An Adventure in the Bornean Rainforest

Long standing supporter, volunteer and 2016 volunteer coordinator, Joanne Cotton, shares her experience of voluntary work in Borneo gained from taking part in the Orangutan Foundation Volunteer Programme.

“I had trawled the internet for hours reading up about potential volunteer programmes, many of which offered fun and adventure in far off lands but somehow there was something lacking. As soon as I read the information about the Orangutan Foundation programme, I knew that I had found the right adventure for me. It was really important to me that whatever project I joined, it had genuine heart and soul for a worthwhile cause, a real opportunity to help make a much needed difference. The Orangutan Foundation offered this by the bucket load! This was an opportunity to live and work in the rainforest in Indonesian Borneo with a local team doing building work that ultimately was to facilitate the release of orangutans in the area.

I applied for the programme straight away and was very glad I had done so as places were limited. The Orangutan Foundation arranged for a telephone interview with me, this was just an informal chat but was a great opportunity for them to check that I was suitable for such an experience and also for me to ask all of the many questions I had been thinking about.

That’s how my adventure started and six months later I found myself at an airport, on the other side of the planet, all by myself. I had never done anything like this before and it felt amazing, I felt so liberated, yet it had only just begun!

When I signed up to do this project, this was well outside of my comfort zone but the staff at Orangutan Foundation were extremely helpful and supportive and provided me with lots of useful information so that I could be as prepared as possible for what lay ahead. If you are thinking of joining an Orangutan Foundation programme in the future, I cannot recommend it enough, just do it! It will open your eyes and it is likely that you will never look at our planet and life the same way again."

Applications for this year’s Volunteer Programme are now OPEN. Email info@orangutan.org.uk to receive an application form. Please join us for an unforgettable experience!

Orangutan Foundation: 2016 in pictures and numbers. A huge thank you for your support.

6,000 wild Bornean orangutans live in the Belantikan region. The largest population outside of a protected area. Orangutan Foundation actively engages key stakeholders to conserve this critical tropical forest ecosystem.

 

33 wild orangutans rescued. One particularly poignant rescue was Narti, who was found completely stranded, clinging to the burnt remnants of a tree surrounded by oil palms.

 

36 rescues of other wildlife species. All released into the safety of the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.

        

16,000 Ubar tree seedlings nurtured and planted to restore areas of the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve damaged by forest fires in 2015.

 

One new patron. Patrick Aryee and Offspring Films visited our work in Borneo to film for “Monkeys: An Amazing Animal Family”, a three-part series which first aired on Sky 1, on Christmas day. Star of the show, was Okto who was charmed by Patrick’s presenting skills!

 

 

Eight volunteers and one new guard post. In July, the construction of Guard Post 25 began. Now up and running, this guard post is critical for the protection of the new 8,000 hectare extension of the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.

Our 25th anniversary year saw the opening of Tanjung Harapan’s Information Centre, in Tanjung Tanjung Puting National Park. Renovated by our 2015 volunteers and designed by the Cube in Residence Programme.

 

104 air rifle pellets were found in lodged in orangutan Aan, 32 of which in her head left her blind, in 2012. In October 2016, ophthalmic surgeon, Claudia Hartley, visited Aan to assess the permanence of her blindness. 

 

What a wonderful start to 2017 to have the chance to restore Aan's sight. Claudia Hartley will be returning the to field with her team and specialist equipment in February to remove a cataract, currently affecting Aan's vision in her one remaining eye.

DONATE NOW to help us to raise £2000 to fund this vital operation to give Aan a second chance in the wild.

Adventures in Borneo

This summer I had the unique opportunity to visit Central Kalimantan to see the area in which the Orangutan Foundation operates. I have been interning with the Foundation for 4 months, and I’m familiar with many of the areas they protect, although by name only. Therefore, it was a pleasure to see these landmarks in the flesh and meet the Indonesian team that work so hard to protect them. The various camps are most easily reached via Kalimantan’s river systems. As I travelled down river by speedboat, the waterfront houses of Pangkalan Bun quickly turned into dense forest. Noteworthy sightswere various indicators of habitat loss, such as logs being transported towards the town. Kingfishers darted in front of the boat so fast that getting a good photo was impossible!

I first visited the site of the new guard post where this year’s volunteers were making excellent headway into its construction. The volunteers were a hardworking, dedicated bunch from all walks of life! They were all dedicated to the cause and felt genuine, collective concern for the threat of habitat loss, highlighted by the constant stream of reminders around them. They spoke of awaking to the sound of chainsaws, highlighting the need for a guard post in the area.

Afterward, I got to visit Camp Buluh. This is the current home of Sugih, a 5-year-old female who was rescued by OF, previously kept as a pet. Foundation staff informed me that she had made good progress, she was behaving as a wild orangutan should - encouraging news.

The next day was the volunteer’s day off, and I was lucky enough to join them to visit Camp JL, where Okto and Ketty are currently being cared for, and Camp Gemini. Okto and Ketty were a lively duo to watch, and really quite amusing, with Okto dropping to the ground at one stage and crossing his arms as if to say “I am not doing any more nest-building practice!”. Hopefully in time he’ll exhibit less of this behaviour, as wild orangutans are rarely seen on the forest floor.

Camp Gemini’s feeding station was a hive of activity; we saw many mothers with infants who inhabited the forest nearby. They began to crowd around with the promise of fresh fruit! We even saw a wild male, enticed by the fruit - and the females!

On my last day, I was taken to visit Pondok Ambung, the Foundation’s research station situated within Tanjung Puting National Park. There were 15 camera traps placed around this area which provided evidence of a plethora of wildlife who call this National Park home.

We then visited the famed Camp Leakey where I saw a gibbon amongst the orangutans visiting the feeding station, which moved too swiftly through the tree tops for a photo! The traffic caused by the tourist’s klotoks was really a sight to behold, displaying how popular this area has become with people from around the world.

The journey back to Kumai was magical, made so by numerous orangutans who had begun to make their nests by the river’s edge.

I had a fantastic time visiting this wonderland that so many orangutans call home. I would urge anybody who has not already done so to check out the various trips available to visit for themselves, particularly the Volunteer Programme (http://www.orangutan.org.uk/orangutan-tours). I’ve definitely received a ginger thumbs up from the orangutans in the area, as well as being made to feel very welcome by the excellent Indonesian staff members. Many thanks and hoping I’ll be back soon!

My Bornean Adventure

by Joanne Cotton Returning volunteer, Joanne Cotton, shares her experiences from the Orangutan Foundation's past summer volunteer programmes.

June 2012

Yesterday was another great day as we travelled by boat for about 4 hours through the National Park. The scenery was stunning and the further into the journey we got, the more stunning the jungle scenery became. We saw wild orangutans, proboscis monkeys and many other animals which I can’t even remember the names of. I am really trying to commit everything to memory but the senses are completely overloaded!

The boat was moored up for the night and after eating our evening meal of fresh fish and stir fried vegetables with tempeh we were taken on a night walk. It gets dark at about half past five here but it turns out that there is as much to see during the night as there is during the day. One of the local Indonesians was obviously really keen to help us see as much as possible. He showed us a tarantula, smoking mushrooms and even our first leech of the trip!

Tomorrow we have a day at Camp Leakey where we will see orangutans of all ages up close, I can’t wait. Then, after a few days of getting used to the heat and the time difference we will head out to camp which will be our home for the next few weeks. That’s when the hard work building a boardwalk begins! But for now I am off to take a shower out of a bucket of river water with a hole in it!

September 2015

I am so thrilled to be back here! Borneo really stole a piece of my heart during my first trip. This trip is completely different from the first time. This time, although the work is still physically hard, it’s not quite as dirty! We are helping to rebuild an education centre in the National Park which involves lots of hammering, sawing and painting.

Last night I slept outside in a hammock for the first time and as I was falling asleep I could hear the orangutan long call in the trees around me. We tend to wake up quite early here and today I was woken by the macaques playing in the trees next to me.

Today was our day off so a few of us took a Klotok down the river to a little village. Our camp is located right on the river and there is so much wildlife here, we have even seen a crocodile a little further up the river!

Our lifestyle is very basic here, but I don’t find myself left wanting for anything. We work hard, are well fed and have had many laughs. We have been learning a lot about the wildlife and local culture from the Indonesians and we are even learning a little bit of Indonesian along the way.

I can see that each volunteer project is very unique and offers a very different experience each time. It will never be the same experience twice…. but that’s all the more reason to keep coming back!

Applications are NOW OPEN for the 2016 programme! To apply for this year's summer volunteer programme, click here! 

The True Guardians of the Forest

On the 30^th April, Foundation staff ran their routine patrols. As most of you know, habitat protection is a core priority for the Orangutan Foundation: if the forests are not safe, neither are the orangutans. The use of guard posts and patrols to protect Tanjung Puting National Park and the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve from illegal logging, farming, mining and hunting has so far been extremely successful. Thus after hearing new reports of illegal logging taking place in Pos Rasau, Foundation staff hastily set out in a speedboat with 7 people from the BKSDA and the Department of Forestry, as well as 2 police officers.

Here they discovered the remnants of illegal logging activities.

Though the perpetrators were nowhere to be seen, they had left behind 12 planks of timber, and 12 types of wood varnish. In a nearby location, many more planks of timber were found, as well as the personal cooking supplies of the loggers, who had again evaded being caught by our patrols.

Yet while on the river towards Mangkung, our patrols found a group of people loading more planks of wood onto their boat.

When they pulled up on site, the police and the Department of Forestry employees were able to order the workers to end their illegal logging in this location. Our patrols will continue to monitor this area in the weeks to come to ensure this order is taken seriously.

The Foundation is confident that thanks to our use of patrols, cases of illegal logging can be brought to an end before escalating any further in these critical areas of orangutan forest.

Now it's New Year, we look back with confidence, knowing that we have made a difference...

The Foundation works in three areas of critical orangutan habitat. We extend the scope of our achievements by patrolling an area almost as large as the land area of Singapore. Our strategically located guard posts are therefore vital. We have been able to rescue more and more orangutans whose lives were in imminent danger. 75% of all orangutans live outside protected areas, so with our partners, we launched a campaign to collaborate with 18 oil palm companies for the protection of orangutans within the forests of their companies concessions and surrounding areas.

• In 2014, the Foundation translocated 17 orangutans into the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.
• Torup and Kotim were rescued from community land and both are now in the ‘Soft Release’ programme, learning skills for an independent life in the wild.
• 2014 saw the birth of two infants, and two more orangutans are due to give birth in mid 2015.
• An exciting new initiative was the installation of camera traps in Pondok Ambung, Tanjung Puting National Park and Belantikan Arut. Without these camera traps, we would of never have had sightings of clouded leopards, one of the most elusive species of the tropical forest.

• The Volunteer Programme once again proved its worth, by renovating a Guard Post on a vulnerable river in the south of Tanjung Puting National Park.

• An important research project is the Population and distribution of the endangered banteng (wild ox), found in the Belantikan region. This is critical to the banteng’s future status.

•  Thanks to the diligence of the Foundation staff, forest fires (an annual problem) were quickly identified and isolated, which prevented further areas of the forest from being burnt.

Thank you to all - your support really does make a difference and the orangutan foundation could not have achieved any the above without your help. A very happy New Year.

Borneo's beautiful barking deer

It has been a while since we've shared our news from the field. Arif, the manager of Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station situated in Tanjung Puting National Park (Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo), describes his encounter and attempts to photograph the Bornean red muntjac, otherwise know as the barking deer. 'Finally, my curiosity with the barks that I often hear, have paid off. In the morning, when I was walking not far from the camp, after passing through bush-land bordering the forest, suddenly I saw two mammals walking and foraging. Wow, this is the bark voice that made me curious so far, the barking deer, the scientific name is Muntiacus muntjac. An elusive and very sensitive mammal. I held my breath, and directing my camera among the bush.

Crek .. crek ..

Noise of shutter of non professional camera, made the deers pay attention on it for a moment.

My heartbeat is getting faster and still I hold my breath. I moved my body for a little to get the best angle. Oops ...the shy deer ran off with the barking voice. Hem, sometimes we need camouflage costum or maybe a professional camera with smooth shutter noise!'

Thanks Arif and what a fantastic photo!

More news soon!

Orangutan Foundation

Join us today and support our essential work - thank you!

Birding in Borneo

This wonderful photo was taken by Arif, the manager of Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station, which is run by the Orangutan Foundation in cooperation with the head of Tanjung Puting National Park, (Indonesian Borneo).

The bird in the nest is the Black Naped Monarch Hypothymis azurea. It is a small species of flycatcher and the female is different in having a brown back.

The park authorities have invited stakeholders to work together to produce a book on the bird species found in the Park. The whole project will be a joint effort, from collecting photos to designing the layout. Arif attended the first meeting to share ideas and discuss the book's content.

In 2009, we gave a research grant to Harri Purnomo (Bogor Agriculture University), an Indonesian student, whose study of the diversity of birds at Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station, found 107 species. It is thought that over 200 bird species are found within the Park. We will be helping to identify the different species of birds in photographs that are to be included in the book. Watch this space for news on the book.

Steppes Discovery are running Orangutan Conservation Tours to the National Park, which includes a visit to the Pondok Ambung Research Station. For more details about this once-in-a-lifetime trip click here.

Smile and the world smiles with you

Ian Wood is a writer and photographer who specialises in nature, travel and wildlife.  He also supports our work through his Orangutan Photographic Trips.  Below is an excerpt from his blog, which will put a smile on your face.  Visit http://agoodplace.co.uk/blog,  Ian's blog, to read his reports on his trips to Borneo in 2012 and take at look at some of his stunning photography. 'Exchanging eye contact with any great ape imbues a deep sense of connection ... so when this mother and baby orangutan gazed into my eyes it was already a special moment. But then something else happened ... they both started displaying emotions which looked like laughter. So here's the question ... are they smiling and laughing ? Or am I merely observing them from my limited perception of being human ? @IanWoodPhotos'

A big thank you to Ian and to all who joined one of Ian's trips in 2012 for supporting our work.

Thank you,

Orangutan Foundation

The water’s getting lower…

During September (dry season) the Sekonyer river, which flows through Tanjung Puting National Park (Central Kalimantan Indonesian Borneo) was very low. We are also noticing that the low tides, year on year, are getting worse. Some people believe the root cause of the low tide are illegal logging and illegal mining. 

Tanjung Puting National Park. Photo by Fajar Dewanto, Orangutan Foundation International 

When fire fighters from Tanjung Puting National Park (BTNTP), Central Kalimantan Agency for Conservation of Natural Resources (BKSDA Kalteng), Orangutan Foundation, Orangutan Foundation International, Friends of National Park Foundation tried to damped the forest fires in park the extreme low tide prevented the speed boat from getting through.

Tanjung Puting National Park. Photo by Fajar Dewanto, Orangutan Foundation International

 

Water level on the jetty of Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station. Photo by Devis, Orangutan Foundation

This is a worrying trend. Thankfully, October has had rain reducing the fire risk.

Thank you,

Hudi Dewe

Programme Co-ordinator Orangutan Foundation

Butterflies and birds - diversity of life!

The Orangutan Foundation is proud to support Indonesian students conducting research at Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station in Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. We want to encourage and help young Indonesian scientists and researchers.  Yusi (at the front) and Harri (in the middle) conduting their research in Tanjung Puting National Park. Photograph by Brian MatthewsIn 2009, we provided two grants, one to Yusi Indriani for her research into the diversity of butterfly species around Pondok Ambung and one to Harri Purnomo for his research into the diversity of bird species. The students spent two months at Pondok Ambung conducting their research. Yusi Indriani (in the middle) presenting her research results to Ashley Leiman (left), the Orangutan Foundation Director, Rene Bonke (right), a German Tomistoma researcher and Hudi DW (just left of centre), the Orangutan Foundation Programme Coordinator in Orangutan Foundation Pangkalan Bun office.Yusi recorded over 80 butterfly species. Orangutan FoundationI hope to bring you more news about Pondok Ambung and its amazing wildlife soon.Thank you,Hudi W.D.Orangutan Foundation Programme Co-ordinator

Exploding Fruit!

During the Steppes Discovery study tours (August and September 2009), Ashley Leiman, the Orangutan Foundation Director, played a joke with the “strange fruit” of Tanjung Puting (Indonesian Borneo) forest!The outside of the fruit looks very strong and hard. Ashley asked "who can break it with just your thumb?" The study tour participants tried to push their thumb into the fruit with all their power and then...Puffff….the fruit suddenly explodes over them.Exploding fruit - a study tour participant falls for the trick as the inside of the fruit explodes over his face! Photo by Orangutan Foundation.Greetings and huge thanks to all of the study tour participants from Orangutan Foundation Pangkalan Bun office, your support and donations are very helpful for orangutan and its habitat conservation and also for the local community.Regards,Hudi WD(Orangutan Foundation Programme Co-ordinator)

Forest regeneration at Pondok Ambung - a year after the fires.

About a year ago, almost seven hectares of forest behind the Pondok Ambung Research Station was burnt to the ground (see post Fires in Tanjung Puting National Park). This was attributed to human carelessness (not the Pondok Ambung staff, we should note!), and favourable dry conditions. A burnt forest patch however, when left alone, regenerates and a vegetation survey was conducted in February 2009, at the burnt area, to see what had indeed grown back. Field manager for Pondok Ambung, Mr. Devis, noted that the dominant plant types in the recovering burnt area are the ferns, or more specificially the Gleichenia linearis (tree fern) and Lycopodium cernuum (club moss).

Lycopodium cernuum (club moss)

The grasses and sedges are also growing back (Digitaria ischaemum, Sorghum halepense, Pennistrum purpureu, Eleocharis parvula, Cyperus kyllingia, Cyperus distans and Cyperus paniceus), along with the shrubs (Melastoma malabathricum, Ochthocharis borneensis, Achasma coccineum Val. Blumea balsamifera).

The trees as well are making a comeback (Schima wallichii korth, Garcinia sp, Rhodamina cinerea, Eugenia sp, etc.). The evergreen tree (Schima wallichii korth) dominates the rest of the tree types.

Schima wallichii korth is the dominant tree species

It’s not just good news for vegetation – the newly growing area is also attracting deer who favour open habitats for grazing.

Deer track

We will continue to monitor the changes of this recovering burnt area. With each new seedling pushing its way through the soil, one is reminded that this damaged patch of forest, as with the other fire-damaged forests elsewhere in Borneo, could come back to life, if it is left alone.

The forest just after the fire.

Forest recovery one year on. All photos by Devis Rachmawan.

Thank you very much Nicole D and Tal B for your recent donations. We are currently trying to raise $250-300 to buy two digital cameras (see post Meet our new vet for the orangutans of Lamandau Wildlife Reserve).

Thank you,

June Rubis

Video Clip Featuring Wildlife of Tanjung Puting

Very quickly, if anyone would like to see Tanjung Puting National Park, one of the protected areas in which we work, then a short video clip has been released by a German film company who made a film about Tomistoma crocodiles last year. The narration is in German (which will probably be OK for our Swiss friends :-) and an English translation to follow shortly) but the pictures speak for themselves. Its shows orangutans, proboscis monkeys and Pondok Ambung Research Station.Here is the link: http://www.br-online.de/bayerisches-fernsehen/welt-der-tiere/sunda-gavial-krokodil-sumatra-ID1234357757657.xml

A Remarkable Encounter with an Orangutan

During the late 1970s & early 1980s Dr Gary Shapiro taught America Sign Language (ASL) to some of the ex-captive juvenile orangutans at Camp Leakey in Tanjung Puting National Park. His star pupil was, beyond any doubt, Princess. The connection between Gary and Princess continues to run deep. Gary once said, as part of a sworn testimony no less, he had two children: his biological son in the US and an adopted orangutan daughter in Borneo.

Princess and her baby Percy

Anyway, I digress. I have my own Princess story which I was reminded of today and thought I would share with you.

One afternoon, a couple of years ago, an assistant and I were leaving Camp Leakey walking down the jetty to where our boat was waiting. I was carrying a bottle of water. Ahead of us, Princess and Percy sat on the jetty. As we approached, they moved politely to one side. Princess then very obviously made a fist with her thumb extended, and raised the thumb to her lips; the ASL sign for drinking.

It was incredibly touching and remains one of my favourite orangutan memories. There was no doubt Princess was trying to communicate with me. What is more she was using a human language, not her own. That she could remember the language after so long only shows her remarkable intelligence. There was also sensitivity in her actions; if she had wanted the water she could have just taken it. In the twilight of a day, which was also the twilight of my thirties, an orangutan asked me for a drink of water, which I gave her, and I sat next to her as she drank it.

You can find out more about Gary’s work at Orangutan Republik

A wild orangutan

Are you familiar with the concept of speaking too soon? Well, last week it worked in my favour. As we travelled up to Pondok Ambung Research Station, I said to my colleagues, “It’s been ages since I saw a wild orangutan along the river”. Literally, not a minute later there was this young one.

Adolescent wild orangutan at the edge of the river in Tanjung Puting National Park.

It was impossible to tell if the orangutan was male or female but its size suggested it was an adolescent making its first forays away from its mother.

The orangutan is right in the middle of the photo - looks like a dark bundle!

Can you see the orangutan?

Seeing any orangutan is great but we all especially love seeing wild ones, as opposed to the rehabilitated ex-captives seen near to the camps or in Lamandau. Anyway, I am now saying “It’s been ages since I saw a river dolphin….”

National Park Visit

I am sorry for the long silence – I had a fantastic break with my family in Australia. I hope you all had a similarly good end to the year. I actually got back to Indonesia on 9 January but had to spend a frustrating week in Jakarta; the traffic jams in the city are something else! Anyway, I arrived back in Pangkalan Bun last Thursday and, you’ll be pleased to know, I wasted no time in getting back into the forest. Yesterday, the National Park office hosted a visit by the Bupati, the head of the local Government. There was a cast of thousands; well 67 to be precise but the orangutans did not seem at all fazed.

Visit to Camp Leakey organised by the National Park Office.

There were lots of orangutans about including Tom who remained incredibly cool despite the crowd of onlookers. Even the gibbons came in.

Feeding Site - Camp Leakey

After everyone had moved back to Camp I stayed on at the feeding site as there was a new sub-adult male at the feeding platform. The Assistants tell me it is Popeye, the son of the wild female orangutan Peat. Ashley and I can remember following him when he was just an adolescent. Unfortunately, it was getting very dark and overcast by then so my pictures don’t do the scene justice.

There are in fact three or four orangutans in the photo spread out through the trees - you might be able to just work them out.

The day ended in a local village with a display of traditional dancing. All in all it was a fine welcome back!

Brigitta - thank you very much for you recent donations we really appreciate your support.

Orangutans and water - an unusual mix

Thank you for all your comments and I'll do my best to respond to them soon. Another interesting thing happened on Sunday at Camp Leakey: Siswi almost completely submerged herself in water. Orangutans can’t swim though they do wade. The rehabilitated, ex-captives at Camp Leakey will also play with water but that is probably a behaviour learnt from watching the staff. What made Sunday interesting was that Siswi spent so long in the water. She sat there for a good fifteen minutes and actually bobbed up and down so the water rose up to her chin.

Siswi - adult female orangutan in the river.

I am quite convinced she was simply trying to cool off. However, that does not fully explain a) quite how an orangutan’s natural wariness of water could be so totally overcome; let’s not forget there are crocodiles in these rivers and b) how an orangutan who instinctively shelters from rain, which makes them cold, would on another occasion use water for exactly that purpose.

Siswi sitting in the river

Who knows whether Siswi would have sat in the water for so long if we had not been there and it is not a huge intellectual leap to realise water makes you cold and you can choose when you want to be cool or dry. However, none of that dry scientific reasoning detracts from the interest: orangutans are fascinating!

Interesting orangutan behaviour

Firstly, a big thank you to Brigiatta for your monthly donation and Maciej for your donation of $100. As you recently visited Tanjung Puting National Park and Camp Leakey this post should hopefully be of interest to you. In July, we discussed why the orangutan Riga shared her food with her mother, Rani. The reason may be biological or social but what is certain is that it is a rare event between adult orangutans; which is why it was surprising to see it happen again on Sunday – but this time with another twist.

Tom - dominant male

Tom is the undoubted King of Camp Leakey; the dominant male. He doesn’t have to share anything with anybody if he doesn’t want to. On Sunday, he sat down with his bucket of milk and proceeded to slurp away at it with Siswi looking enviously at him. Tut then came up, she had not been to the afternoon feeding so may have been hungry. Tut is Tom’s mother but subordinate to Siswi, so she approached warily.

Tom, however, passed over the bucket without hesitation (and all Siswi could do is continue to look on greedily!).

But what made all this doubly interesting is that it points to an answer to one of the big remaining questions of orangutan research: do they recognise their own parents/offspring? In reality, there is no more reason for Tom to share his milk with Tut than with Siswi (indeed, Tut is not in season but Siswi could be) and yet he did willingly. Why? It would be interesting to think Tom knows his mother and that was why he acted favourably towards her but like so much about orangutan behaviour we still have a lot to learn.

Thank you,

Stephen

PS Apologies for the rain spot on the photo.

Camp Leakey Tanjung Puting National Park

Thanks to Georgina Kenyon who has written this short piece for us about her experience making the BBC radio programme. "It’s embarrassing to say but I can’t remember being that interested in orangutans…until I saw the big male Kusasi coming straight for Stephen and me at the feeding platform at Camp Leakey.

What an animal!

I also loved walking through the forest, following the other orangutans as they were looking for food– those four hands and those eyes!

I’ll always remember my stay that night on the klotok and listening to the sounds of the Borneo jungle – the rowdy chainsaw beetles and the gibbons at first light and watching the butterflies and the birds of prey.

I have always thought the issues surrounding conservation can be very complicated - so many threats, so many issues.

Yet I was impressed by the pragmatism of the staff at the Orangutan Foundation; they made all the problems facing the jungle appear manageable.

A big ‘thankyou’ to all the team at the Orangutan Foundation-everyone went out of their way to help me make the BBC radio programme."