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!
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
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.
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!
Aku Cinta Indonesia (ACI or I love Indonesia) Team Found Western Tarsier in Pondok Ambung
Aku Cinta Indonesia (ACI) is a program by detik.com. Their aim is to promote the beauty of Indonesia. ACI pick teams of 3 people who they send out on various adventures to document their experience.
One of the ACI’s team visited to Pondok Ambung and slept overnight on a kelotok (boat). They were curious to see a nocturnal primate, called the Western Tarsier. After the drizzle stopped we began our night tracking around Pondok Ambung and at around midnight, Evawi, a Foundation field assistant smelt the urine of the tarsier. We found this small beautiful primate – it is really rare to see them and after no less than 10 minutes we had lost it (see this post for picture of tarsier).
In the early morning, we did bird watching. Pak Hudi, the Foundation’s Programme Co-ordinator, gave basic tips about bird watching. So many bird species were seen!
Photographic Trip
Photographer Ian Wood and his group visited Pondok Ambung. There were eight in his group so we split in to 2 smaller groups. One went with Pak Hudi and climbed a watch tower to observe birds in the upper canopy.
The other group came with me to find a criptical bird and look at the nest of the Orange-bellied Flowerpecker. The group had some awesome tools of photography. Tele lens helped to take a small objects, like the birds.
Bird Nests
We found the nest of a Malaysian Eared Nightjar(Eurostopodus temminckii). Actually, they don’t really have a nest. They just lay down their egg on the ground, on top of foliage. There was one egg which started to hatch while we observed. It was a beautiful chick with a reddish plumage. I think this is the first record, at least in Pondok Ambung!
We also found the nest of the Orange-bellied Flowerpecker (Dicaeum trigonostigma). The nest was suspended 2.5 m up on a leafy twig of a tree growing near the watch tower. The nest was small and egg-shaped, made from grass and ferns. It contained two chicks. During my observation, I saw the male and female adults attend the nest.
The female took food from the undergrowth around the nest. It seemed like fruit but they were just taking the seeds. When feeding the young, the male hung onto the outside of the nest by its feet so that it could face the chicks directly. After the male departed, the chicks would often wait in front of the entrance with their bills out. Sometimes, although the male was not present, the chicks would stick out their heads and open their mouths wide in a begging behavior.
After several days, we found the nest is empty with a small hole in the bottom. Before it, I watch something trying to make a hole from inside the nest. I can’t identify who and what they do. Maybe this is the way out when the chicks are strong enough to fly? We need more observations!
By Arif - Manager of Pondok Ambung Tropical Forests Research Station
Support our work and put this date in your diary – 10am on 5 December your donation to us doubled at http://new.thebiggive.org.uk/project/orangutans
Thank you,
Orangutan Foundation
Yesterday was Orange for Orangutan Day - an event that always takes place in Orangutan Awareness Week. The aim is to raise awareness and funds for orangutan conservation but in a fun and interesting way. It is also a celebration of this magnificent great ape. Many people are still unaware that their survival in the wild is threatened so thank you to everyone who has done something, no matter how small, for orangutans this week. Here are some photos of what people got up to!
Comedian Hattie Hayridge at our pub quiz in London.
Many different ways to go orange for orangutans!
Pembrokeshire college students go orange!
A great poster by Pembrokeshire College
If you'd like to help then put this date in your diary - 10am on 5 December your donation to us doubled at http://new.thebiggive.org.uk/project/orangutans
Leave a comment and let us know what you've been doing this week.
Thank you!
Orangutan Foundation
To mark Orangutan Awareness Week here are some lovely images of these great apes. They were all taken by Ian Wood, who runs photo tours to Tanjung Puting National Park, Borneo. We've included some other animals shots too because if you protect orangutan habitat you also protect 1000's of other species! Why not do something for orangutans this week, whether it is going orange for the day, organising your own event or making a donation to Orangutan Foundation , every little action helps!
More posts and pics to follow this week..
Thank you,
Orangutan Foundation
Join us for our Orange for Orangutan Quiz night at Wood Marylebone, NW1 London on Wednesday 16 November (Orange for Orangutan Day 2011).
Photo by Ian Wood www.agoodplace.co.uk
Stand-up comedian Hattie Hayridge, the compere for the evening, will help make this a fun and colourful evening with all proceeds supporting our vital work. Buy tickets from the Orangutan Foundation's website or call 020 7724 2912.
If you can't get to London then why not organise your own event? Click here for ideas and info.
Go on, go orange for orangutans!
We have received news from Pak Tigor, our Orangutan Release Manager, that the two Bornean orangutans, Kevin and bobby, who were brought back from Sumatra last month, have been released back into their forest home. They have been in holding cages at Camp Gemini, in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve, since they arrived back in Borneo. Last week after being closely monitored, Dr Fikri and field staff decided that they should be allowed out of their cages. At around 16.30, an hour or so before it gets dark, the doors to Kevin and Bobby’s cages were opened.
Kevin immediately went onto the top of his cage, looked around taking in the situation. He eventually climbed off and gathered some branches which he took back to the top of his cage where he then made a make-shift nest. We waited until about 18.30. Kevin stayed sleeping in his nest all night. The next day two field staff stayed close to Kevin, following him as he moved off into the forest. At the end of day he made a nest in a tree and went to sleep. He seems very at home back in the forest.
Bobby in climbing in trees after his releaseUnlike Kevin, Bobby was more hesitant to leave his cage. He just sat on the cage door, then climbed down to the ground and walked around the cage, back and forth for quite a while without any obvious purpose. He did try to climb into a tree, but as he did so he fell back and then returned to his cage door.
Bobby returns to the security of his cageThe Orangutan Foundation team waited until 18:00 and decided it was better for Bobby to go back into his cage for the night because is very dangerous for orangutans to sleep on the ground due to wild boar in the surrounding forests.
The next day Bobby was taken to the feeding site, where supplementary food is offered. Bobby climbed the trees and moved between them. Bobby did eat fruit from the forest but only one type.
Bobby playing with ex-captive orangutan Amoi and her infantHe also interacted with ex-captive orangutans, Ebony a female adolescent and Mantra a female orangutan with infant, spending a long time playing. Bobby didn’t attempt to make a nest and so he returned to his cage again for the night. We will continue to take Bobby out and hope that he will eventually become fully independent.
Bobby getting used to living up in the treesWe will have more news on Kevin and Bobby soon and hopefully some video footage too (so long as the internet connection remains good!).
Please support our work in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve by donating today.
Thank you.
Today is Blog Action Day 2011 and the theme is food. So what does food have to do with orangutans? Quite a lot. Our production of food, to feed a growing human population, has a huge impact on tropical forests, biodiversity and also on the great red ape. Our last post told about an infant orangutan that was rescued from an oil palm plantation. These subjects, palm oil and orangutans, seem to go hand in hand now days. The issue is highly sensitive, emotive and complicated. Palm oil, which is extracted from the oil palm kernel, is used as a fuel or is a common ingredient in soaps, candles and numerous cosmetic products. It is also found in many different processed foods. For example, in Europe, it is found in up to half of packaged food products.
The balance between the need to feed our planet's increasing human population (Indonesia is already well past the 230 million mark, China and India, both major importers of palm oil, have a combined human population of over 2.5 billion) and the need to safeguard the carbon-rich lowland forests of Indonesia and Malaysia (the two countries which produce the most palm oil) is a huge challenge. But it is one we must tackle if there is to be a future for orangutans, forests and people.
The problem can feel overwhelming. But in order to make progress it has to be looked at properly, broken down and dealt with piece by piece. For example, a small yet effective initiative that the Orangutan Foundation support is the promotion of small-scale agro-forestry by an Indonesian organisation, Yayorin. By encouraging local farmers to adopt a sustainable, organic way of farming, as oppose to traditional forest clearance by slash and burn or instead of farmers selling their land to an oil palm concession, forest loss has been reduced and orangutan habitat saved.
Consumers can also play their part by choosing which products they buy. For example, avoiding those with palm oil or only buying if the the palm oil contained within is certified as sustainable. A recent campaign we were involved with saw the European Parliament vote in favour of compulsory labelling of palm oil in food products in Europe. This now allows consumer choice but will also help drive demand for certified sustainable palm oil.
Small-scale agro-forestry and wise consumerism are small but important steps being taken to address the problem.
Find out more about our work at www.orangutan.org.uk
Thank you,
Orangutan Foundation
Dr Fikri, our vet sent through this report about the rescue of an infant orangutan. At the end of July our Reintroduction Team received a called from Pak Anton, the head of the Agency for Conservation of Natural Resources, BKSDA SKW II. He had received a request from a large oil palm concession in Central Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) about some orangutans isolated on the plantation, which will need to be trans-located.
Based on this, a team from the Orangutan Foundation and BKSDA planned to visit the plantation which is owned by Borneo Citra Indah.
Before leaving for the plantation, a ranger from Tanjung Puting National Park informed us about an infant orangutan, approximately one year old, on the plantation but in a different area. According to the plantation staff, who had been caring for the orangutan for two days, it came from villagers living around the plantation. Apparently they found it without its mother.
After health checks at the local BKSDA facility it was decided the infant orangutan should be taken to the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve.
The infant has been named Steph, after Steph Brown a long-term and commited supporter of the Orangutan Foundation. Little Steph will be cared for by our field staff at Camp Rasak. Considering Steph’s ordeal she is in good health.
Her weight at the end of September was 4 kg, a 1kg gain in weight since she was first found.
Please help us to safeguard this important protected area, provide care for these orangutans and ensure a future in the wild for these endangered great apes.
Thank you,
Dr Fikri and the Orangutan Foundation team
The Tanjung Puting National Park Authority hosted a poster and photographic competition last weekend. The Orangutan Foundation is thrilled that Saud Teguh, one of our own members of staff came first in the photo contest with his image of the Greater Coucal and second place with his poster. What talent - well done Teguh and thank you to the National Park for organising this initiative.
Photo above and poster below by Saud Teguh
Yesterday, Ashley Leiman, the Orangutan Foundation's director, was in Jakarta for the launch of a new UNEP report which explains why investing in forests is win-win for communities, climate and orangutan conservation. Read the report, Orangutans and the economics of sustainable forest management in sumatra
Male Sumatran Orangutan - photo by Gail Campbell-Smith
In July, we said goodbye to Devis, our Tropical Forest Research Station Manager. Devis had worked for us for five years and though he will be greatly missed we know Pondok Ambung will remain in good hands.
Devis in the middle being hugged by Pak Hudi, our Programme Co-ordinator
Arif (in green t-shirt), our new Manager of Pondok Ambung
We are delighted to welcome Arif Nugroho. An avid birdwatcher and nature lover – Arif has so far seen a Malay civet (Viverra tangalunga), Western tarsier (Tarsius bancanus)...
...as well as the many of the beautiful bird species found in the park.
Since his arrival in August, Arif has given the field station and its klotok (long-boat) a fresh look, repairing rotten boards and adding a new lick of paint. Though the bad news is the klotok only has about 6 month of life left in it, at the most!
Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station is a joint collaboration between the Tanjung Puting National Park Authority and the Orangutan Foundation. Researchers or Universities in interested in studying here should contact the Orangutan Foundation.
Help save orangutans and their forest home and own a piece of unique art! Bid online now for our beautiful and unique orangutan, ‘Spirit of Indonesia’, which is part of Jungle City Edinburgh 2011.
The design is based on traditional Indonesian batik entwined with the biodiversity of the orangutan’s rainforest habitat.
Proceeds from the auction of Spirit of Indonesia will support our vital work.
Happy bidding and good luck!
Here are a few photos of Kevin and Bobby, the two Bornean orangutans who are now back in Borneo after being returned from Sumatra.The internet connection in Pangkalan Bun, Borneo has been very poor and unreliable -Pak Tigor, the OrangutanReintroduction Manager managed to send these through.
Kevin and Bobby come off the plane into Pangkalan Bun, after a change over in Jakarta.
Cargo crates in the airport shed before being taken by pick up truck to the local givernment facility. Not that you can see them very well but both orangutans were unfazed by their journey.
Hopefully there will be more to follow of their final journey into the swamp forest of Borneo over the next few days. Thank you Pak Tigor for your persistence and patience in sending them through!
Please help us to ensure that Kevin and Bobby remain in the wild by supporting our work in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve. You can donate here.
Press Release
Wednesday 21st September 211
Back to Borneo
Endangered Bornean orangutans return home from Sumatra.
Two orangutans, which started their life in the wilds of Borneo, but ended up as pets in Sumatra have returned home.
Kevin and Bobby, are male Bornean orangutans. Their mothers were almost certainly killed at the time of their capture in Borneo (probably whilst their habitat was being clear-felled) and their previous “owners” obtained them in Borneo before returning home to the island of Sumatra. Fortunately for both Kevin and Bobby, they were subsequently rescued by the Indonesian government’s local Nature Conservation department (PHKA) and staff of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (implemented by the Swiss based PanEco Foundation and the Indonesian Yayasan Ecosystem Lestari and PHKA). Under Indonesian law it is illegal to keep orangutans as pets and to trade, harm or kill them. Kevin was rescued in 2006, aged a little over 2 years and Bobby in 2009 aged around 3 or 4 years old.
Bobby above and below - male Bornean orangutan
Under the care of SOCP at the Batu Mbelin Orangutan Quarantine Centre near Medan, North Sumatra, both orangutans grew, gained weight and had excellent health. They were therefore very much ready for a return to a life in the wild. To do this, however, they had to be returned to the island of their birth. Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) are nowadays recognized by scientists as being two distinct and separate species. As such, Bornean orangutans must only be released on Borneo, and Sumatrans on Sumatra. Mixing the species on the two islands would be detrimental to the genetic viability of both species’ wild populations.
Kevin - male Bornean orangutan
The Sumatran orangutan is already listed as Critically Endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), and the Bornean as Endangered. In fact there are estimated to be only around 50,000 Bornean orangutans left in the wild and as few as only 6,600 or so Sumatrans. The future for both is therefore already precarious enough.
For the above reasons, Dr Ian Singleton, Director of Conservation for the PanEco Foundation and head of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme, approached the Orangutan Foundation, a UK registered charity, to help get the two young orangutans back to where they belonged thus contributing to the long term conservation of the Bornean orangutans, “Kevin and Bobby deserve the chance to be wild orangutans once again and we have done everything we can to make sure it happens. If we can at the same time highlight the plight of orangutans on both islands and remind people that it is illegal in Indonesia to keep them as pets then that would be an added bonus.” said the British born expert.
The Orangutan Foundation’s work is focused towards Central Kalimantan, in the Indonesia part of Borneo. In collaboration with the Indonesian government’s local Nature Conservation department (PHKA), the Orangutan Foundation runs a release site for rehabilitated and trans-located wild orangutans in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve.
On Saturday 17 September, the Orangutan Foundation team including their vet, Dr Fikri, flew to Medan, where the two orangutans were being kept together. On Monday, after final checks, Kevin and Bobby began their journey home. First they flew to Jakarta, on the island of Java. Both orangutans seemed fine and not too stressed after the first flight and the Orangutan Foundation’s vet gave them some fruit. They then flew onto Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. On arrival, back home in Borneo, both orangutans looked out curiously from their cargo crate. The Australian Orangutan Project, partners of both organisations, kindly agreed to help fund the cost of bringing the two orangutans home.
Kevin and Bobby are currently resting and then they will undergo some additional final pre-release medical checks at a local government facility. They will then complete the final leg of their journey, by river on a longboat, to the 76,000 hectare.
Once at the reserve they will again be housed for a few more weeks in a large cage, but this time deep in the forest that they will soon be free to explore. This is to allow them to really rest up after all the travelling and to acclimatize to their new surroundings, the swamp forests of Borneo.
Their health and behaviour will continue to be closely monitored by Orangutan Foundation’s vet and once given the all clear and when the time is right, they will finally be freed and get their chance to live as wild orangutans once again. Even then, the OF team will continue to follow them and monitor their behaviour and health until such time they are confident they will survive with little or no more intervention.
The principle threat to wild orangutans on both islands is habitat loss, mostly as forests are cleared for conversion to agriculture, especially vast, monoculture oil palm plantations. Many of the orangutans in these forests die or are killed in the process. Some of the lucky ones manage to survive and end up as illegal pets. The luckiest of them all survive long enough to be confiscated and placed in a rescue centre, and are eventually returned to a life in the wild.
The general public can help support the Orangutan Foundation’s work in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve at http://www.orangutan.org.ukor 020 7724 2912.
For more information, high resolution images, or to arrange an interview,
call Cathy Smith on +44 (0)20 7724 2912 or email cathy@orangutan.org.uk
Notes to editors:
Orangutans are only found on two islands, Borneo and Sumatra and they are classified as two distinct species reflecting this geographic distribution.
Sumatran orangutans are critically endangered with only about 6,600 in the wild. Bornean orangutans are endangered with only about 50,000 remaining.
The Sumatra Orangutan Conservation Programme is a collaborative programme implemented by the Swiss based PanEco Foundation, Indonesia’s Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari (Foundation for a Sustainable Ecosystem) the Indonesian Government’s Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature
The Orangutan Foundation works in collaboration with The Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation of the Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Indonesia (Ditjen PHKA).
The Orangutan Foundation is the UK representative of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme.
'Spirit of Indonesia' is our beautiful orangutan that has been hand painted by Scottish artisit, Lex McFadyen. It is part of Scotland's biggest ever outdoor art exhibition - Jungle City Edinburgh 2011 run by the charity, Elephant Family. Online bidding for the sculptures begins on 22nd September until 2nd October 2011. Proceeds from the auction of 'Spirit of Indonesia' will go to the Orangutan Foundation.
'Spirit of Indonesia' in St Andrew Square - Lex’s intricate design was inspired by traditional Indonesian batik motif into which he entwined the biodiversity of the orangutan’s rainforest habitat.
Our utmost thanks go to Paterson Arran, the Scottish food manufacturers, who have sponsored Spirit of Indonesia.
Own a unique piece of art (Spirit of Indonesia) and help save orangutans!
Follow this link to view fascinating video footage, by the Wildlife Research Center of Kyoto University, taken of a wild orangutan building a nest at Danum Valley, Sabah (Malaysian Borneo).
Last week we said we'd put up some images from Tanjung Puting National Park and surrounding areas, (Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo). Here are a few recent ones all of which were taken during June's Conservation Tour and Reading University's field visit in July.
Dyok - dominant male at Pondok Tanggui by Jenny Aundrews
Stork-billed kindfisher on the Sekonyer River Tanjung Puting National Park by Lynda Gent
Hornbill on the Sekonyer River by Jenny Aundrews
Tanjung Harapan village school on the boundary of Tanjung Puting National Park.
A royal gift for the school from one of the tour participants! (sorry about the quality)
Hitching a ride!
Reading University field trip to Tanjung Puting National Park's Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station.
Pak
From left to right: Head of Tanjung Puting National Park, Pak Gunung Sinegar with Dr Mark Fellowes from Reading University and Orangutan Foundation Programme Co-ordinator Pak Hudi D Wuryanto.
Orangutan Foundation, 7 Kent Terrace, London, NW1 4RP +44 (0)20 7724 2912 info@orangutan.org.uk
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