How we safeguard orangutans outside of protected areas

Habitat loss is the single biggest threat to orangutans and their tropical forest environment. In under 40 years it’s estimated that almost 40% of Borneo’s original forest cover has been lost due to increased plantations, forest fires, mining, and logging. 80% of orangutans live outside of protected areas which means there are thousands of orangutans at risk due to their habitat being encroached upon and lost.

At the Orangutan Foundation we help safeguard protected orangutan habitats, the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve and Tanjung Puting National Park, however the need to support orangutans outside of these safe havens remains paramount. We do this is by engaging with local government, private sector and communities to share knowledge about orangutans and emphasise the importance of preserving their tropical forest habitats. The Foundation holds a number of workshops and training sessions for the survival of orangutans outside of protected areas. These have included:

Biodiveristy and Socio-Economic Survey Training

There’s nothing more important than field practice. This week in collaboration with the Arcus Foundation and local NGO Yayorin, we held technical training sessions to help local people monitor orangutan populations within oil-palm concessions, logging concessions, and community lands. During the two-day course, participants practiced GPS, socio-economic assessments, and learnt survey techniques for vegetation, orangutans and other species. Using these techniques can help improve our understanding of populations and demographics in regions which are more threatened by habitat loss.

Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Workshops

The aim of these workshops is to find ways in which local communities can co-exist safely with wildlife species whilst still maintaining a sustainable livelihood. With the help of partners TOP, we hope improved knowledge about orangutans and their forest habitats will help landowners avoid human-wildlife conflict, and lead to fewer rescues and translocations of orangutans in plantations and community lands.

Fire Prevention Workshops

Fires are a continuous threat during each dry season. The Foundation takes seriously the importance of outreach to all relevant stakeholders on the dangers of starting fires which destroy orangutan and wildlife habitat.

Fire-Fighting Training

The Foundation together with the government agencies, hold fire-fighting training throughout the year. Here groups are taught fire prevention and fire-fighting techniques, using GPS to help record outbreaks of fire so that they can be extinguished more rapidly.

By engaging with local stakeholders in sustainable land management decisions, we are giving a future for orangutans outside of protected conservation areas.

Donate to the Orangutan Foundation today to help us continue this vital work.

Looking back to 2019, and forward to 2020

As we commemorate our 30th anniversary in 2020, the Orangutan Foundation reflects on our work in 2019 and thank all of our supporters for helping us give a future to orangutans, forests and people.

In early 2019, we launched our Sponsor an acre appeal to support the Orangutan Foundation’s Habitat Protection Programme. This programme provided training in SMART technology to monitor orangutan habitat to the 25 local people we employ at our 10 forest guard posts in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve and Tanjung Puting National Park, Indonesian Borneo. This area covers over 500,000 acres of diverse tropical forest, home to around 5,000 orangutans.

As a result of continuing forest surveillance, in 2019 our teams recorded fewer instances of illegal activity and habitat encroachment in comparison to previous years. This is an encouraging sign for the protection of orangutan habitat, demonstrating that guard posts are an effective deterrent to illegal logging, mining and farming.

The Orangutan Foundation welcomed local participation in a number of educational workshops and events last year. Highlights included, a three-day Conservation Fun Camp, inviting university students to study at Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station, and celebrating Primate Awareness Day with local people. In addition to these community events, we also awarded three local research grants to conservationists of the future.

Our Habitat Restoration Programme continued to grow in 2019 with over 20,000 saplings planted in areas of degraded forest habitat. These saplings of fire-resistant species have been grown in purpose-built nurseries and will help establish a healthy forest habitat in the coming years. In line with our 30th anniversary, we hope to plant another 30,000 young trees in 2020, bringing the total to 100,000 since 2015.

A group of 12 dedicated volunteers embarked on a three-week trip to Indonesian Borneo last summer through Orangutan Foundation’s Volunteer Programme. In spite of ‘no skills necessary’, alongside our team they managed to totally renovate an important government building within the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, and had the opportunity to observe wild orangutans and other wildlife in the forest.

A combination of particularly dry conditions, illegal hunting and slash-and-burn farming techniques, meant that in 2019 our teams were involved in fighting the highest number of fires since 2015. Without the presence of our trained firefighting staff working with government officials, larger areas of the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve and Tanjung Puting National Park would have succumbed to further burning and habitat loss. We also installed six large wells positioned at strategic locations surrounding critical forest habitat which will be invaluable to fight fires.

The increased number of fires last year may also have contributed to the number of orangutan rescues our team performed. From mid-August to late November alone, our rescue team worked alongside local government officials BKSDA to rescue more orangutans than in the previous couple of years. In total, nine orangutans were translocated to the safety of the protected Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.

Our orangutan soft-release programme continued to care for orphaned infant orangutans at five release sites within the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. Last year, our team were thrilled to release Shifa into the wild who was rescued as a two-year-old pet in 2016. Shifa excelled at learning essential forest skills, and like orphaned orangutan Panglima who had been rescued in March 2019, was released for an independent life in the wild in June. Pegi, rescued from life as a pet is our most recent newcomer and continues to acquire new skills day by day at her new forest home at Camp Buluh.

In 2019 we welcomed a two new additions to the forest. Seen above, orangutan mother Mores gave birth to baby Marsha at Camp JL in July, followed by Amina who was spotted at Camp Rasak with newborn Albie. Having recorded over 80 orangutan births since 2003, we’ve established a new population of orangutans within the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve and our teams look forward to welcoming more newborns in 2020.

Looking to the future, we prepare ourselves for another busy year in 2020, marking our 30th anniversary. All of our UK and Indonesian staff thank you for your support in helping to provide a future for orangutans, forests and people.

Wild orangutan rescued with severe injuries

On Saturday 30th November, our field team received an all too familiar report. Government officials BKSDA had alerted the team that an orangutan had been found with possible injuries by residents in an area adjacent to an oil palm plantation in Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo.

Arriving at 9pm later that evening following a long journey to the reported site, our rescue team were met by the sound of dogs barking in the distance. They were alerted to the location of the great ape by one of these dogs who was owned by a local employee of the nearby oil palm plantation.

The orangutan is found on the ground before being sedated

On first sight of the orangutan, it was upsetting for our team to see that it was in a great deal of distress. Unlike the majority of orangutan rescues, it was unusual to see that this individual was not in a tree but instead on the ground.

Identified as a male orangutan, who when approached could only move a short distance along the ground due to his very weak state. After spotting multiple injuries on his body, our vet Dr Dimas and the team wasted no time in sedating the male and transporting him to a safer location where he could be examined thoroughly.

Dr Dimas prepares medication for the male orangutan

Weighting around 75kg and at an estimated 25 years of age. The most horrifying of his injuries was a large laceration to his left eye- an injury which will have blinded him.

Once sedated, rescue teams can begin examining the male

Clearly the orangutan had been shot in the past as multiple rifle pellets were found embedded in the skin; in both cheeks, the hip, and in the back of the neck. Sadly a further two larger pellets were also discovered in his left elbow which could have fractured or broken the bones in his arm on impact. Vitamin and antibiotic injections were administered to help fight infection

The orangutan receives a thorough medical examination

The poor condition of the orangutan’s wounds indicted that his injuries may have been made just a few days beforehand. It’s distressing to see that after all this time, incidents of human-wildlife conflict continue to occur.

In collaboration with BKSDA government officials, our team will continue to closely monitor the progress of this unfortunate male at a facility where he can receive essential medical attention. It’s disheartening for the team to witness this individual in such a horrifying condition.

Mother and baby orangutan rescued and reunited

Following on from the 6 individuals who have been rescued and translocated since mid-July, Orangutan Foundation staff in Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo were alerted to yet another emergency earlier this month.

Reports from BKSDA government officials suggested that an orangutan had been found by a group of villagers who had discovered the great ape when it ventured into an area of community plantations- quite possibly searching for food as a result of the remnant fires that have blotted the region in recent weeks.

On arrival, our team were able to observe that the orangutan was a female who had already been independently captured by the local people and put inside a transport crate. Explaining that this action should only be conducted by trained personnel, Orangutan Foundation staff then began their journey back to base with the orangutan in toe. However as our team were to soon find out, this was not the end to this orangutan’s story.

Shortly after the rescue our team received a worrying piece of news. It transpired that during the capture of the female orangutan, she had also been separated from a young infant that local residents wished to keep as a pet. Fortunately however, Orangutan Foundation and BKSDA officials were again on hand to rescue the orangutan baby from the community and reunite it with its mother.

Our vet was very pleased to see both orangutans in good health following medical examinations and observe the infant immediately feeding once reunited the mother. The 16-year-old female who had been given the name Kina, appeared to be very active as she breastfed Kino, her 2-month-old son.

Kina is anesthetised and undoes her medical examination

A few days after their initial rescue, our team were so relieved to see Kina and Kino immediately take to their new forest at the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve as they quickly climbed out of their transport cage into the trees. It’s always an uplifting experience for us to release orangutans back into the wild where they belong, and then for them to behave as if they’d never left.

On the other hand however, it is a concern that today we are still seeing orangutans in need of rescue, and perhaps more worryingly that some local communities remain keen on keeping these great apes as pets.

Kina and Kino race out of their transport crate into the protected Lamandau Wildlife Reserve

Caged for 7 years. Young orangutan kept as a pet is finally offered a lifeline

It’s never a phone call we wish to receive, but in the same week that our team rescued a pair of wild orangutans from an isolated oil palm plantation, we received news of another orangutan being kept as a pet also in need of rescue. The owner had contacted government officials as they could no longer care for the ape, and therefore Orangutan Foundation staff were called upon to assist.

Arriving at the property where the orangutan was being kept in Central Kalimantan, Borneo, it quickly became apparent that the individual had been kept there a very long time. Our team tentatively approached a wooden crate with litter strewn on the ground surrounding it.

The orangutan had been named Pegi by her owner. It transpired that Pegi was a female orangutan found as a 1-year-old in 2012 and incredibly had been living in her cramped wooden crate as a pet for the following 7 years on a diet of rice, noodles, fruit and sugary drinks. Certainly not a diet suitable for orangutans.

After obtaining as much information about the young orangutan as possible and informing the owner of the prohibitions around keeping wild animals’ captive, our team freed Pegi from her cage and transported her to a government facility (BKSDA) where her health could be inspected.

Fortunately under examination Pegi seemed in good health, and as her blood tests received the all-clear, she was ready to be taken to her new home at Camp Buluh in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. It’s here that she’ll join another orphaned orangutan, Okto, in our soft-release programme, with the hope of one day being released into the wild.

The early years of any orangutan’s life are the most important in order to learn how to survive in the wild. With Pegi’s traumatic start to her young life, and perhaps never even climbing a tree before, she will need encouragement to learn these skills in the best possible training ground there is- the forest.

Pegi is given some browse as a form of enrichment

Orangutans rescued from oil palm plantation marks International Orangutan Day

While people around the world celebrated the red ape this week, our team have had a busy few days spent rescuing orangutans in need. To go behind the scenes and understand some of the challenges still facing orangutans, our team in the field have put together a timeline of our most recent orangutan rescue:

Orangutans high in the canopy

Mother and infant climb higher into the trees

Friday morning- It was reported to government officers this week that an orangutan had been spotted within a community oil palm plantation in Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. Once the location had been determined, our orangutan rescue team were then called upon to assist.

Friday 11:45am - On arrival, a female orangutan was observed with an infant in an isolated copse of trees, entirely surrounded by oil palm plantation. With the dimensions of this tiny patch of fragmented forest being a mere 10x20 metre area, and any suitable nearby forest considered too far away for the pair to travel, a decision was made to rescue them from this remote island of trees for their safety. In practice however, the strong winds and height of the trees made tranquilising the female a very difficult task, and it wasn’t until several hours later that the pair were finally safely brought down from the canopy.

Oil palm plantation completely encompass the pair and their small fragment of forest

Friday 6pm - With the light beginning to fade, and the female orangutan under sedation, it was the role of the veterinary team to perform a quick physical examination to check the health of the pair. Under initial inspection, it was observed that they were in relatively good health except the mother had several air rifle pellets embedded in her skin, and therefore required further attention. As the night drew closer, the pair were then carefully transported to a temporary facility for them to rest.

Sunday evening - In honour of Indonesian Independence Day on the Friday, the 16-year-old female orangutan had been called Augustine, and her young, who had been identified as a 2 or 3-year-old male, named Augusta. They had both rested and recuperated from their rescue, and now our team were required to act fast to try and observe the number and severity of Augustine’s gun pellet injuries.

Sunday 9pm - In order to monitor the number and location of the bullets in Augustine’s skin, she was taken along with Augusta to a nearby public hospital so that she could be X-rayed. After being safely anesthetised, she was found to have 7 air rifle pellets lodged in her skin.

Sunday 10:15pm - It was at this point that our veterinary team, alongside government officials, began the minor surgical procedure of removing as many bullets as possible from Augustine. The delicate operation was able to remove 5 of the pellets, with a further 2 too deeply embedded into her tissue to be able to safely extract. Fortunately, Augustine appeared to come out of the hour and 15 minute procedure in good health.

Air rifle pellets removed from Augustine’s skin

Monday 2pm - As the previous evening’s medical procedure had run so smoothly, the following day after a final check-up from our team, Augustine and Augusta were given the all clear to be released back into the wild. A safe area within the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve was selected as an ideal relocation site as this region is protected by Orangutan Foundation guard posts, and after a short boat ride, the pair were happily released into the forest. Once their transport cage was opened, our team were able to catch a quick glimpse of the orangutans before climbing into the nearby trees.

Augustine and Augusta are resealed safely into the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve

It’s encouraging to know that Augustine and Augusta will now be able to thrive in their new protected habitat. However, witnessing these orangutans initially stranded in the last remaining forest due to habitat loss, shows hows orangutans remain under threat and that the work of the Orangutan Foundation is still needed.

To find out how you can become a Guardian of Lamandau and protect Augustine and Augusta’s new home, please explore our website.

Welcome baby Marsha. Mores gives birth to third offspring.

Mores, a resident of Camp JL in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, Indonesian Borneo, had been spotted actively feeding and moving around the surrounding areas on a regular basis in recent months by our field team.

Although she was identified as being pregnant, a due date for her newborn was unknown until our local staff were able to capture the following shots of her with her baby holding on tight:

This is Mores’s third child after giving birth to Marcell and Martin in previous years- a positive indication to the health of Lamandau Wildlife Reserve for breeding orangutan mothers.

To continue the ‘M’ lineage, and as the newborn has been identified as a female, the newborn has been named Marsha. Our team hope to continue to keep an eye on their progress going forward.

Find out how you can help protect their precious habitat by becoming a Guardian of Lamadau!

Why play is important for young orangutans

The orphaned orangutans in our soft-release programme in Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, are taken out to play in the forest every day. Play-time is crucial for the young orangutans as it allows them to watch and learn from each other. Together, they find food and build nests. Play helps to build up their strength and climbing skills. This video, taken recently, show’s Mona “at home” in the forest. Just watch how she uses her hand-like feet and every-which-way hips to move with such ease and confidence.

The next video clip shows Nyunyu eating bark with Mona (above right) watching and joining in.

Rescued orangutan soon ready for release back to the wild

When Panglima was first rescued he wouldn’t use the tyre swing or browse in his enclosure - the team looking after him felt sure he would but it would take time for him to adapt to his new surroundings. They were right!

Panglima, a rescued wild Bornean orangutan is very wary of humans.

These images show Panglima using the swing and he gathers up browse (the branches and leaves he is given) and makes a nest.

Panglima using his tyre swing and browse

He eats plenty of fresh fruit and is active and healthy. He is still wary of humans and moves away when someone approaches the enclosure, but this is behaviour we want him to retain.

Panglima is a wild orangutan and though he is quite young he will be released back into the wild in June. He’ll be followed by our post-release monitoring staff. If he needs it he will have access to supplementary fruit.  Watch this space for an update on his return to the wild.

Though still young Panglima is very wild and he will be better off living in the forest.

Update on rescued 5-year-old wild orangutan

Yesterday our vet, Dr Dimas, and our reintroduction manager, Mr Azhari, visited Panglima, the five-year-old wild orangutan, who we rescued last week. Panglima is temporarily being kept in isolation at Camp Siswoyo, in Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.

The staff at Camp Siswoyo provide leaves and branches every day as an enrichment. He doesn’t use the tyre swing but we’re sure he will as he adapts to his new surroundings. Panglima rests on the enclosure floor but as soon as anyone approaches he climbs to the top of the enclosure. He is wild and it is good that he is wary of humans, which is something we want to maintain. He is eating well and this is also a positive sign.

Young orangutan rescued

Yesterday, we rescued a young orangutan, aged approximately 5-years-old. Sadly, the mother was absent, we don’t know what happened to her but most likely she has died, mother orangutans would not readily abandon their offspring.

Tranquillised orangutan, named Panglima

The Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) team was made up of the Central Kalimantan Wildlife Department (BKSDA) and Orangutan Foundation. The Wildlife Department had received reports about an orangutan seen in a community orchard. The rescue team drove 45 minutes from the town of Pangkalan Bun to the reported location in the Pangkalan Lima area, South Arut District.

Orangutan nest high up in the tree

When the team arrived they saw two nests in one tree, but there was no sign of an orangutan. After a while the team decided to return to Pangkalan Bun. In the afternoon, the team received another report about the orangutan and so they returned. This time they saw a young orangutan very high up in the trees. The team decided to follow the orangutan until it nested in hope they could get a clear shot with the dart gun. Unfortunately they couldn’t and because it was getting dark and unsafe they decided to return very early the next morning, when hopefully the orangutan would still be in his nest.

Preparing the dart gun to tranquillise the young orangutan

Climbing up the tree to rescue the sedated wild orangutan.

The next morning, in the torrential rain, the rescue team arrived at the nest location at 4.30am. The orangutan was found above a nest, not far from where they had left him. The dart gun was prepared so that the orangutan could be tranquillised. They managed to get a clear shot and the orangutan fell into its nest. One of the rescue team climbed a 10-meter tall tree and managed to carry the orangutan down.

The Orangutan Foundation vet immediately conducted an examination and the orangutan was male, weighing approximately 15kg and was estimated at around 5-years-old. Our vet, Dr. Dimas Yufrizar, took blood samples for laboratory tests and gave injections of multivitamins and antibiotics.

The orangutan has been named Panglima (relating to the rescue location) - giving orangutans names helps the field staff with post-release monitoring and communications.

Tranquillised orangutan being examined by Orangutan Foundation vet

Panglima was transported to the Pangkalan Bun BKSDA SKW II office where he is being kept temporarily in a holding cage. Hendra Gunawan, Orangutan Foundation Program Manager said BKSDA have requested that the orangutan be translocated to the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, a protected area. Before release, Hendra said Panglima will be isolated until his blood tests return and then habituated for three months. His condition will be monitored by the Orangutan Foundation vet and field staff.

The rescue team are confident that Panglima’s release into the reserve will be successful and that he will go on to live a wild and safe life in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.

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Top 10 images of orangutans for International Day of Happiness

For #InternationalDayofHappiness we have selected our top 10 images of orangutans that are sure to put a smile on your face. Which is your favourite one,? Flick through the gallery below and let us know.

1. What's so funny little one? By Brian Matthews

Female Bornean orangutan and offspring, Tanjung Puting National Park, Indonesian Borneo

2. Young Bornean orangutan by Ian Wood

Ian runs Borneo Orangutan Photography Tours in October and November each year and supports our work.

3. Rough and tumbles. Orangutan Foundation

Reintroduced female orangutan Amoi with infant Alex, Lamandau Willdife Reserve, Indonesian Borneo.

4. Lovable orphaned orangutan Endut. Orangutan Foundation

5. What a scrunched up face! By Brian Matthews

Photo taken in Tanjung Puting National Park, Indonesian Borneo.

6. Two's trouble in the trees! Orangutan Foundation

7. Piggybacking backwards! Orangutan Foundation

8. Big beautiful eyes. Orangutan Foundation

Reintroduced female orangutan Badut, with her baby BB.

9. Enjoying a swing! By Ian Wood

10. Cool hair! Orangutan Foundation

The Orangutan's World: A Photographic Celebration of Bornean Wildlife

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News from the orangutan monitoring release camps, Lamandau Wildlife Reserve

Orangutan Foundation vet, Dr Dimas, has kept a close eye on the healing of Abid’s broken arm.  Two-year-old orangutan Adib fractured his arm on 16th December after he fell from a tree.

Two-year-old orangutan Adib’s arm is healing well and he now has a strong grasp.

We are delighted to report that Adib can now grasp the wood in his enclosure and he’s started to play and swing around inside. He shows no sign of pain when his hand is held, and he has a strong grip on the camp staff when they pick him up.  Due to his young age his bones will heal quickly and we are sure he’ll make a full recovery and be back in the trees at Camp JL in a week or two.

Okto enjoying the high-water levels at Camp Buluh!

There is no forgetting it is the rainy season in Borneo! Okto and Shifa are certainly taking full advantage of the high-water levels at Camp Buluh.

Orangutan Shifa joining in too.

Shifa is progressing very well and the Camp staff are finding it increasingly difficult to return her in the evenings from the forest back to her enclosure. This is a very positive sign and we are hopeful that we will soon release Shifa from soft-release to an independent life into the wild. Watch this space…

With plenty of fruit in the forest, not many of the post-release orangutans come for supplementary fruit. However, Bangkal, the dominant male orangutan at post-release monitoring Camp Gemini has been seen in the forest. Read more about Bangkal’s extraordinary survival story by clicking here. 

Donate to support our work in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, Indonesian Borneo.

Young orangutan Adib falls and breaks his arm.

Young orphaned orangutan Adib fell and broke his arm

Poor little Adib has broken his arm. 

As usual, he was playing in the trees at Camp JL but, whilst swinging from one tree to another, he missed and fell to the ground.

Camp staff suspected he had broken his arm as he wouldn’t use it. 

Our vet decided to x-ray Adib’s arm, which revealed a small fracture on his right ulna.

We are not worried about this impacting Adib’s future in the wild. At his young age, bones regenerate rapidly.

Adib’s arm has been fixed to ensure it heals correctly and he has been given anti-inflammatory to reduce swelling and multivitamins and calcium supplements to aid the healing process. 

For the next few weeks Adib will have to stay in a smaller enclosure, which will help him to rest his arm.

Meanwhile, he’s being given some tender loving care and special treats such as banana porridge!

We are sure it will not be long before Adib is back in the trees playing once again with the other orangutans in our soft-release programme, in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, Indonesian Borneo.

Orangutans with a second chance of being wild

This blog post brings you news on some of the orangutans who we are caring for or who have been released back into the wild.

Orphaned orangutan Mona November 2018

This is little Mona, she's been in our care since March 2017 and she's making excellent progress. She always seems to be photographed with her something in her mouth! One day she'll be fully released back into the wild. We are trying to ensure this "wild", the 158,000-acre Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, Indonesian Borneo, stays protected. 

This sweet photo of Okto and Shifa, shows Shifa when she had been recently rescued, two years ago. She initially had problems with hair loss, possibly as a result of stress but this has now regrown into a beautiful coat of hair! 

This Ketty, who was released back into the wild in 2017 and above you can just about see infant orangutan Ariel, Ketty's "adopted sibling"! It is incredibly rewarding when we hear about or see again an orangutan who has been given a second chance to be free in the wild.

Ketty was born in the wild to Korin, a reintroduced orangutan to the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. Korin sadly disappeared in 2013 and our staff found Ketty alone, only a few years old. In 2017, after 4 years of being cared for by us Ketty was released back into the wild. She was soon adopted by adult female orangutan Acuy and her infant Ariel and we often see all 3 together, Ketty playing with Ariel, while Acuy watches on. 

Hope for orangutans and their forest home

The Indonesian government has announced a presidential instruction, which ordered ministers and regional administrations to ban issuing permits for new plantations for the next three years. We welcome this much needed action. Orangutans can survive, if given a second chance.

Three years ago, in September 2015, we rescued an adult orangutan and her 6-year-old from an oil-palm plantation, which they had entered to escape raging forest fires. Our rescue team managed to capture both orangutans. They named the mother Vania and her offspring Venty. They were released into the protected Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo.

In 2017, Vania was spotted with a newborn, who we named Volvo. Venty, now aged 8-years-old, was still around too.

This month, field staff at Camp Buluh, in the wildlife reserve, saw Venty (image below) by herself in a tree. They then saw Vania with her very healthy looking one-year-old Volvo.

These orangutans live in a protected area, which is guarded and patrolled by Orangutan Foundation. However, 80% of wild orangutans live outside protected areas. This 3-year ban on plantation expansion is the life-line this critically endangered species need.

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Celebrating new life whilst battling to save orangutan habitat

This week, our Monday motivation was this incredible footage of orangutan Max with her infant Monti, sent by our staff who are as excited about this new addition as we are. However, the next day, we heard from our Patrol Manager, Jakir, that fires were once again raging close to the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, Indonesian Borneo. One moment we are celebrating new life, the next we are battling to save the habitat.

Thankfully the wildlife reserve is 158,000 acres in size and the fires are well away from the orangutan release camps.  Our 8 manned guard posts, around the reserve, means our patrol staff can respond quickly to keep the reserve safe and prevent the fires from spreading.

Habitat protection is our priority.  Please donate to our appeal to help us keep forests standing and orangutans in the wild.

Rescued and released orangutans of Lamandau Wildlife Reserve

Our vet, Dimas and programme manager, Iman, have been on their weekly visits to the orangutan release camps in the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. They check on the orphaned young orangutans and ensure the good health of the released orangutans.  Their journey took longer than usual because the river levels are very low, due to lack of rain. Instead of travelling by speedboat it was completed in a shallow longboat (or klotok, as they’re called in Indonesia). Our youngest orangutans are cared for at Camp JL and include Timtom, Nyunyu, Adib, Mona (photo below) and Boy. Dimas gave them their multivitamin injection to keep them healthy but they are all well and active.

In the afternoon they continued by longboat to Gemini Camp. This is where blind orangutan Aan lives. Aan was shot and can never be returned to the wild. Her enclosure recently had new ropes (see below).

They walked from camp through the forest to the feeding site, where supplementary fruit is provided. Dominant male, Bangkal came to feeding along with female and infant orangutans; Ilik and Izzy; Hola and Happy; Ebony and Ekon (photos below); and Passion and Paris.  Max was also seen with her newborn infant, now named Monti and they seemed well.

A few days later they went to Camp Buluh, to check on orphan orangutans Okto and Syifa. Okto had injured one of his fingers a few weeks ago but after receiving treatment the inflammation has reduced and is healing well.

Both Okto and Syifa very active and enjoy playing together. Okto was given a final anti-inflammatory injection and both orangutans received their multivitamins.

Conditions are very dry at present and so our guard post staff are vigilant and on alert for fires. All the guard posts are equipment with fire-fighting gear and our staff are trained enabling them to respond quickly and effectively to extinguish fires.

Please help us to keep forests standing and orangutans in the wild. You can support our work by donating or adopting Okto or Mona.

Images of Max's newborn orangutan, born in the wild

We have just received these delightful images of Max and her newborn infant.  Max and her mother Mantra, were released into the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve in 2003, aged 16-years old, this is Max's pregnancy.

Max looks to be doing well but her infant seems quite weak. Staff will provide supplementary fruit and will follow Max for a week to monitor her and her infant during these critical early days.

Wild orangutan rescued and moved to safety

When our staff arrived at the oil-palm plantation they found the orangutan in an area of forest, on the riverbank of the plantation. We had been called in to help by BKSDA SKW II Pangkalan Bun (government agency for wildlife) who had received reports from an oil-palm plantation of an orangutan in their plantation. It was decided to capture the orangutan and move her to the protected Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, to avoid potential conflict.

The orangutan, who they identified as female, had made and was resting in a nest. This made it easier to dart her as she wasn’t moving.

What our staff hadn’t anticipated was that she might just remain where she was and fall asleep, making it very difficult to then rescue her. This is just what happened!

One of our rescue team staff, Mr Nasibah, also an expert tree climber, shinnied up the tree to the nest. With huge effort he managed to lower the unconscious orangutan out of her nest.  Our staff on the ground, used netting to catch her, as she fell to the ground.

She was quickly transported to an open area where our vet Dr Dimas, examined her. Apart from a small scratch to her chest, she was in full health, weighing 45 kilos and was thought to be around 18 years-old. The scratch was cleaned and injected with long-acting antibiotics to prevent infection.

Two days later the orangutan was released in the Lamandau Widlife Reserve, on the opposite side of the river from Camp JL. We protect this forest reserve with guard posts and regular forest patrols to prevent and deter illegal activities.

As soon as the transport cage door was opened she actively climbed into the nearby trees and disappeared into the forest.This, we hope, is her last encounter with humans.

The Lamandau Wildlife Reserve totals 158,144 acres of tropical forest and is home to a population of more than 500 orangutans. Half of these were reintroduced or translocated and given a second chance of survival in the wild. We must make sure they are stay safe. Please donate to our urgent appeal – DONATE TODAY