Sumatran Orangutan Numbers Double!
Sumatran Orangutan Numbers Double!

Sumatran Orangutan Numbers Double!

Samboja Lestari Orangutan Volunteer Project

Samboja Lestari Orangutan Volunteer Project

12 - 26 Nights from $1,869.00

Work on enrichment for 112 orangutans and 72 sun bears at the world-renowned Samboja Lestari Rescue Centre

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The Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Sanctuary Season is Back with a Bang

The Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Sanctuary Season is Back with a Bang

The Nyaru Menteng season is back, and our first groups have hit the ground running. Take a look at what volunteers have been up to and hear from volunteer coordinator Matt about a special current project!

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Wild Aspirations: Meet the Orangutans Ready for Life Beyond Samboja Lestari

Wild Aspirations: Meet the Orangutans Ready for Life Beyond Samboja Lestari

Six orangutans from Samboja Lestari are being released into the wild. Meet the newest forest-bound adventurers and join us in celebrating this inspiring milestone in orangutan rehabilitation!

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The 10 Best and Worst Mothers in the Animal Kingdom on Mother's Day

The 10 Best and Worst Mothers in the Animal Kingdom on Mother's Day

With Mother's Day around the corner, we're taking a look at 10 of the best and worst mothers in the animal kingdom. Discover how these diverse species craft their own survival strategies through their unique, both nurturing and questionable, parenting techniques!

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Posted by Connor Whelan on 11th Apr 2016 2 mins

Last week we were able to bring you some amazing news about tiger populations that are on the rise, and this week we can do something similar for the Sumatran orangutan!

Recently, scientists from John Moores University in the UK searched new areas of forest on the island of Sumatra. They surveyed regions which are 1,500m above sea level as previous surveys assumed that none of the Great Apes lived above 900m. They also looked at areas that had been logged and were shocked to find orangutans were slowly beginning to repopulate them!

Sumatran Orangutan

Serge Wich, leader of the survey, said about the results: “The chance that there will be zero [Sumatran orangutans] in the near future is certainly less now”, but Mr Wich was quick to also add that this does not mean that the orangutans population was growing, rather that the survey had simply looked at areas in which is what previously thought that no orangutans lived.

The team now estimates that there are 14,600 orangutans living in the wild compared to the 6,600 they estimated back in 2008. They also concluded that previous estimates drastically underestimated the animals range, and it is actually 2.56 times as big as previously thought.

This is some fantastic news to wake up to on a Monday morning but everyone needs to remember that the job is nowhere near finished. The Sumatran orangutans have more of a foothold than we thought, but without the support and help of humans they will struggle to keep this going. You can see how you can help the Sumatran orangutan’s cousin the Bornean orangutan here!

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