karbank said.
The property will be crossed by "wander paths" for people to learn about the rain forest, he said.
The sanctuary is authorized by its agreement with the county to charge admission, but it is also expected to bring more visitors to the zoo and increase that facility's viability, Karbank said.