Perth Zoo is bidding goodbye to an endangered Sumatran orangutan that it has taken cared of since its birth six years ago. The animal named Semeru will be reintroduced into the jungles of Indonesia's Sumatra island to repopulate the species now numbering only 6,300.

Semeru is scheduled to be flown to Indonesia on Sunday and then released into the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park making him the first zoo-bred male orangutan in the world to be released into the wild. The zoo also made history by releasing in the same park the first zoo-bred orangutan in 2006.

"Semeru will be closely monitored and supported on a daily basis with two dedicated trackers for two years, and longer if necessary, while he adjusts to life in the forest,'' said Environment Minister Bill Marmion, according to Perth Now. The trackers will locate Semeru by following signals emitted by a radio transmitter implanted on the orangutan.

Zoo veterinarians, keepers and officials prepared Semeru physically for one year until this month. Part of the preparation was the inclusion of Indonesia fruit in his diet and climbing exercises on a large fig tree.

Perth Zoo has been breeding and rearing orangutans since 1970 and through a joint program with the Indonesian government, releases them into Sumatra, their original habitat. So far, the zoo has reintegrated 139 orangutans, including 27 born there, into the wild.

An orangutan like this is the same animal the Perth Zoo will release into the jungles of Sumatra in Indonesia.