His name is Raden, an acronym of his parents’, Rambo and Denok. He is a male lowland anoa (Bubalus depressicornis) who was born with the help of human due to his mother’s health condition. Raden was born via caesarean section which was successfully performed for the first time by Afifah and the Manado Anoa Breeding Center (ABC) team in January 2023.

Away from the city’s hustle and bustle, Raden and eight other anoas were placed in captivity in conditions resembling their natural habitat but controlled, and under the supervision of Afifah, a female veterinarian who chose to involve herself in nature conservation efforts.

Soft, moist, and beating. That was the sensation that Afifah felt from inside the latex gloves that she wore when performing the Caesarean surgery. She painstakingly led the surgery, assisted by a few team members – preparing the surgery tools, anesthetic liquid, even wiping sweat from the doctor’s forehead.

“The surgery was quick, it only took 30 minutes. But the hard part was to stitch back the operated part,” said Afifah. Apip – her nickname – needed more than an hour to stitch back the anoa’s mother’s skin that was thick and layered. An anoa could weigh up to 100kg, requiring the surgery to be done within the cage, different from an ideal condition in which a veterinarian works in a clinic.

Afifah spends her days behind the walls of a humble building, accompanied by a Husky named Temo. “This situation is much better than some of my acquaintances who are wildlife veterinarians whose working environment is very remote,” she said. Every day he monitors anoa covering health, nutrition, reproductive period and conducts small research related to anoa reproductive health in a building that is worthy of being called an animal clinic specifically for anoa.

Born and raised in the capital, Apip prefers to work away from the big cities and get closer to nature. Her job as a veterinarian is arguably less popular than general practitioners. Wild animal conservation that she focuses on also requires her to live in isolation. But she is fully aware that Indonesia needs more manpower to support the national effort to protect the animals and wildlife.

Since 2009, the IUCN (The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) has designated anoa as an animal on the red list, aka endangered. In the wild, it is estimated that there are only 2,500 Anoa left which are scattered throughout the island of Sulawesi. Although it has various limitations, ABC and the people who work in wild animal conservation is the last resort of hope for Raden and his species, to sustain their lives amid major natural destruction caused by humans.