It's Orangutan Awareness Week - go orange, go wild!

It's that time of year again to show your colours for orangutans.  Whether at school, work or home do something for orangutans this week! A huge thank you to everyone who is taking part. If you haven't done so let us know what you are up to. Remember you could win a fabulous Body Shop hamper (worth over £100) if you come top in one of the following categories: 'Most Fundraised Income,' 'Most Inventive Use Of Orange' and 'Most PR Generated' - a great incentive to get involved!

A special thank you to:

The Body Shop Foundation  - check out the Body Shop's Sumatran Trekker's awesome online auction this week.

1st Crichton Brownies who are holding an orangutan cafe, dressing in orange and as orangutans and are being waitresses for the evening.

Pam Swan who is organising an orange themed tea party, raffle and bring & buy sale.

Colchester Zoo are celebrating this week and are going orange on wednesday 14th November.

Christy Harrison is organising an ape-themed film and live music night at local pub in London.

Check out Orangutan Republic Foundation for a list of what is happening internationally.

And just in case you need a little reminder of why....

Here's Joson, a 4-year old orphaned orangutan, rescued last month by Orangutan Foundation.

Thank you

From everyone at Orangtan Foundation

Bornean orangutan with 104 air gun pellet wounds recovering well from three-hour operation.

Aan, the wounded female orangutan, who the Orangutan Foundation rescued a few weeks ago, has survived a 3 hour operation to remove 32 of the total 104 air gun pellets in her body.

Dr Zulfiqri, a veterinarian from the Orangutan Foundation, assisted by a specialist surgeon from the local Imanuddin Hospital, managed to remove 32 of the pellets lodged in her body and head.

Aan is recuperating in the Orangutan Foundation Veterinary Facility, in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve.

When she was rescued from the oil palm plantation, she had already lost the sight in her left eye and was losing the sight in her right eye day-by-day. The X-rays showed a dozen pellet shots lodged in and around her eyes. Now she has lost sight in both eyes completely, so food and water for her must first be touched or placed in her hands.

It is unlikely that Aan can be released back into the wild, but will remain at Camp Gemini, a release camp within the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve.  Dr Zulfiqri said that: “If necessary, surgery to remove more pellets will continue to be done in stages.”

The Head of the local Conservation Agency based in Pangkalan Bun, Mr Hartono said: “I hope that Aan will now feel more comfortable being in the forest living in a large holding cage. We will work together with the Orangutan Foundation to find the best way so that Aan can continue to live.”

Ashley Leiman OBE, Director of the Orangutan Foundation said:  “We have worked in Borneo over 20 years and have never had to rescue three orangutans in four days. The reasons for the increase could be due to the rapid loss of orangutan habitat or it could be because more people are reporting orangutans to the wildlife department whereas before they would have killed them.”

In October, the Orangutan Foundation, in cooperation with the Indonesian Natural Resources Conservation Agency of Central Kalimantan, successfully translocated two orangutans into the protected Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve.  The larger male Herlino was rescued from an oil-palm plantation whilst the four-year old female Joson had been kept for the last 4 months in a small cage in a village.

Read full press release here.

Please support our vital work www.orangutan.org.uk. Remember Orangutan Awareness Week runs from Monday 12th November – Sunday 18th November with Orange for Orangutan Day on Wednesday 14th November.  Do something for orangutans and their rainforest home this week!

Orangutan Foundation visit national trade exhibition

Last week, Arif, our manager of Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station represented the Orangutan Foundation at a national trade exhibition, Harkopnas, in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan (Borneo). It was a great opportunity to introduce our work, talk about orangutans and the importance of the rainforest to Indonesian businesses and other parties.  

The exhibition was open by the Vice President of Indonesia, Bapak Prof. Boediono.  During the busy exhibition Arif met with the new head of Central Kalimantan Agency for the Conservation of Natural Resources (BKSDA), Pak Kholid, one of our key partners.  Arif said it was very exciting to be present there and have the chance to talk about our work.

More news soon!

Orangutan Foundation

Press release from Coalition to Save Tripa Peat Forest - fires still being deliberately lit

Tripa continues to burn as President Yudhoyono to give global policy address on future of Indonesia's forests

 [Tripa – Aceh Province – Indonesia]

A field team from the Coalition to Save Tripa Peat Swamp Forest visit in Indonesia’s Tripa Peat Forest has unearthed alarming evidence of fires continuing to be lit and burn in the highly threatened Tripa Peat Forest despite assurances from the Indonesian central government that ‘triple track’ legal action was underway and a small area of the Peat Forest had returned to the moratorium map central to the multibillion agreement between Indonesia and Norway to reduce carbon emission from burning the carbon dense Peat Forests.

Satellite information led the focus of the team to the eastern region in the 60,000 hectare Tripa Peat Forest, where fire hotspot alerts had recorded another increase in burning activity. Upon entering the area the ground team discovered fresh burns scars, and smouldering ashes from recently lit fires, and new fires being lit around 6.30pm yesterday evening.

“This is blatantly breaching Indonesian law” Said Dr Ian Singleton, Conservation director of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme. “Despite the joint Investigation currently taking place by the Ministry of Environment and the National Police, in areas right across Tripa, and indeed Indonesia, the National Laws continue to be flaunted.

“While a small area of Tripa has been returned to the moratorium map, there are 5 palm oil concessions in Tripa operating illegally inside the protected Leuser Ecosystem, yet only 2 of them are being investigated, and even in these destruction continues on the ground with drainage canals still drying the peat swamp.” Dedy Raith, Forest Campaigner for WALHI/Friends of the Earth Indonesia explained, “The Ministry of Environment and National Police team needs to increase the scope to of the investigation to include all concessions and the full 60,000 hectares of Tripa.“

“The full path of the destruction of Tripa must be followed, to identify the responsible parties who allowed this to happen, and full legal prosections carried out. This is a very simple case. In August 2011 a permit was issued by the hand of former Aceh Governor Irwandi to palm oil company PT Kalista Alam to convert 1,605 hectares of protected peat forest into palm oil. The issuing of this permit very clearly breaches National Spatial planning law 26/2007, leaving both mentioned parties criminally liable. From the outset, the violation was clear for all to see. Pak Kuntoro has already labelled the concession illegal, return this small aspect of Tripa to REDD Moritorium map and demanded PT Kalista Alam restore any forest it has already damaged”.  Explained Kamaruddin, the Acehnese Lawyer representing the community of Tripa.

“Sudariyono, the Indonesian Environmental Ministry’s head of law enforcement unit, recently said “We will investigate if the company have properly conducted an Amdal [environmental impact analysis] or has other environmental permits,”

“Yet, this investigation must include all companies operating inside the Tripa Peat Forests, protected by National Spatial Planning Law 26/2007.All companies in Tripa must be reviewed because each operation has indicated a degree of legal violation, which again is highlighted again by the fires burning today. To review all Amdal processes is simple and standard legal procedure, believe should result in prosecution of all parties responsible for violation of Indonesia law.” Kamaruddin concluded.

“Tripa is an important part of the the Leuser Ecosystem, one of the worlds most important conservation areas, home to Sumatran Orangutans, Rhinos, Elephants, Tigers and a whole host of other wildlife, there should be no permits and no destruction of this iconic and globally important area, it’s very clearly against Indonesian Law, it is protected by National Strategic Planning Law 26/2007, and Government Regulation 26/2008. Moratoriums may come and go, but it is National Spatial Planning that must be adhered to for the forests of Indonesia to have any chance of survival“ concluded Dr Singleton.

For further media comment or interview, please contact:

Dr Ian Singleton, Director of Conservation / Sumatran Orangutan Conservation programme

Email mokko123@gmail.com

Deddy Ratih, Forest Campaigner, WALHI / Friends of the Earth Indonesia

Email: ube.hitar@gmail.com

Update on clouded leopard

Quick update on the baby clouded  leopard that was rescued a few weeks ago. Our vet, Dr Fikri, is currently keeping it in his house with him being the only human that the leopard has contact with. The cub is very healthy, its hind legs have fully recovered and it always wants to play! A simple enclosure is being built for the leopard at Camp Gemini in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve and once it is finished the cub will be moved there.

Hopefully more news and photos to follow soon.

Thank you for your support,

Orangutan Foundation

White-rumped shama - a beautiful bird in Borneo

This post has been written by Wawan, our Finance Manager from our Indonesian office in Pangkalan Bun,  Central Kalimantan Borneo about his visit to Pondok Ambung. Experiencing Beautiful ‘Shama’

Its  such interesting experience when you go through the deep of Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan. You can enjoy an unforgetable long river journey to reach Pondok Ambung Research station, about 30 minutes down river from Camp Leakey.

I went to Pondok Ambung Research Station by Orangutan Foundation’s Speed boat as routine duty delivering fresh logistic from Kumai market on 15 April. Staying one night just sensing to be closer to the wildlife habitat there. Butterflies, birds, squirrel, and even little dragonfly can be found easily.

One bird was my interest, I see beautiful bird having long-black tailed and white rump, orange bellied, black head and black eyes as well. Its body size maybe only same as a little coffee cup but looking a bit thin because of its long tailed and neck. It kept jumping between branches, and some times stepping to the ground. Once it jump and step on the ground getting little worm by its beak, and suddenly swallow it.  After swallow the worm, it flew to perch on little branches and singing! Such beautiful long time duration sing.

Moments were capture by my camera, I though that I got some good pictures, not bad at all before it vanish away. Unforgetable and beautiful bird, I know the name is White-rump Shama (Copsychus malabaricus) from book literature, it residence mainly eating worms but occasionally ants and other insect, very clever often immitating other bird calls. Its threated by illegal hunting for their rich chuckling songs, people using this bird for Bird singing competition, now we see it free from threaths because they living in protected area Tanjung Puting National Park.

I think this is just a little story that representing my experience to be closer to wildlife especially birds.  I hope any of you like it. Thank you  Orangutan Foundation UK and Tanjung puting National park and also thanks for Arif Nugroho the manager of Pondok Ambung Research Station.

I hope You will get more interest from this little experience, thanks.

Wawan  (Bambang Setyawan)

OF-UK Finance Manager

Want to visit Tanjung Puting National Park? Visit our www.orangutan.org.uk

Video footage of baby freshwater crocodile

Watch this short clip of a baby tomistoma crocodile, also known as the false gharial. It was taken at Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station, Tanjung Puting National Park, Indonesian Borneo by Wawan, the Orangutan Foundation's Finance Office, who was on a logistic run to the field site.  This species of fresh water crocodile is listed as endangered on the IUCN Redlist. Thanks,

Orangutan Foundation

Universities interested in study at Pondok Ambung please contact Orangutan Foundation

Auction of Chimpanzee - a unique print by Gary Hodges

Auction of "Chimpanzee" - a Unique Gary Hodges signed limited edition print co-signed by actress Rula Lenska in aid of the Orangutan Foundation.

Fantastic opportunity to own “Chimpanzee” – a highly collectable print from a drawing. Printed on superb Fabriano 5 art paper, signed by world famous artist Gary Hodges (www.garyhodges-wildlife-art.com) and limited to 850 copies, it was published in 1990 and completely sold out many years ago.

“Chimpanzee” has sold many times on the secondary market for very high prices. This print has been made unique and all the more valuable with the addition of the signature of actress Rula Lenska.

Place your bids here.  Auction ends 15.00, 12th April 2012.

Save the Tripa Peat Swamp forests and its critically endangered orangutans

Aceh Judge slammed over Indonesian court’s inability to make a just ruling over simple legal case.

Read full press release here and sign an online petition to enforce the law protecting Tripa Peat Swamp and its orangutan populations.

Please support this important action.

Thank you,

Orangutan Foundation

Another orangutan rescued

Our Vet. Dr Fikri, sent through this post about an orangutan that was rescued by BKSDA SKW II (Natural Resource Agency) from the town of Sampit, Central Kalimantan. The orangutan was a male and is thought to be ± 5 years old. In respect to and in memory of the late Pak Anton, who died tragically in a speedboat accident , we decided to name the rescued orangutan Anton.

In the morning, the orangutan Anton was taken to the safety of the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve (Central Kalimantan, Borneo) by boat. Anton arrived at Camp JL was given rambutan fruit (a favourite), bananas and milk.  Once inside his temporary enclosure Anton was still visibly stressed – running and climbing about all over his cage. He didn’t take the fruit or milk.  By the afternoon, Anton had calmed down and he had drank the milk and eaten all the fruit.  Anton will be monitored carefully to see how he adapts to his new environment.

We would like to thank our partners Care For The Wild International for their support of our work in Lamandau.  Please consider supporting our work by making a donation or adopting an orangutan.

Thank you,

Orangutan Foundation

We need your help and it will only take a minute!

We need your help! Please spare a minute of your time to help us win £5,000.

The Orangutan Foundation have been selected by Animal Friends Pet Insurance to take part in their monthly Facebook competition. During the month of February we will be competing with three other charities to win a cash prize of £5,000! We need your help. The charity with the most votes will be awarded £5,000. Voting is free and very easy. From 5th February simply go to www.facebook.com/feelgoodpark and 'like' the page. Then select the 'Vote for a Charity' tab from the left hand menu and click on Orangutan Foundation. Please share and forward this to all your friends. (n.b. You will need your own Facebook account to participate in the challenge). Should you need any more information about the Facebook challenge please email Kristina at kristina@orangutan.org.uk.

Wild orangutan rescue

The report below, about a wild orangutan rescue and release, was sent by Pak Tigor, our Orangutan Release Manager, before the tragic accident that occurred on the 21^st January, which resulted in the death of Pak Anton Wahyudi, Head of the Indonesian Government’s Agency for the Conservation of Natural Resources Central Kalimantan section II (BKSDA SKW II). Pak Anton Wahyudi and his staff played a key role in the rescue. 

This post illustrates the important work of the Indonesian Government’s Agency for the Conservation of Natural Resources and the Orangutan Foundation but it highlights the chronic problem that Indonesia is facing:  increasing numbers of wild orangutans that are being encountered and needing rescue as their habitat continues to be destroyed and fragmented.  

One quick and simple way to support our work, that won’t cost you anything, is to vote for us in the Animal Friends Pet Insurance Facebook Challenge – if Orangutan Foundation gets the most votes we will win £5,000. We urgently need these funds to support our work in Indonesian Borneo.

Last month, after coordination with BKSDA SKW II we visited the village of Natai Raya, close to the Port of Kumai. We had heard there was an isolated female orangutan that was eating fruit from the villager’s backyards. Capturing and moving wild orangutans is always a last resort as it is risky for both the apes and humans and it is also very expensive. However, it was clear that in this case the orangutan needed to be removed from the village. There was a small swampy area with a few small trees but no fruit trees and on the other side of the swamp was an oil palm plantation.  

The next day the rescue team made up from BKSDA SKW II staff and the Orangutan Foundation vet Dr Fikri, Uduk (Assistant Orangutan Release Manager) and Pak Tigor headed to the village to capture and trans-locate the orangutan. After 7 failed attempts to catch the orangutan she fled into the swamp and climbed a tree.

The team decided to leave the village and return a few days later with more Orangutan Foundation staff to help. Finally, after a co-ordinated effort by all, the orangutan was isolated in one tree and was darted and safely rescued.

DrFikri immediately performed the necessary health checks and the orangutan was taken to the BKSDA SKW II office in Pangkalan Bun.

The next day the orangutan was transported by klotok (longboat) to the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve.

She was released at Camp Mangkung, a site established specifically for trans-located orangutans. 

Orangutan Foundation staff followed the orangutan for 14 days to ensure she was fit and well ans that there were no problems arising because of the trans-location.

Thank you to BKSDA SKW II and to Colchester Zoo Action for the Wild for the support of our Veterinary Programme and for funding the blow pipes and darts.

 Please consider a donation to support our vital work.

 Thank you,

 Orangutan Foundation

In Memory of Pak Anton Wahyudi

This post is dedicated to Pak Anton Wahyudi, who tragically died in a speedboat accident on Saturday , whilst carrying out his duties responding to reports of illegal logging inside Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve.  We thank you for your dedication in fighting for the conservation of Indonesia's forests and wildlife. A husband, father, friend and colleague - you will be greatly missed.

Image from Forest Rangers Blog

News of a tragic accident

We are deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Pak Anton Wahyudi who died, on Saturday 21st January, as a result of a speedboat accident whilst carrying out his duties responding to reports of illegal logging inside the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia Borneo.

Pak Anton was a highly respected colleague, who was head of the Indonesian Government's Agency for the Conservation of Natural Resources Central Kalimantan section II (BKSDA SKW II) and he was the former Commander of the Brigade for the illegal logging Rapid Reaction Force (known as SPORC) in Sulawesi.

The response to the reported illegal logging was a joint mission between the Orangutan Foundation and BKSDA. Pak Juhri (Head of BKSDA Conservation Resort) was also in the boat but thankfully didn't sustain any major injuries and helped to rescue the other passengers. Two Orangutan Foundation staff, Pak Tigor and Arbani, were seriously injured but survived after Pak Juhri and Dr Fikri, our vet, managed to pull them out of the water, saving their lives. We wish them all a full recovery.

The Orangutan Foundation work in close collaboration with BKSDA SKW II, who are the Indonesian government authority responsible for the protection of the reserve. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Pak Anton, who leaves behind a wife and two children.

Young orangutan rescued

Meet Sampito, a male orangutan who recently arrived at Camp JL, in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, Central Kalimantan, Borneo.

Sampito is thought to be about 3 years old and was rescued by the Indonesian Government’s Agency for the Conservation of Natural Resources (BKSDA SKW II) from a village near the town of Sampit.  Sampito’s mother was most likely killed as their forest habitat was cleared to make way for oil palm plantations or because she was considered an agricultural pest.

After a few days of checkups and monitoring at the local BKSDA office in Pangkalan Bun, Sampito was taken by the Orangutan Foundation’s vet, Dr Fikri, to the Lamandau River Reserve.

When Sampito reaches his ideal body weight and is considered fit and healthy by Dr Fikri he will be gradually be allowed out into the forest to play and explore.  He will be returned to the holding cage at night.  Once the Foundation staff are happy that Sampito can find enough food to eat and that can make a nest to sleep in then he will no longer return to his cage. Field staff will follow and monitor Sampito to ensure he copes with living in the wild without his mother.

We would like to thank Colchester Zoo's Action for the Wild Fund for their support of our Vet Programme.

More news  to follow soon….

Thank you,

Orangutan Foundation

Borneo's Enchanting Forests

As the UN Year of the Forests 2011 draws to a close Arif Nugroho, the manager of Pondok Ambung Tropical forest Research Station in Tanjung Puting National Park (Central kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo), has sent this interesting report (which is almost poetic in parts) with images about some of the rarer treasures of the rainforest. Over to Arif ....... Welcome the rainy season, welcome beautiful colorful mushrooms

At the beginning of rainy season, we felt spoilt when walking in the forest. There were many different colorful mushrooms, some with striking colors such as bright yellow or orange. They looked like little umbrellas in the ground - so beautiful.

While collecting data on the vegetation with Mas’ud Ashari, a student from the Forestry Faculty at Gajah Mada University, Jogjakarta we found many species of mushrooms. We couldn’t identify them but took images of them. Classification of fungi is always suffering from contradictions because there is a lack of complete knowledge about all the fungal organisms. There is little information reported about mushrooms in Borneo, especially in Pondok Ambung. So the aim of the present investigation was to identify the wild mushroom in Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station. We found at least 12 different species of wild mushrooms, even if we didn’t identify yet. (Please leave a comment if you can help!).

Frogs: Wildlife under canopy

Night tracking. Walk slowly into forest. Smelling the soil after the rain and listening to nature's voices. So peaceful. Light your torch around you and find some eyes glowing. Yup, that is way to see a beautiful frog, wildlife under canopy.

Butterflies Covering the Ground

Tanjung Puting National Park (TNTP), has peat swamp forests and  orangutans are a key species. The National Park attracts many tourists mainly to see the orangutans. But there is still lots of other biodiversity. We  are trying to explore  and the more we do we discover awesome wildlife.

This month looks like a butterflies’ moon. They are so easy to find and watch. On a river bank, among the leaf litter and twigs of trees, there are  various kinds of colorful butterflies. I watched one. Flapping its wings occasionally to shift places, then pauses as if she were sipping something from the soil. I crawled over. Trying to enjoy every detail of its beauty. Wings have colorful patterns and sometimes seem complicated. Some of them show a striking hue. Others are just black and white only. But the pattern remains fascinating.

Based on my observations, the butterflies are very easily found on the edge of the river. Precisely on lands moist but still exposed to sunlight. Several others were observed at the lower canopy of trees or perched in the foliage. I also found butterflies gathered in soil doused with smelling material, like soapy water or rotten fruit.

Check my article (In Bahasa Indonesian) about butterfly of Pondok Ambung TNTP in Biodiversitas Indonesia Magazine Vol. 1 No. 2 Th. 2011. Magazine can be downloaded for free here.

Researching Western Tarsier in Pondok Ambung

Masud  Ashari,  the student from Forestry Faculty, Gajah Mada University, Jogjakarta is at Pondok Ambung to research the population and distribution of the Western Tarsier (Tarsius bancanus Horsfield, 1821) in the lowland forest habitat of Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station and Tanjung Harapan, Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan.

Over 15 days he made 11 transects line and 23 plots of vegetation analysis and recorded 8 points of Tarsiers. This wasn't actual observations but encountering their smell. Tarsiers produce a secretion from a gland aroung their genitals for marking their homerange. Each point recorded shared similar characteristics. Sapling trees up to pole size, moderate to high vegetation density, temperature between 24-27 ° C, and humidity between 60-65%. Tarsier prefer this habitat because the conditions allow for easy locomotion (leaping between treest), feeding, playing, perching to prey etc.

Thank you,

Arif

More news on orangutans later this week...

Please support our work by making a donation today via our website or by calling 0044 (0)20 7724 2912 - thank you.

Today 10am (GMT) your donation doubled for orangutans!

Go to http://new.thebiggive.org.uk/project/orangutans to have your donation to the Orangutan Foundation doubled for free today at 10am! If you aren't successful today please try back each day this week at 10am.

We need your support!

A Big thank you from all at the orangutan Foundation in Borneo and the UK!

A gift for orangutans

Make your donation count!  From this Monday 5th December at 10am (GMT) your online donations made via this link will be matched. Please try and donate as close to 10am as possible because the matching funds are limited. If you aren't successful on Monday please try back each day next week starting at 10am.

This fantastic opportunity and will help us to secure a future for orangutans, forests and people.

With your support:

- We can give orangutans like little orphan orangutan Steph a real chance of living in the wild.

- We can provide training and advice for Indonesian people living close to areas of orangutan habitat - helping them to develop livelihoods that aren't detrimental to the forests, wildlife and to their future.

- We will safeguard the carbon-rich forests that are vital for local and global human populations.

Please give generously - we need you support.

Thank you,

Orangutan Foundation

http://new.thebiggive.org.uk/project/orangutans

Progress of orphaned orangutan

Report just in from Pak Tigor, the Orangutan Foundation's Orangutan Re-introduction Manager, about Steph the little orphan orangutan that was rescued from an oil palm plantation and taken to the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve.

"Steph is very healthy, energetic and  now wants to play all the time with carer.

At the end of October,  her  weight reached 5 kg. Every day activities usually start with a bath in the morning, eating and drinking and after that  Steph is taken by our field staff to play and climb trees in the forest.  And if possible they introduce natural food like young leaves or fruit.

Sometimes when playing in the forest Steph was approached by a female orangutan (ex-captive) with infant. Upon seeing this our field staff went to leave in the hope that Steph can play with the other baby orangutan. But this wasn't what Steph wanted as she looked scared and did not want to be approached and started Steph crying. The female orangutan also didn't want to interfere with Steph. After this Steph was brought back to camp for a break.

When I visted Camp Rasak a few weeks ago Steph was playing on the branch of tree near the staff dining room "ruang makan". Hongki, a male orangutan, came over and took Steph to the top of a tree and kept her until the afternoon.

Hongki then came down from the tree and allowed the Orangutan Foundation staff to take Steph back.  They checked her over to make sure she hadn't been hurt and she was absolutely fine. It was just another experience for Steph and one which will hopefully help her as she grows up and attempts to survive in the wild.

We need your  support to ensure our vital work in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve can continue. Please donate to the Orangutan Foundation.

Thank you,

Pak Tigor - Orangutan Foundation Re-introduction Manager

Don't forget you can make a donation through the Big Give Christmas Challenge - from 5th -9th December when your money can go twice as far. Matching funds are limited so please donate at 10am if possible.

Sir Terry Pratchett book auctioned in aid of orangutans

Sunday 27 November at 8pm - Monday 5 December at 8pm. The Big Give is holding an auction from this Sunday until the start of the Christmas Challenge.

The Orangutan Foundation is honoured to be auctioning a proof of Sir Terry Pratchett's latest Discworld novel, Snuff, complete with signed bookplate. There are only 155 proofs existing and this is the only signed copy to be auctioned, kindly donated by Colin Smythe, Sir Terry Pratchett's publisher.

The auction will run from this Sunday 27 November at 8pm - Sunday 4 December at 8pm. Place your bids here

 Also....SAVE THE DATE!!

Monday 5 December at 10am - Friday 9 December.

For one week only we have a fantastic opportunity to have all online donations doubled! Donate whatever you can and we will receive the same again from the Big Give!

However, you need to be quick as funds from the Big Give are released bit by bit and, once the day's funds are exhausted, no more donations can be made. So, we are asking our supporters to donate here http://new.thebiggive.org.uk/project/orangutans as soon as possible once the Challenge opens at 10am on Monday 5 December.

Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to help us to secure a future for orangutans, forests and people this Christmas. Thank you for your support!