These wonderful photos have just been sent to us from the field, all taken by Foundation staff in the protected Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. These re-introduced individuals, some who were re-introduced years ago, are now well known by the Foundation staff. Many of the females have had offspring since their re-introduction to the Reserve, living in a safe and healthy environment. With this window into their world, we can see how they are getting along...
The Foundation are collaborating with conservationists to give a 24-hour window into wildlife of remote rainforests, using facebook and twitter!
On 2 June 2014 conservationists are coming together to share 24 hours of wildlife sightings from rainforest locations across Southeast Asia. The Foundation were asked to take part and are excited to see what we can see from so many fabulous locations across the working world of biodiversity.
'Rainforest: Live' will take advantage of social media, using the spread of technology to allow everyone to see and learn about even some of the most remote corners of the globe.
Photos, videos and wildlife sightings will all be shared live. The 11 respective rainforest field sites will all use the hashtag #rainforestlive. Do ask us or any of the organisations questions using the hashtag!
Ashley Leiman, OBE, Director of the Orangutan Foundation, said “this collaboration brings home that deforestation effects not only the wildlife, but is the third largest cause of green house gas emissions and so effects everyone on the planet. Days such as this highlight how much researchers are learning, with a view to achieving more conservation successes on the ground.”
Matt Williams, Communications Manager for OuTrop said “If people in Southeast Asia and across the world are reminded of this incredible natural gift, then we have a better chance of saving tropical rainforests everywhere. Rainforest: Live is an unprecedented event bringing live sightings straight from the jungle. Members of the public can take part by using the #rainforestlive hashtag to ask questions they’ve always wondered about to rainforest experts.”
“We’re excited to participate in this event,” says Dr. Cheryl Knott, Executive Director of the Gunung Palung Orangutan Project, “as Rainforest: Live will provide an exciting ‘virtual experience’ for the pubic – a way to simultaneously travel to rainforests throughout Southeast Asia and experience the regions’ incredible biodiversity.”
Can't wait for Monday - hope to see you online on the 2nd!
Orangutan Tropical Pealtand Project – Facebook, Twitter
Orangutan Foundation UK – Facebook, Twitter
Harapan Rainforest – Facebook, Twitter
Gunung Palung Orangutan Project – Facebook, Twitter
Orangutan Land Trust – Facebook, Twitter
Selamatkan Yaki – Facebook, Twitter
Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program – Facebook, Twitter
Integrated Conservation – Facebook, Twitter
Please see here : The Biologist Vol 61(2) p12-16 , for the full article.
" The great apes are often perceived differently to other animals. In many cases, it's the simple physical resemblance – we look alike – that's enough to affect how people think and feel about them. No other group of animal has the same attributes that strike a chord with people: hands with nails, eyes that mirror our own, and rich social and emotional lives. Despite this, the 21st century may see the extinction of one of mankind's closest living relatives...
[ ]...But there are two sides to our perception of apes. While one side emphasises the similarities, the other side emphasises the differences, how the apes are almost but not quite human. This duality occurs across the world, but is perhaps strongest in the west.
[ ]...No one is deliberately trying to wipe out the great apes. The present situation shows little more than a lack of care, both nationally and internationally. This is the point where western and indigenous attitudes to the great apes intersect. The fate of the apes rests finally with the inhabitants of ape-habitat countries, be they individuals, communities or governments. However, the west or developed world has a duty of care, for it's the western world order (and its demand for products and raw materials from ape habitats) that has given rise to so many of the problems the apes face.
"As long as they [apes] are able to roam the earth, hooting, leaping, munching, breaking branches, beating their chests, or simply sitting gazing quietly into the sunset, they will act as a perpetual and vital reminder that we are, after all, little more than brainy, naked apes." (Morris & Morris, 1966). "
Please consider donating to the Foundation here... You can contact us - Ashley and the team - on info@orangutan.org.uk
The Foundation is always asked 'How is the situation - facing the orangutans?'. We answer 'The Foundation is making progress', in one way by working closely with villagers and oil palm companies to mitigate human-wildlife conflict'. This strategy is working, as the Foundation is called upon to rescue stranded orangutans, rather than the individuals being harmed. Within one week in April, the Field staff were called upon to translocate four orangutans that had entered villager's farm land. One orangutan was found in a chicken farm and had eaten bananas and coconuts from the orchard on her way! These situations must be extremely frustrating for the farmers and yet rather than injure the marauding orangutan, the local people now know that there is an alternative, and that is to call upon the Rescue Team (OF and BKSDA).
That same week, a female orangutan with two offspring was found in a farm of maize and bean crops. Again the land owner did the right thing by requesting that the orangutan be translocated. All these orangutans were given comprehensive health checks (see above), and when found to be healthy were re-introduced into the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve. Without protected areas such as Lamandau, the fate of these orangutans would be unknown. The reserve is a haven not only for orangutans. Recently a gibbon and a salt water crocodile were released (in fact in that very same week!). It is worrying that the loss of habitat is not decreasing, but through the Foundation's work on the ground and your support, we are able to give wildlife a protected future. Have a friend or an offspring of your own to read this story? Please do share on facebook(click here) or twitter(click here). Helping these individuals to be protected, you can read more and donate easily, supporting the Foundation. Thank you for reading!
The new face to the Pangkalan Bun Indonesian office is Pak Arie. As our new manager for Pondok Ambung - Station for Tropical Research. The research site has been vital for many studies since 2005, including proboscis monkeys, fish, butterflies, the false gharial, orangutans and the stunning variety of bird life. Please do share on this post with your friends and family! Check out our facebook account and twitter account to keep in touch with us!
Pak Arie has already been a good addition to the team, keen to develop Pondok Ambung – new posters have been sent out to Indonesian universities about the research grants available – and you in the UK can apply too! Pak Arie recently re-surveyed the site, telling us more about two less studied species…
We think of tarantulas as primarily South American, but Borneo also have their own species - the Sweet Brown Tarantula (Aphonopelma Sp.).
Our team regularly see these nests in the day time, but would have to wait till dark to observe these arachnids nocturnal behaviour.
We are proud of the work we are doing on the ground, but there what about species living on the ground?! The Ling Zhi mushroom (Ganoderma sp.) was recently highlighted as an important species growing at Pondok Ambung.
Within tropical areas, there is a high species diversity of macroscopic fungi, mostly unstudied within remote Indonesian forests. Data and literature on macroscopic fungi generally details those in subtropical regions that have different qualities than those in the tropics. Fungi perform essential role in maintaining the balance and composition of the soil, acting as a decomposer, which in turn helps fertilization. Fungi also can be used as drugs for their multiple medicinal uses. For example, Ling Jhi are fungi that have been cultivated in many countries such as Japan and China. Since 1999 these fungi have been used by an Indonesian company as herbal ingredients.
Swimming peacefully through the rivers near Pondok Ambung, the black rayed softshell turtle (Amyda cartilaginea/ Trionyx cartilaginous or Labi-labi in Indonesian) might pass you by.
Turtles can be studied around the pier of Pondok Ambung. These are stunning creatures when you look at their shells, but with odd faces! They are active either day or night, usually requiring a muddy area to lay and hatch their eggs activities. Listed as vulnerable by IUCN, it’s always welcome news when we hear about sightings from the field. Pictured here, the team are measuring the turtle for our research records.
We are often asked how things work on a daily basis for the Orangutan Foundation. What work is involved? How does this then help conserve Bornean forest and protect orangutans? Focusing on the London office, here is an insight into working for our conservation charity... The team We have four full time staff in the UK and fifty eight full time staff in Central Kalimantan, Borneo. The team in the UK work to provide daily support, management and to raise all funds for all the Foundation's work on the ground in Borneo. Within the UK and internationally, we work to educate and inform about conservation of orangutan populations, and how we work to contribute to their and their habitats protection.
The day Every day we receive calls and emails from anyone and everyone about orangutans and conservation. In a recent day, we had all of the following keeping us busy...
Our supporters are out there explaining our mission and how we are achieving great progress at our field sites - we help the general public understand what we do and how we do it. Our work focuses on five key areas - please click here or see below for more information - and each day we may focus on any of the five areas to ensure the best possible outcome for the areas with which we are able to help. We work with many different groups, including several primate conservation groups and the Indonesian Government. Communication with all our collaborators and stakeholders is imperative to this kind of work - without cooperation and working as a team, everything is slower and more difficult to achieve.
Facilitating funds to be sent to the team in Indonesia is of course one of the most important thing the Foundation does - these are the funds that make all our work possible. We rely on you kind donations, fundraising (via any and all weird and wonderful events), memberships (for those who want to be a part of the Foundation) and grants to fund all our work. We ensure our communications tell the story of exactly how all funds get used...
On the first of March a policeman of the Sabhara Sukamara Police , Brigadier Kiki Tobing, was visting the small village of Laman baru on his day off, intending to buy durian (a famous Indonesian fruit). He could of never expected what happened next…
As he walked through the village, resident came up to him and, recognising Tobing as a policeman, handed him a baby orangutan. The orangutan had been found in an oil palm plantation close to the village. Tobing named the orangutan infant “Keno”.
Orangutans enter into settlements and villages because much of orangutan forest habitat nearby is being destroyed, in this case due to a palm oil plantation. This kind of industrial encroachment has significantly contributed to an increase in the number of orangutans needing to be rescued and translocated in recent years. In addition, this particular plantation and village are near the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve border, the protected area in which the Orangutan Foundation work and release orangutans into the wild. In Borneo, human habitation and oil palm plantations are often side by side. Different types of land use can be in areas very close together. Here, areas of forest are close to oil palm plantations and often to villages. Unfortunately, this makes it easy for orangutans to find their way into areas of human settlement.
Tobing reported the situation to the police, who decided to bring the baby orangutan to the local police station. It was then decided to inform the discovery of this infant to the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA).
Due to this quick reporting and an organised system, the very next day, the Orangutan Foundation staff and BKSDA officers arrived (from Pangkalan Bun) to meet ‘Keno’ and it was decided to translocate him. He was kept in a transit cage at the BKSDA offices, and after a full health check and a few days to acclimatise. He was then moved to Gemini Camp (of the Orangutan Foundation camps), and Keno started his soft release programme. Staff saw that he was well and confident and so allowed him to get back into the trees again, as the staff keep a watchful eye. He had some minor bruising on his foot which has already healed up. He enjoys his diet of fruits from the forest. Now we hope to find a suitable surrogate mother for Keno. The ideal surrogate mother would either have an already independent offspring or no have no offspring at all. We'll make sure we keep you up to date with Keno's development and progress through his soft release!
The Orangutan Foundation is always trying to reach out to new people who may be interested in the conservation of orang-utans and their habitat... Charles Humfrey, previous Ambassador of the United Kingdom for Indonesia, invited the Foundation to present to the Anglo Indonesian society, with an aim to focus on our achievements and challenges yet to come... Here we report back on our 'Past achievements and future challenges' presentation... On the 25th of February 2014, Ashley Leiman presented 'Orangutan Foundation's past achievements and future challenges' to the Anglo Indonesian society, hosted by the Indonesian Embassy in Grosvenor square, London. The evening was well attended by many of the societies members - from the beginning there was an atmosphere of seeing old friends and meet new people, anticipating an enjoyable and educational evening. People arrived to drinks and a fantastic selection of Indonesian food, ready to be served as people settled to discussing the evenings possibilities.
The audience's intrigue increased when Charles announced the collection of Bornean indigenous artefacts that were on display in the Ambassadors study. Charles had known Ashley had a large personal collection of sculptural pieces from various locations, and was pleased to agree to display some key pieces in a small exhibition on the evening of the presentation. This allowed attendees to get a further impression of Indonesian and Sarawak culture. It also re-enforced Ashley's own passion for the culture and history of Indonesian provinces - a passion that clearly continues to contribute to the Foundations work to date.
After members had received their first opportunity to catch up, eat, drink and view the stunning sculptural collection, members sat quietly in anticipation of Ashley's presentation about the Foundation. Starting with the Foundation's misson, Ashley highlighted the areas in which the Foundation work - both the locations and secondly, on the projects on which we focus - where we send 75% of the Foundation's funds.
Our work with co-operation and partnership with local stakeholders and other related international organisations (including our partner project Yayorin, and local government conservation authorities, local communities, industrial sector companies, other local and international NGO’s) allows a level of communication and collaboration that is invaluable to our main aim; protecting the tropical forest habitat.
As we work toward protection and conservation of critical orangutan habitats , we are proud to be able to conduct a variety of related programmes in parallel. These, as you may know from our website, include education, awareness raising, capacity building, engaging the industrial sector, conflict mitigation, and orangutan reintroduction. Whilst habitat destruction and degradation is by far the largest threat to orangutan survival, it was pointed out that the use of idle land would mean many forests could be left standing and still allow industry to expand.
The talk concluded with an emphasis on the multifaceted work that the Foundation concentrates on. None of this would be possible without the funds coming from supporters and members of the public from all over the world. As the audience listened to the final remarks and interesting questions, Ashley was able to summarise with the following...
"I have just returned from Indonesia, where I have seen the difference and progress we are making in all aspects of our work. We are committed to ensuring this will continue into the future: So we can realise our vision in which mankind can live alongside nature. Thank you all for listening to our story."
The animal
About a million years ago, orangutans lived throughout much of eastern Asia, from Java in the south, right up into Laos and southern China. Today they are found only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra - both areas of the country of Indonesia. They are the only great ape that lives in Asia and no where else. There are two species of orangutan - the Bornean orangutan (P. pygmaeus) and the Sumatran orangutan (P. abelii). The two species express slightly different physical characteristics. The latter comes from Sumatra and is classified by a narrower face and longer beard than the Bornean species. Bornean orangutans are slightly darker in colour and the males have wider cheek pads than their Sumatran relatives. Behavioural differences have also been observed between the two species; Sumatran orangutans are more frugivorous (fruit-eating) and there is more evidence of tool use than in Bornean orangutans. Under the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List, the Sumatran orangutan is classified as critically endangered and the Bornean as endangered.
Orangutans are the largest arboreal mammal in the world. They are also the most arboreal of the great apes and spend most of their time in trees.The preferred habitat of the orangutan is low-lying peat swamp forest – they are rarely found in habitats over an altitude of 800m. Although they are found on both Borneo & Sumatra, their ranges are very limited.
Orangutans are wholly dependent on trees for their existence. They are perfectly adapted to life in the forest - they sleep in nests (yep - really! In nests built of leaves which they learn to construct from a young age).
They feed predominantly on fruit and travel with ease through the forest canopy, rarely descending to the forest floor. Primarily frugivorous (eating fruits), orangutans have an important role as seed disperses. They selectively chose ripe fruit whose seeds are adapted to withstand passage through the orangutans' gut. Once excreted, the seeds find themselves in their own little compost pile, which helps them to become established. Over 400 food types have been documented as part of the orangutans diet, and although it consists mainly of fruit, in times of scarcity orangutans will shift their eating habits to lower quality food, such as bark, leaves & termites (a valuable source of protein!), rather than travel to a different area. As well as acting as seed disperses, orangutans help to open up the forest canopy. This allows light to reach the forest floor, which once again helps the forest regenerate naturally. They are a vital cog in the workings of the rainforest ecosystem.
Orangutans are unique among the primate species. All the other apes and monkeys (check the difference between apes and monkeys here!) are social and gregarious (meaning enjoying the company of others or/and living together in groups) whilst the orangutan is semi solitary, the largest group being a mother and two offspring. Females are less solitary and may spend up to 25% with other orangutans. In contrast, male orangutans will spend less than 9% in association with other orangutans. Sumatran orangutans are more social and this social behaviour usually coincides with the simultaneous fruiting of the fig tree, which doesn't occur in Borneo.
Orangutans are the slowest breeding of all primates and have the longest inter-birth interval of almost eight years, of any land-based mammal. In other words they are the slowest reproducing animal on land... The female orangutan reaches puberty at ten years and will normally have her first infant between the age of 12 and 15. Offspring are dependent on their mothers for at least five years and with a life expectancy of 45 years plus, females will normally have no more than three offspring. With these factors combined, the orangutan population, especially small fragmented populations, are at considerable risk. They don’t have the capacity to recover from disasters that may strike a population. A slight rise in the adult female mortality rate by just 1-2% can drive a local population to extinction.
How we work... The Foundation works to protect this amazing species via five areas of work , detailed in a bullet point list here, where you can link to read all about the work of our Bornean and UK team!
And why.... We work in this way to help the numbers of wild orangutans to increase and to preserve the vital habitat they (and so many other species) need to survive. Most recently, orangutan numbers have declined... Please consider learning more about the threats facing these habitats by reading here. Remember it's so easy to learn more and help orangutans and their habitat by telling others and by helping out in any way. If you can outreach for the Foundation in any small way , please do email us on info@orangutan.org.uk. There any many reasons why to conserve a species - some reasons to conserve the orangutan are listed below...
Orangutan feeding habits have been described as “boom or bust”. Cheryl Knott in West Borneo reported that when fruit is plenty, the orangutans consumed many more calories. Females had higher estrogen levels and mating was more frequent. The opposite occurred when availability of fruit was low. Orangutans will shift their eating habits to lower quality food rather than travel to a different area. Therefore logging could have drastic effects on reproduction, by increasing birth intervals, due to lack of high quality food. For a species that already has extremely longer inter-birth intervals this is a very serious consequence.
Thank you!
Groups working together to protect and research Borneo means there can be an exchange of knowledge and techniques with others , to improve conservation - a vital part of conservation programmes and habitat protection. This week, Dr Susan Cheyne, an OuTrop Director, lead a workshop on camera trap surveying. OuTrop are a scientific research NGO based in Palangka Raya.
Susan, along with the OuTrop/WildCRU camera trapping team were in Pangkalan Bun at the Yayorin office (in the same town as the Foundation's office) to demonstrate within a training workshop. We are delighted to be collaborating with OuTrop and our partner organisation Yayasan Orangutan Indonesia (Yayorin) who will be placing camera traps in the Belantikan Forest in north Central Kalimantan. This group of three including the Foundation want to survey different forests with camera traps to see what biodiversity is out there!
The workshop was led by Dr Susan Cheyne and Wiwit Juwita Sastramidjaja. Present were representatives from Yayorin, Orangutan Foundation UK, local BKSDA (Indonesian Department of Nature Conservation) and Forestry. The workshop discussed the overall project and reasons for surveying different forests to determine the population distribution and density of different species as well as the practicalities of setting up camera traps in the field. Banteng (the endangered wild ox) is a particular focus of the survey, which lives in the Belantikan forest. Clouded leopards are going to be another focus of the surveying - all species seen will be documented. We are excited to see what we can find - collecting data like this provides the research which is an important tool to guide conservation management. The more the science community knows, the more can be done to protect areas and the species within them. The results with be shared with the local government to help protect Belantikan and gain new knowledge about all the wildlife in this remote ecosystem.
The first research grant was given back in 1993 and since then we've supported projects that have varied widely on the species of Central Kalimantan. Projects have ranged from research into the biodiversity of fish in the Tanjung Puting National Park river , to groundbreaking orangutan behavioural projects. Some of these behavioural projects were the starting point to various research that is now full time. Indeed, many of our grant recipients have gone on to establish themselves as full time researchers and professors!
Recently, the grants have been given solely to Indonesian students, increasing the way in which the Orangutan Foundation support and work with local communities to save biodiverse habitat, including the home of the glorious red ape. Recent studies include looking into the mating habits of proboscis monkey. This renowned species is classed as endangered, living along the riversides in the Tanjung Puting National Park and threatened by many of the same threats which are contributing to the decline of wild orangutans. In the past decade, we funded the study of the feeding behavior and estimated home ranges of released orangutans in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve which we protect. This information is vital to all organisations who release orangutans to understand what fruit and types of habitat are preferred by rehabilitated individuals. If rehabilitated individuals remain unstressed when reintroduced to the wild - due to good quality, well chosen habitat - their chance of survival is greatly increased. For other titles of research projects, please see our website here...
Many of the projects are based at our research station - Pondok Ambung (please click) - located within Tanjung Puting National Park, sitting off the side of the beautiful Sekonyer Kanan black-water river. This station is newly refurbished with perfect facilities and dedicated staff-team to ensure any research conducted becomes an informative and enjoyable project! This national park facility has been developed and maintained by the Orangutan Foundation and was designed for visiting researchers to come and study the park’s diverse flora and fauna.
We are excited to see what future research will be supported by the Orangutan Foundation. As projects discover more and more, they also always contribute to protecting those all important areas for Indonesian's biodiversity to flourish.
Thank you for any support toward Orangutan Foundation's research projects!
At the Orangutan Foundation, by the end of each day, hopefully we will have reached to you with stories of from the field, births, rescues, translocations, and recent research findings. But a day’s work can also include orangutans that have fallen sick. Of course, those events are just the beginning – constantly our teams are developing the Foundation’s efforts and working toward the prolonged health of forest habitat.
Recently an orangutan Jupe, a young female orangutan that was released on the first of July, was brought back to camp. She was seen looking thin and weak. The vet examined her and conducted a faeces examination. There was no sign of parasitic worms, often a sign of sickness. The vet prescribed a course of multivitamins and all signs are that she is recovering her energy. She was under the watchful eye of the camp staff, watched until she is well enough to be released again.
The latest news is that she has been well enough to be re-released. She moved off so fast when released back into her protected forest home, that she left the staff far behind (as they tried to check her behaviour now back in the wild) ! Our staff will follow her for around a week to make sure she's 100% OK on her own.
Unpredictable and new situations that require immediate judgment are of course common place in most places of work, but when the place of work is in the forests of Borneo, you have to add some extra unpredictability!Click here for more information on our work and our various sites.
Time for some most exciting news! In the past six months six babies have been born to reintroduced orangutans. One of them is Amoy, released ten years ago in Lamadau River Wildlife Reserve.
She appeared in June at Camp Gemini with her two-week-old infant, named Alexi by field staff.
Badut, another ex-captive, was seen on 24 August carrying an infant, recently named BB, and was followed by staff to make sure all was well. Then at Camp Buluh, a wild female orangutan was also seen carrying a baby. She didn’t like being close to humans and so was only followed for two days. We hope for long and healthy lives for these babies.
Those born to the ex-captives are a sign that released orangutans are able not only to survive in the wild but to able to reproduce. Most of their long childhood is spent without playmates of the same age. An infant clambers around on mother for the first few years, and she might play a little, but apart from an occasional encounter with another mother, for example at a heavily laden fruit tree, young orangutans simply don’t have the opportunity to play with friends of the same age.
Please find out more about the Foundation here!
On the 1st of November a member of a local village reported to BKSDA that there was orangutan in the land behind his house. This is a quite a residential location with not many trees within a small degraded swamp area, so BKSDA and the Foundation staff where a little surprised to hear about this lost individual! The team traveled there immediately but still arrived late in the evening and in the dark. According to the owner of the house, that is the only time he’s ever seen an orangutan nearby – it is certain that this individual traveled there because of the amount of encroachment and decreasing suitable areas of good forest habitat.
On arrival the team conducted a site analysis – getting to know the area and the terrain before trying to get to the orangutan. As it was dark and rather swampy, the team had to return early the next morning whilst the orangutan was just waking up, so they could locate the individual – orangutans tend to move more in the middle and at the end of the day so that is always a good plan! So at 4am the team were back with a torch and made note of some routes through the trees so that they can get to – and if needed chase – the orangutan safely. At 5.30 the orangutan was found just waking up, so the team started to encourage the orangutan toward a more isolated section of trees to ensure the individual wouldn't be able to get away or cause the rescue to be any longer than needed. By 8.15 in the morning, the team had got the orangutan into a suitable tree and when at a suitable height in the tree, were able to dart the orangutan.
After a quick vet check at a base camp, noting the orangutan was a male around 10 years old, the individual was released into a proper forest home. From only a few tall trees to a whole forest of them – that’s got to result in one happy orangutan.
As we continue to successfully release orangutans in Borneo, Foundation staff and trustee also had some great news this week. Wawan and Ian Redmond both received prizes this week.
Wawan is one of the Foundation’s excellent team members in Borneo. Not only is he our financial officer, our skilled vet but also a very accomplished photographer.This week, we heard the fantastic news that he had been shortlisted with just eleven other entries in the Society of Biology annual photo competition. Based in London, the learned society had to pick just these twelve photos from almost 600 entries, all entered within the theme of ‘Feeding Life’.
His entry was entitled ‘Fight for live circle’ for which he received a special mention! Ashley Leiman was able to attend the Award Ceremony in October and acknowledge Wawan’s special mention. The photo and shortlisted entries will now be displayed at the Royal Institution during Biology Week and at the Society of Biology’s Parliamentary Reception in the House of Commons, as well as being printed in the Society of Biology’s 2014 calendar, which you will be able to view on their website soon. You can see the overall winners and read more on their website here.
Secondly, our friend and Foundation Trustee Mr Ian Redmond OBE won one of IFAW’s annual Animal Action Awards. The ceremony, presented by naturalist and broadcaster Bill Oddie, was hosted at the House of Lords by Baroness Gale. Working for over 30 years as a tropical field biologist and conservationist, with gorillas, elephants and apes, his efforts are well known. This week, these efforts were further acknowledged by receiving this ‘prestigious awards for their outstanding work from the International Fund for Animal Welfare’. Ashley Leiman attended the presentation with him… “The presentation went well and the award is very well deserved.”
It’s always exciting when friends of the Foundation are recognised with awards. We hope all the friends of the Foundation will be recognised for their support of orangutans and their habitat in some small way. We can’t wait to congratulate the winners of our photography competition, running from the 11th up to and including the 17th of November – Orangutan Awareness Week! The 13th is Orange for Orangutans day, so take as many orange, awesome photos as you can and get them in to us via info@orangutan.org.uk – the winner will be announced before the end of November, to be acclaimed orangutan-photo royalty.
On September the 24th, the Orangutan Foundation staff experience yet another new situation calling for the orangutan to be rescued. Through donations from World Orangutan Day, the Orangutan Foundation (one of six charities receiving funds from the day) is now able to carry out more rescues with this contribution. The story that unfolded shows that despite urban and agricultural development, there is still local compassion for this species.
One day in mid 2013, the residents of Sukamara were burning land in the area. Burning like this is used to clear land for agriculture and is incredibly common in Indonesia. Whilst burning though some vegetation, they heard noises and saw movement. They had found a wild young female orangutan. She was weak from inhaling smoke from the burning land and the residents could not see her mother anywhere. People who came from a local farm, owned by a Mr. Suriansyah, decided to take the orangutan to the owner’s house, away from the danger of this land conversion.
The orangutan was tied to the mango tree at Mr. Suriansyah’s house and allowed to get comfortable. Feeding her bananas and papaya – healthy enough, but not what she would receive in a wild diet – he reported that he had an orangutan in the police. He knew these mammals were protected and hoped the animal would be collected by groups with authority and ability to give her the best next stage in life.
After two months, Mr. Suriansyah was still feeding the female her fruit, and whilst she was safe in her tree, she was not free. All wild species deserve to live in their natural habitat. Since the police had not responded, he finally reported to the Forestry and plantation department. That’s when the Indonesian Government’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency of Central Kalimantan (BKSDA) and the Orangutan Foundation were called to help.
So on the 24th – a Tuesday - the female orangutan, named Adela, was released from her chain and taken in safety to facilities to check her health and age with the vets of each team. Adela is now about 5 years old and was very healthy after her two months on bananas and papaya, especially considering her restricted movement. She was immediately released at the reserve protected by the Orangutan Foundation.
With each donation, more forest is protected and more orangutans able to live the natural life they - and all species – deserve. Thank you to everyone who donated on World Orangutan Day and to you for reading this. Please find out more here and follow for daily forest news here.
Here is Adela in her previous mango-tree-home...
Individuals from injured and homeless to healthy and free in the wild!..
Melan was the orangutan who we rescued back in April, who had the head wound that required our vet to stitch the skin back together over the top of the head - a tricky job! This is the sort of wound that any individual would almost certainly die from if left untreated.
Fantastic news reached the London office from our staff in Indonesia; Melan was released on Friday the 20th of September, just last week.
She had been in a soft release cage for her safety while her wound was healing since April, healing and regaining her health before being ready to be released. As Ashley was there as the vet was stitching up her wound back in May, it was fantastic that Ashley and the STEPPES groups where there at during the release.
After she was let out of the release cage, she looked around for just a few seconds... Then she made straight for the trees at some speed - as she had never been away.
She will be followed for about ten days, to make sure she is confident in finding food and making nests! Hopefully after that point, our experienced staff will know she's going to be absolutely fine for the rest of her free-running-days. If they can keep up with her that is!
Recently the Ashley Leiman (Director and Trustee, Orangutan Foundation) presented a well received talk, entitled "Palm Oil Development and Biodiversity Conservation". Here is the message in brief, addressing the ever popular and confusing topic of Palm Oil within modern day orangutan and habitat conservation...
Some facts and figures...
Despite these major economic benefits, NGO’s have questioned the environmental and health costs involved. Of the 8 million hectares that are currently under oil palm in Indonesia, CIFOR estimated that at least half has been developed directly by deforestation.
The Indonesian Government hopes to expand the area under oil palm by an additional 4 million hectares so that the current production of CPO can be doubled to 40 million tons annually by 2020. This raises the questions: where will the additional 4 million hectares come from ?
Addressing the biodiversity of primary forests... Compared to oil palm plantations, how much biodiversity exists in primary forests? What options are available as a source of land to develop new areas for oil palm?
Koh & Wilcove (2008) showed that the number of species of birds and butterflies that were recorded in four locations... This shows that if primary forest is converted to oil palm, there is a 77% loss in forest birds, and an 83% loss in forest butterflies. It also shows that the 30-year old selectively-logged forest had largely recovered, to the extent that it contained 84% of the forest birds found in the primary forest.
So, secondary forests DO have the potential to recover all of the original biodiversity of their former primary condition... A review of studies covering a wider range of species by Fitzherbert and Danielsen have supported these results. They found an average of just 15 - 23% of forest species in oil palm.
From the biodiversity perspective, we can conclude that if new oil palm developments were to involve clear-felling existing primary or secondary forests to convert the land ready for planting with oil palm, this would result in devastation for the existing biodiversity, with an 80-85% loss of forest species.
What options are available? Where could there be a source of land to develop new oil palm plantations that do not destroy existing forest?
There is mounting evidence to show that there is already sufficient degraded ‘low-carbon’ lands that are suitable for oil palm, instead of converting existing forests. The World Resources Institute (WRI) has recently launched an initiative to map degraded lands in Indonesia. So far, WRI has identified more than 14 million hectares of such degraded lands in Kalimantan that may be suitable for oil palm production. Not all of this would eventually become productive, however, as some local communities may have alternative proposals.
In theory an area of State Forest Land that is released by the Ministry of Forestry for conversion to oil palm should not normally contain any forest, but the situation in practice is clearly different.
Many plantation companies report that they do have significant areas of forests within the boundaries of their concession. Taken together, these small islands of high biodiversity value provide an important compliment to the State’s total conservation land.
Speaking to people living and working in these areas...
There is a growing conflict developing between orangutans and humans in and around oil palm. This is especially so in Kalimantan. Orangutans that have had their forest home destroyed are often found in remnant forest patches nearby, from where they enter cultivated areas and are labelled as pests. There have been some well-documented cases recently of workers from plantations companies or local communities killing orangutans.
Rescue orangutans from plantations and surrounding forest patches, although fantastic to remove individuals from degraded areas, also raises some problems. Primarily, for example, that given the massive scale of conversion of natural forests in Kalimantan to oil palm or other land-use development, there are not enough suitable forests that can take such an exodus of captured orangutans.
There are solutions...
The Orangutan Foundation held a multi-stakeholder workshop. An important resolution was passed in which the participants committed to protect the orangutans within their concession and to exchange best practice experiences on mitigating conflicts with orangutans. To do this, the oil palm companies were urged to ensure they have a conservation plan to properly manage the biodiversity found in the remaining forests within their concession. This plan should be in accordance with the stipulations in the original environmental impact assessment (AMDAL) that should have been conducted before the Permit for Plantation was issued.
Palm oil certification on paper...
Great hope had also been invested in the RSPO as a means of producing palm oil without destruction of rainforests. Regrettably, the palm oil industry has not yet stepped up to the mark to achieve a majority of certified CPO, as currently only 15% of the CPO market comes from certified sources. In addition, there is growing concern that the RSPO’s certification process is not as rigorous as it should be.
This has prompted the establishment of a new group called the Palm Oil Innovation Group; whilst Greenpeace has urged progressive companies to go beyond the standards set by RSPO in their practices. It would be commendable, therefore, if the ISPO criteria included a ban on converting forests and had a stringent certification process.
Overall...
We hope the palm oil industry would consider using existing degraded low-carbon lands in Kalimantan, which have been identified as suitable for oil palm plantation, as this would provide an alternative land source for the industry in line with the Indonesian Government’s CPO target for 2020.
We believe this can this be achieved without further destruction of these magnificent rainforests and the spectacular biodiversity they contain. Help us via donating or finding out more via asking us anything at info@orangutan.org.
In the month of July, our staff have been working hard on fixing boats, and maintaining the camps and caring for seven young orangutans - and one sun bear!
Two orangutans have been successfully trans-located via 'hard release', whilst seven others (Melan, Yuli & Ivan, Lisna, Jupe, Rocky and Muda - more news on them soon!) remain in the latter stages of 'soft release'. By the end of August, all these individuals will be released and soon back into the wilds of life by them selves.
Hard release and soft release are terms given to the different types of orangutan release. Hard releases are shorter, easier and are more ideal for individuals of a good age and in good health. A well grown, healthy orangutan needs removal from private land or farm, the Orangutan Foundation vet gives any medical check ups needed and the Foundation staff release the individual straight back into the wild usually with a day before going back into the forest.
Soft releases occur when the individual needs some time for adjustment within a protected and secure area. The individual may be very young without a mother, may have been injured, require medical attention or a course of medicine over some days. In these cases, individuals can stay in the most appropriate cage available at one of our six release sites. Through a process of observation, time outside the cage and regaining health where needed, these individuals are then released into the wild.
The Foundation Indonesian office gets contacted about all sorts of animals! In the past we have helped a clouded leopard and sun-bear individuals before, and in the July our team rescued a young bear from near Sampit, east of Lamandau. It needed a few days to be watched over and some help in the first few days to adjust, but very soon our staff will be releasing it into the forest, following it at first - just like how we ensure the orangutans are doing well!
The two orangutans relocated in July were able to go straight back in the wild - such important work towards sustaining the wild populations of orangutans that are still surviving in the wild. The Orangutan Foundation has been supporting the orangutan reintroduction programme in the protected Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve since 2000. It is one of the few places in Indonesia where translocated and rescued orangutans can be released in the wild. We can release in several locations in the Lamandau River Wildlife Reserve for a hard release, and we have six orangutan release camps in the reserve for soft releases.
As soon as we hear about Melan's, Rocky's, Ivan's and Muda's final trip out into the wild we'll let you know - it won't be long till these four are out and about. You can read Melan's story here, a brave female featured in our last newsletter. To receive our email updates, please do sign up here!
Gliding through the waters of the Sekonyer River, one of the natural borders of Tanjung Puting National Park, many a traveller with the Orangutan Foundation has been entertained with stories of what lurks beneath their boat. But it’s not just the crocodiles that deserve our attention. One of the three research grants given by the Foundation and the national park in 2012 funded an investigation into the variety of fish species in the Sekonyer and one of its tributaries, the Sekonyer Kanan. Despite being part of the same river, the water conditions offer a strong contrast. The main Sekonyer suffers from pollution from an illegal gold mine in the park, visible even to the untrained eye in its far muddier, more opaque colour. From the six sampling sites, three in each section of the river, 42 species were identified, through body shape, length and height, the type and colour pattern of the scales and the shape of the fin and tailfin. Sketches were made of each fish and compared to those in guide books or previous research. Such research allows us to see the effect of water conditions on the fish – and therefore on the river ecosystem, which in turn affects the park itself.
Additionally, the education and outreach has been expanded and further contributes to capacity building via the fish ponds, built at Kampung Konservasi... Aquaponic Demonstration Plot
The Foundation has always committed to ongoing community development. As part of this, Yayorin (Indonesian NGO and longer time partners of the Foundation) decided to develop an aquaponic demonstration plot on Kampung Konservasi’s conservation village. Aquaponics by definition is the combination of aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics.
Since the construction, the ponds have been improved with bamboo guttering. The ponds have a high capacity to sustain a medium sized population grew well.
The main reason Yayorin did this was because there was quite a large area of peat swamp behind Kampung Konservasi - so the ponds seemed like a very good idea. Rice and vegetables wouldn't grow in that type of soil...
"As we already had two fish ponds, we thought an aquaponic demonstration plot was an ideal new development. The water that the fish live in becomes very rich in nutrients. It is then pumped from the fish pond into an organic bed, where plants growing extract the nutrients from the water. The water then drains back into the fish pond cleaned of excess nutrients and freshly oxygenated. It was a new concept of agriculture and would be something very interesting to try." Says Eddy , Yayorin staff.
From this, people are learning and later adopting these techniques on their own land. On average so far, 15 groups or individuals have taken the lessons learnt and put them into (continuing!) practice in their respective locations. The facilities at Yayorin now have a fantastic reputation within the local and surrounding communities. How amazing that fish , with a little hard work, can provide such a helping 'hand'.
Orangutan Foundation, 7 Kent Terrace, London, NW1 4RP +44 (0)20 7724 2912 info@orangutan.org.uk
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