The Great Orang Utan Project Blog

Aman's new ropes

2009-06-23T20:13:00.003+08:00

For those who have not met him yet, Aman is our large dominant male at Matang Wildlife Centre

In March 09, two of our volunteers presented us with the kind gift of a 200m roll of 2inch rope. This thick, industrial strength rope is perfect for orang-utan, and with it we were able to rope Aman’s outdoor enclosure. The smaller ropes that used to hang there have slowly been dismantled by Aman over the months, which has been great enrichment for him as orang-utans do love to destroy things, but has meant his enclosure has been devoid of rope for a while.

After roping his enclosure, Aman systematically worked his way around the area, testing each length of the new rope, and this initial investigation was caught on film and is available for viewing on our website. It obviously had no trouble supporting his weight, and on first test run it appears to have no obvious weak points. Orangutans will commonly check new structures, or new additions to structures, for any weaknesses or points that can be dismantled. The rope survived its first afternoon with Aman – let’s hope it withstands his might for many more months!

With kind thanks to Eric McCallum and Robin Smith for the gift of the rope.

Update on Chiam & Gante

2009-05-26T17:29:00.003+08:00

Chiam and Ghanti
Born on Feb 3rd 09, Chiam and Ghanti’s boys are now 3 and a half months old. It is truly fascinating to watch the differences in the approach to motherhood between the two apes. Ghanti is a first time mother, and is evidently cautious, wary and highly attentive to her baby. Whenever he makes the faintest of squeaks, she gives him her full attention, checks over every angle of him, runs her lips over his body as comfort as well as investigation, and keeps the baby close to her. She remains more reserved, and though has been revisiting the outside world, will mostly remain on high in nest or hammock, away from the distractions of staff and tourists and devoting attention to her baby.

Chiam is a different story. She is a second time mother, and perfectly aware that parenting is nothing to stress over. When watching her behaviour, you would not know she had a baby clinging to her unless you caught sight of him. When Chiam’s baby squeaks or begins to cry, she moves it further out of ear shot, generally onto her back. As a result, Chiam’s baby is showing more independence than Ghanti’s. Our May volunteers saw Chiam’s boy climbing to the top of the night dens, solo – with Chiam forming a carefully placed safety net below his every move. She is certainly also a devoted mother, as all female orang-utan are, and volunteers also saw her create something of a mobile with branches and leaves in her enclosure and hang it above her baby’s head, moving it to and fro with her baby thoroughly entertained below.

Separated for the first couple of months to allow the females to settle stress-free into motherhood, Chiam and Ghanti have recently been reintroduced to each other. They have shown great interest in each other’s babies, and there has definitely been a sense of showing off each son to the other mum. They each seem extremely pleased and proud, with both themselves and each other. Recently, Chiam was seen encouraging her baby to climb - she was placing his hands on a rope above her head and supporting his weight, lifting him up and assisting his holds. A few minutes later, Ghanti, who had obviously been watching this lesson closely, followed suit. She took up Chiam’s position and was placing her baby’s hands on the rope. Her baby was much more reluctant to explore the area away from his mother’s body, but this example of learning and imitation through observation was truly fascinating.

Nora's baby

2009-05-26T17:10:00.002+08:00

In August last year, a macaque was born at Matang and has been a firm favourite with volunteers since. Since March 09, this little male has become strong enough to demolish chicken wire, yet still remains small enough to fit through the stronger steel bars of his cage. He has enjoyed great enrichment exploring the neighbouring cages, and stealing any items that are light enough for him to pick up. Here are some photos of him mid-exploration for your viewing pleasure.

Slow Loris Release

2009-05-17T17:33:00.003+08:00

After being found on the road side, a slow loris was surrendered to Matang in May 09. These incredibly cute small mammals are primates, with opposable thumbs utilised for clinging tightly onto branches. As their name suggests, they are slow and steady locomotors. They dwell in the tree tops, and like the orangutan employ a three-to-one climbing technique - three limbs cling to branches at all times while one will locate the next step to be made. This makes for extremely safe and secure locomotion through the 40m+ canopy of Borneo.

These pictures show the animal emerging from its carry case - it lived up to its name and appeared in no rush to return to the trees. It then ambled through the undergrowth before vanishing from sight into Kubah National Park.

Pangolins Released

2009-05-17T17:20:00.004+08:00

Over the months of April and May, Matang took in two pangolins from surrounding communities, residents of which had found them around their homes and recognised that these animals would be better suited to the rainforest rather than human habitations and surrendered them to Matang. Pangolins are scaly anteaters - the scales of these animals are formed with keratin, the same substance that makes up our hair and fingernails. When threatened, pangolins curl up into a ball, and the edges of the scales are razor-like, providing extra protection. Pangolins are nocturnal, and well adapted to their diet of insects with a keen sense of smell and strong claws on their feet to allow them to break into rotten wood and termite mounds. They are also excellent climbers, looking far more at ease in the trees than on the ground where their long claws make walking slightly cumbersome. The two pangolins that found their way to Matang have now taken up residence in Kubah National Park.

Click here for a short video of one of the pangolins bidding a hasty retreat upwards

Porcupine Birth

2009-05-17T17:05:00.004+08:00

On 3rd May 2009 keepers at Matang discovered two new born porcupine at the enclosure. In April 2008, we welcomed a new porcupine into the existing population and he's clearly been doing a good job, with one infant born last year and now two more! There are two adult females currently at Matang and each of them gave birth to one young - it seems the porcupine followed the example of Chiam and Ghanti and sychronised their births!

Porcupine are born without their quills (luckily for their mums), but they soon develop these robust spines as a defense against potential predators. These photos were taken on the day they were born inside the nights dens of the enclosure, so you can see the quills are yet to form.

2009-03-25T16:51:00.002+08:00

Those who have been volunteers at Matang in the past will, of course, know the sun bears well. Four of the bears, Bernie, Corrine, Situ and Jo, used to live in the quarantine area and were moved into a large, outdoor area in January 08. Videos of the sun bears’ first steps into their new space can be viewed on our website. Since these bears moved, we have employed our volunteers to carry out behavioural monitoring of all the sun bears here. Matang is attempting to rehabilitate its sun bears, which involves training them out of unnatural behaviours, such as stereotypy, and trying to illicit and increase natural behaviours, such as climbing, breaking into logs and rotting wood, and foraging. We have been making changes to their enrichment, husbandry routine and feeding schedule, all the while monitoring their behaviour, to see if we are succeeding in changing and improving their behaviour. Our record climber thus far is Situ, who climbs now to 13.5m on a daily basis. We are slowly increasing the height at which food is hung to tempt the bears ever higher.

In the eight months that we have been able to monitor the bears, we have seen great improvements in their behaviour. All are comfortable climbers, with Situ excelling, all enjoy a meal of insects, an idea that visually repelled some of them when first introduced, and overall, the frequency of foraging has increased and stereotypy has decreased. Our bears also frequently display mating behaviour, culminating in successful pregnancy. We still have a long way to go, but are greatly encouraged by our initial data. It appears possible to teach sun bears natural behaviour, or more simply present the means to allow them to express what does, indeed, come naturally. It is also possible to decrease stereotypic frequency – our next challenge is to see if we can eliminate it. Our volunteers will continue to help us in this challenging mission.
The prize for Most Improved Bear is, at this stage, definitely awarded to Jo. When first moved to the outdoor enclosure, Jo refused to leave the night den area and face the open air for a number of weeks. She then progressed to venturing out for a day, but then seeking the comfort of the night den for the following two or three. She was very meek, lacked confidence and would steer well clear of the other three bears. Now, Jo is as keen to enter the outdoor enclosure as any other bear. She climbs with ease, forages for most of the day and shows great enthusiasm for tearing apart any wood in her presence – even iron wood platforms do not withstand her efforts. She has also forged a great relationship with Bernie. It is quite common to see these two bears play fighting and rolling around with each other, often continually throughout the day. This does not seem to be tied to mating specifically, as copulation attempts are rarely seen during their interaction. Sun bears are solitary animals in the wild, but here we can see that in the right conditions, individuals can gain great enjoyment from each other’s company. It really is a joy to watch them together, particularly in relation to Jo’s demeanour one year ago.

You can see a short video of Jo and Bernie in their night den on our website homepage clicking on the video link www.orangutanproject.com

Baby Bear

2009-03-21T00:00:00.001+08:00

For our past Matang volunteers we thought you would appreciate this lovely shot of 'Baby Bear'. Not such a baby any more, she's developing extremely quickly and though cute, is sporting large, white teeth and strong claws. We caught her napping one lunch time, and on waking she struck this wonderful pose for us. Enjoy!

Nora & Baby

2009-03-20T22:54:00.002+08:00

For the many volunteers who have asked, here is a photo of Nora's baby, taken at the end of January. You may be surprised at how little he has changed - indeed he has not grown as quickly as we expected. In character though, he has changed a lot and is now full of confidence and forever exploring and bouncing around his enclosure. He continues to win the affections of all volunteers he meets.

Ghanti and her newborn

2009-03-06T21:23:00.003+08:00

This week, Ghanti has been out and about in her larger enclosure, finally leaving the comfort of her sack. It's meant we've been able to get some wonderful photos of her and her newborn. Ghanti is looking extremely comfortable as a first time mum, and watching her attentiveness to her infant is truly fascinating and highly touching.

We have also uploaded a video of Ghanti breast feeding her newborn so don't forget to watch this too - just look for the video section on our homepage http://www.orangutanproject.com/

Mothers and Babies

2009-02-26T22:04:00.003+08:00

We are pleased to bring you another image of Chiam's young boy. Mother and baby are doing extremely well - Chiam behaves completely naturally, almost as if there is no newborn clinging to her side.

The picture of the sack you see is in fact Ghanti and her newborn - Ghanti chose to remain in her sack for the majority of her first week as a new mum, which is why we have been slow in introducing her baby boy to the world.

Though we have now managed to photograph her up and about and feeding her newborn. Ghanti has been particularly lethargic following the birth, typical of any first time mum. Her and the baby are in really good health and her energy levels now seem to be on the increase.

We will of course add more photo's as soon as they are available

Interview with the Great Orangutan Project manager, Leo Biddle, about the 2 new orangutan babies

2009-02-10T19:10:00.004+08:00

We interviewed Leo Biddle, the Borneo manager at WOX’s Great Orangutan Project in Sarawak and how the new orangutan moms and tots are getting on.

So Leo you must be very proud, are the babies healthy?

48 hours from birth there are no complications so far. It is everything we hoped for. Babies are not separate from their moms and remain clung on to their mothers 24/7 as you would expect, but babies support their own weight. They don’t cry, they do make some noises. Also did you know that both baby orangutan came out blonde. They will go deeper orange as they get older, but for now we have blonde baby orangutans!

How are the orangutan mothers coping with motherhood?

Gante (one of the mother orangutans) and baby nearly the entire time have been in guni sacks. She carries the sacks around with her constantly, possibly using them to keep warm. Gante is not as social as Chiam (the other lucky mom) so stays hidden in sacks. They are both well and healthy. They are not eating much but we did expect this. We have been given them a wide selection of foods to choose from - an open buffet for our precious moms. (Chiam is also mother to Mamu who is also at our centre and going to school for jungle training).

What is the reaction if any from other orangutans?

Doris (our teenage orangutan) sees the team and keepers going in and out of the maternity enclosures and gets very jealous almost saying “hey there I want some attention!” (very typical of Doris).

Orangutans from the start were very aware that babies were coming. You could tell by their body language. On the day of birth they could smell the afterbirth. Because we require more space for the moms we have moved the orangutans around. We do what we can in limited space. So other orangutans are getting a bit frustrated.

George, the father of the two baby boys, is highly protective. Other than me and members of the WOX team, when people he doesn’t know pass by, he starts barking and getting angry. “Back off my babies boys!”. I myself growl at people wanting to see babies also…my own paternal instincts kicking in.

How do you create a post-natal environment for the benefit of the orangutan moms and orangutan babies?

We increased warmth to the enclosures with more guni sacks, increase leaves, blankets so the orangutan moms can build nests. The idea is by keeping moms warm we keep orangutan babies warm. We keep quiet. We have increased food supply and a good selection of foods for our moms. They seem to take to the leafy greens so we have more of that. Gante and Chiam have a choice of night dens and enclosures and can move freely between them. We do what we can to keep them happy. And we constantly monitor them. The moms seem very responsible.

You personally have spent so much time with your “orangutan ladies”, how do you feel?

I don’t know if I should say this, but I’m really paranoid. Infant mortality rates are high in any centre. It’s a great concern in the world of orangutan conservation. New borns are weak and susceptible to diseases. So we are going all out to make this work. You have my all.

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Thanks to Leo, Tasha, Alvin, Mazrul, Hilary and the rest of the WOX team and SFC team working round the clock to keep our new moms and babies happy and healthy. It’s challenging times in Borneo but a great privilege to be part of the miracle of a synchronised birth of two baby orangutans on the same day at the same centre.

So there you have it orangutan people, so now get off the blog and get on a plane to Borneo. Be part of the experience and join us on the Sarawak Orangutan Volunteer Programme during the next months or take advantage of our Orangutan Baby Special – 2 week volunteer programmes for May and June 2008.

It’s our way of connecting you with baby orangutans. This moment is extremely rare. To be in the same vicinity of baby orangutans is magic. Packed with emotions, these next few months will require people with passion and belief that orangutans will make it through. We have increased the orangutan population by a tiny fraction, but it’s on the way up and you, the volunteer community help us make this happen.

On the Orangutan Baby Special – you will volunteer at Matang Wildlife Centre in Sarawak Malaysia Borneo and you will also be working on improving the lives of resident animals such as sunbears, crocodiles, etc and witness the challenges our conservation team face keeping new born baby orangutans healthy.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE WILL BE NO TOUCHING OR CARRYING OF ANY ORANGUTANS. PLEASE RESPECT THE MOTHERS FEELINGS AND THE ALPHA MALE FATHER, GEORGE WHO, LIKE ANY PROUD DAD, WILL BE VERY IRRATE IF YOU TOUCH HIS BABY BOYS. WE ASK FOR PASSION WITH RESPONSIBILITY. THANK YOU.

Double Birth at Matang Wildlife Centre

2009-02-04T16:57:00.003+08:00

We are ecstatic to report that today, both Chiam and Ghanti, adult orangutan females, gave birth to baby boys. Chiam's baby was noticed first as volunteers were about to start cleaning her night den in the morning, and Ghanti gave birth that lunch time. Both mothers and babies are doing really well and appear to have taken naturally to motherhood, which we expected of Chiam, a second-time mother, and is great to see from Ghanti, who has given birth for the first time.

It is quite incredible that both females gave birth on the same day - at least is will be easy to remember their birthday!

Matang Wildlife Centre continues to improve

2008-12-03T23:25:00.005+08:00

This month, the quarantine area went through a full revamp as each quarantine cage was redone. We had some disgruntled monkeys whilst the ironwork was welded and the shut-offs remade. This is yet another step forward for Matang Wildlife Centre in its quest to become a centre of excellence for Sarawak Forestry. New arrivals now have better facilities and can expect better care.

A very special orangutan rehabilitation moment - Doris the teenager

2008-11-10T22:39:00.007+08:00

In the orangutan conservation world, it is generally a rule of thumb that only baby orangutans should be rehabilitated back into the wild. Teenage orangutans are considered to old and unmanageable for the rehabilitation process. We have experts in the past that have failed to achieve anything with our very own teenager, Doris. Doris was so humanised after years of captivity that rehabilitation was considered impossible by many. One expert even diagnosed her with vertigo!

However, on Wednesday 22nd of October, a date etched into orangutan conservation history, the Great Orangutan Project's very own Leo Biddle, along with Sarawak Forestry's courageous keepers, Hillary and Eddie, managed to spend a night in the forest at the 'Piers Mott' Ranger Station with teenage orangutan, Doris. Here's the update from Leo himself:

"On Wednesday 22nd we managed to convince Doris to spend her first night ever in the jungle, at the newly completed Piers Mott Ranger Station previous volunteers have worked so hard to build.

Doris out in the jungle

For much of the last year Doris has been going out on excursions into the forest under supervision, but until Wednesday has always been brought back to the orangutan dens at night.

Unlike Ting San and Mamu, who have spent many nights out already, we have been waiting for Doris’ confidence in the forest to increase before making her take this important next step towards eventual release.

At points in her training prior we have kept her in the jungle until the light begins to fade before bringing her back in. On these occasions she has generally made it emphatically clear that she does not wish to remain in the jungle at night and Doris’ size and considerable strength are very effective at making points emphatically!
A part of this is due to fear of the unfamiliar; the jungle at night is very different to during the day with different noises and insects – indeed when we have taken previous volunteers on night walks or to camp out there, several of them have found it to be a frightening or challenging experience…

Another factor of course is a break from the routine. Captive orangutan, just like other animals including humans, can quickly become habituated to a daily regime prevalent to their confinement and despite our continuing efforts on enrichment for the last 9 years – Doris has slept at night in a cage.

When she was first taken into the jungle back in December 2007 it was a wholly new experience for her and one that took her time to adjust to; until now it would be fair to say that she enjoys her days spent in jungle training. In time we hope to persuade her that sleeping in the jungle at night can be equally enriching and rapidly become routine.

Doris seemed to be suspicious when we hoisted her over her enclosure wall much later than normal; but presented with the prospect of accompanying three of her favourite keepers into the jungle she was content to follow.

On arrival at the new station, Doris acted as though it had always been there; promptly going up to the door and even knocking!

Knock knock, who's there? Doris at the Piers Mott Ranger Station

Shortly after arriving at the station the light rapidly began to fade; aside from a few gentle shoves to remind us we really ought to be heading back and slightly more wistful stares back in the direction we had came from Doris was surprisingly relaxed at the impending night out of doors.

We later all agreed that she probably knew what we were taking her out for around the time we lowered a rope over her wall back at the centre.

Wistful stares

We’d half expected that Doris would forcibly demand to spend the night in the ranger station with us when it got dark; but wanted to avoid setting a precedent. So we were pleased that after a half-hearted attempt to break in she promptly climbed onto the roof and went to sleep.

The whole night passed uneventfully and we were woken at first light by Doris knocking on the door again.

The morning after

Doris was in exceptionally high spirits and showed no signs of distress or fatigue from her night out, in fact it was our intention to take her straight back to the centre as soon as we woke, however Doris seemed intent on staying in the jungle even taking to the trees of her own volition.

So after feeding her on her new platform that the Orangutan Release group in September built we spent most of the morning letting her climb before bringing her back in.

Doris gets used to the new feeding platform

On the 10th of November we plan to bring her back out to the ranger station with the centre's baby orangutan, Ting San and Mamu, and keep the three of them there for a one week trial before eventually releasing them all there under 24 hour supervision.

We can confirm that Doris does not have vertigo

We’ll be sure to keep you posted with how it all goes."

Click here for The Great Orangutan Project website - Volunteer Projects for All

Great Orangutan Project looks to Indonesia

2008-11-08T18:58:00.005+08:00

For the last few years, The Great Orangutan Project has focused its activities in Borneo, but on the Malaysian side on the island. The reason has been simple, the environmental laws are enforced relatively well which means that protected orangutans have a far better chance of survival.

Just across the border, in Indonesia, the destruction has continued unabated meanwhile. The terms "corruption, collusion and nepotism" are famous in Indonesian society, and for a very good reason, because they are rife. I heard recently a statistic that 70% of protected national parks have been illegally logged, and it would seem that this is done with the collaboration of the army. A sad state of affairs and a deeply depressing one.

Against this backdrop, many conservation charities have been working hard to rescue orangutans that have been the victims of this habitat destruction, and black market for pets, in Indonesia. They have done a fantastic job but without backing from the local Government it has been a losing battle. Indonesia is a vast area of land divided into thousands of islands. It is not easy to manage such a country and so power is devolved, which means that each province has its own Government, like the United States of America that is divided into States. Each province has its own powers, the a lot of flexibility to ignore laws from the main Government in Jakarta. Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, is particular rife with corruption which has made the task of conservation extremely difficult.

With all this in mind, The Great Orangutan Project has decided to get involved in a very difficult situation. By staying out of Indonesia we will not be able to make any change. Only together can we overcome the corrupt and illegal practices that turn most Indonesians' stomachs. We are now looking for volunteer projects in Indonesia and we hope to start something in 2009.

There is hope. Attention is focused on Indonesia. It is widely recognised that Indonesia is the world's 3rd worst polluter for greenhouse gases (after the USA and China) because of deforestation and forest fires. Many people are pressurising the Indonesia Government and Provincial authorities. The Indonesians voted for a president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2004. He vowed to tackle corruption that has plagued Indonesia for years. So far he has had some notable successes and the head of the police has arrested hundreds of illegal loggers, including some big names. The destruction is not over yet, but there is hope and The Great Orangutan Project thinks this is a good time to make a move. Stayed tuned, there may soon be a way for you to volunteer and make a difference for the orangutans in the heart of the destruction.

Click here for The Great Orangutan Project website
Volunteer Projects for All

The Life of a Volunteer at Zoo Negara (National Zoo of Malaysia)

2008-10-20T17:08:00.003+08:00

At The Great Orangutan Project, we also work in zoos as part of our drive to help promote conservation education and animal enrichment . Here is the experience of one of our volunteers, Lucy Fisher.

As Lucy was the only zoo assistant this month she chose to spend her first 2 weeks with the other orangutan group (Orangutan Encounters Project) at the Ape Centre. She therefore contributed to all the enrichment activities there as well as working really hard at cleaning. After the Orangutan Encounters group left she helped complete the following activities around the rest of the zoo……

Painting concrete tunnels in the tiger exhibit
At the request of the carnivore section supervisor we painted the ugly concrete tunnel in the Sumatran tiger exhibit in an attempt to make it look a bit more natural. We used a weather proof base coat and then spray painted using leaves as stencils to try and make the concrete blend in with the rest of the exhibit.

Before

After

Cleaning out the rat and mouse cages at Reptiles
They might only be food for the reptiles but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a decent quality of life. We found the rats and mice in a terrible state so spent an afternoon cleaning out three big holding tanks so we could transfer the rodents out of the trays they were being kept in. It was a horrible job and we removed around 50 bodies from the tanks and trays, not to mention about a million fleas. But seeing the rats settled in a new, clean and spacious home (right) made it all worth while. Well done to Lucy for getting stuck in and doing a job that many others wouldn’t.

Mammal Kingdom
We spent two days at mammal kingdom, mostly helping to scrub out night dens but also carrying out a few enrichment activities. This included making blood ice blocks for the hyenas, fruit and meat ice blocks for the binturongs and a fish ice bock for the otter that doesn’t go out. The hyenas were a bit unsure about the blocks (right), and the binturongs didn’t touch theirs though they were salivating loads and smelling around the blocks they didn’t seem to be able to figure them out. Looks like we need another idea for binturong enrichment! The real success though was the otter (left) who got so excited about his ice block I thought he might pop with joy! We put it in his water trough and he had great fun trying to catch it, squeaking and squealing the whole time. As it defrosted he realised there were prawns in it which he wasn’t sure about at first but eventually decided were delicious. The next day Lucy made a new ice block by stuffing a piece of bamboo with prawns and freezing it. This was even more of a challenge but the little otter loved every minute! So rewarding!

Our final project at mammal kingdom was to install a couple of bamboo feeders into the racoon exhibit. Racoons are very resourceful and good at figuring out puzzles, so we took two pieces of giant bamboo and using a drill made a few paw-sized holes in the different segments. We then hung one vertically and one horizontally in the exhibit. The racoons were even faster than we thought and had their paws in the holes before we’d even finished hanging the feeders! We filled the bamboo with pieces of fruit and meal worms and stood back as the racoons tried to get their tasty treats. The horizontal feeder was fairly easy, but they found the vertical one more challenging as it kept moving around. It was fun to watch and hopefully we can encourage the keepers to put food in the bamboo on a regular basis so the racoons have to work for it.

Ice blocks for Otters
As well as making ice blocks for the otter at mammal kingdom, we also made fish and prawn blocks for the 8 otters in the exhibit. We gave the otters their treats on hari raya to a large crowd of tourists who really enjoyed watching the otters’ antics as they first stampeded into the pool and then chased the frozen blocks around in the water. Lucy also made one giant blood ice block which we gave to the Sumatran tigers. She worked hard during her month with us and will now go on to spend her second month at Taiping zoo.

Doris

2008-09-10T04:20:00.004+08:00

When The Great Orangutan Project first started our orangutan volunteer programme with Sarawak Forestry at Matang Wildlife Centre in 2005, many experts were convinced that Doris, a young adult female of 6 years of age at the time, would spend the remainder of her days in captivity. The logic was that she had been too close to humans, that she would always return to the safety and comfort of the centre. Outwardly, she was also terrified of the jungle which led one expert to declare she had vertigo!

However, for us the choice was simple. There is little conservation outcome to be gained by leaving a happy Doris in an enclosure to wave at passing tourists – so, if we can manage it safely for her, she would go back out.

3 years on, and a lot of time-in-the-jungle afterwards, we and the staff at Matang Wildlife Centre are convinced that this wonderful orangutan has a future in the trees. Doris continues to make her forays into the jungle and her behaviour there is improving markedly; however there is still a long way to go. Unlike other orangutans, Doris does not want a jungle existence. This has been witnessed numerous times in other orangutans at other rehabilitation centres and it can be overcome.

Doris with young Mamu, a 3 year old female. Pairing orangutans together is a successful strategy which increases their confidence to stay out in the jungle and allows them to share survival techniques.

Previously the issue had been that Doris would panic, turn and make a run for the centre, often at the fringe of the jungle boundary. The solution has been to physically carry her far enough into the jungle that it is too late to turn back. Given the opportunity, she will face up to any challenge if she is with someone familiar to her.

At first we needed to only carry her 100m or so and she would be happy after that to follow on foot; but as time wore on, and she had grown more familiar with the territory, she was simply walk back to the centre. Occasionally she would go back into her night den and shut the door.

Cunning was needed. Doris is almost fully grown and extremely strong and therefore cannot be allowed to wander around the centre unchecked. At the start of the month we were finding it necessary to carry Doris 2-3km into the jungle before being able to put her down, not easy with a 47kg orangutan. Until about midway through we decided to use the volunteers as bait for her. Sending them up ahead with food was generally enough to motivate Doris into exploring the jungle owing to the novelty of the situation. This will discontinue as we need Doris to get over humans but at the moment it seems to work wonderfully in getting her to explore her natural habitat.

Doris is doing very well. She is nowhere near as scared as she initially was. When out she will eventually wander off and even climb a tree. All of the other orangutans are happy and healthy and the centre is looking at how we can get these adults out into the trees as well as the adolescents. Together they will learn the skills of the jungle, and eventually live wild. Orangutans are far from extinct in the rainforests of Sarawakian Borneo.

Rehab Training for the Young Orangutans

2008-09-03T01:19:00.006+08:00

Our two young orangutan, Ting San and Mamu, continued to go out most days as a pair for their jungle training at our nearby feeding platforms with two of our rehabilitation officers Hillary and Jugah. Mamu has practically doubled in bodyweight since our orangutan expert recommended separating her from her companions in her enclosure and has improved tremendously.

Though still young, Mamu continually impresses us all with her degree of jungle expertise, and serious rehab has proven to be the best thing to ever happen to Ting San.

Unless the weather is particularly bad the two of them will generally stay out all day in the surrounding forest generally coming back in around 4 or 5 in the early evening; Mamu’s affinity for the tree tops is successfully rubbing off on Ting San and she now spends less and less time seeking out human contact at ground level and emulating Mamu’s superior climbing technique in the canopy.

Things are extremely positive for the both of them.

Providing Alternative Incomes for Local Communities

2008-09-03T00:08:00.009+08:00

Matang Wildlife Centre has begun an agro-farming scheme for the local community with the offspring of some of its resident deer population.

The Samba deer breed exceptionally well in captivity and Matang Wildlife Centre is currently somewhat overpopulated with them. Rather than castrating the resident population the Sarawak Forestry Corporation and The Great Orangutan Project have formulated a plan to donate breeding pairs of deer along with the necessary training, licenses and infrastructure to farm them; to the communities around our park boundaries.

This will provide the local community with a sustainable source of income and food source and consequently reduce the pressure on poorer communities to resort to illegal means of protein supplement.

It is hoped that this community outreach program will not only be of direct benefit to the communities themselves but will foster a greater sense of understanding and assistance between them and the National Park.

By fostering goodwill between all parties and the derived economic benefit, it is hoped that the communities around the park will be more engaged in the conservation work at Matang Wildlife Centre and will be willing to support our planned animal release and training program. It is envisioned that this could be in the form of additional security, monitoring and reporting on animals released into the park and by removing some of the threats to certain species from human predation.

Ilford & Kingston Primary School Contribute to the Great Orangutan Project

2008-07-15T12:31:00.003+08:00

Dear Children & Staff of Ilford & Kingston Primary School

On behalf of Ting San (Gus) and the staff at Matang Wildlife Centre; I would like to thank you all very much for your time and effort to help Ting San; and congratulate you all on your swimathon raising such a wonderful contribution. For all to know, Emily and Tom Clifford from Ilford & Kingston Primary School of year 5 and 6, had visited Ting San (Gus) at Matang Wildlife Centre in Sarawak Malaysian Borneo under the Great Orangutan Project. At that time, Ting San was an orphaned baby and rescued and brought to the centre for care. Emily and Tom returned and inspired their school to continue the fundraising. After raising funds last year the children have yet again made the effort for Ting San, this time collecting £631 from a swimathon at the school.

Ting San is doing very well in her rehabilitation training and she is much bigger now than when Tom and Emily last saw her; almost twice the size.

Ting San has grown enough for her to now be taken out into the jungle everyday with another orangutan her own age, Mamu, where they have both continued to develop their natural behaviour.

In February and March she spent her first nights away from the centre; sleeping in specially made nests suspended high in the trees with Mamu; with one of our rehabilitation officers sleeping on the ground below.

In April they both stayed out in the jungle for 20 nights in a row! Since their rehabilitation is progressing so well; we plan to move them into the jungle permanently around August/September time.

They will be taken to a remote ranger station deep in the jungle by our keepers who will feed and keep watch over them 24 hours a day for the next few years until they are ready to live on their own.

Before we do release Ting San into the trees we intend to fit her with a tracking device; so that we can follow her progress in the jungle. Whilst we are still finalising what sort of device is best to use; I think it would be an excellent idea to use your contribution towards it when the time comes. This way we can send you all updates on where she is and what she is doing even after it becomes too difficult for us to keep up with or photograph her.

I include some up to date photographs of Ting San and her friend Mamu training in the jungle and we will keep you updated from time to time on how she is doing and where she is.

Thank you Ilford and Kingston School, once again for thinking of and caring for such a special infant so far away from your homes. Kindness and help like yours touches all of us here very much and gives us confidence for a long and happy life for Ting San in the trees.

Warm regards

The Great Orangutan Project team
On behalf of Ting San

Matang goes from strength to strength

2008-05-09T20:54:00.005+08:00

Since January, the volunteer project at Matang Wildlife Centre has moved into hyperdrive. The outcomes are coming thick and fast. The two babies, Ting San and Mamu are being taken everyday into the jungle to climb trees and they even make nests and stay out. Doris is often taken out into the jungle as well. Many think she is too humanised and too old, but Sarawak Forestry and the Great Orangutan Project are determined to make the effort to rehabilitate all the orangutans.

In the meantime, Sarawak Forestry are continuing to develop Matang Wildlife Centre. New enclosures are being built by the volunteers and staff to provide the best care and enrichment possible. There are also more animal species slated for rehabilitation as well. Animals in Sarawak are rejoicing!

Which leads nicely onto the sunbear project, the world's first rehabilitation and release for the rare Malaysian bear. Everything is moving forwards apace. After having been released into their new enclosure, their rehab is going better than expected. Most of the bears have now learnt to climb trees in the search for food, a vital behaviour for life in the wild. They are being fed insects and natural foods of all kinds, also indispensable if they are to live free. If all continues to go well, we will be selecting the best candidates for release, putting a radio collar onto them, and following them by satellite tracking.

As ever, the volunteer project continues to make other small but essential changes to the Centre. The trail and release sites have been steadily improved, with bridges and lodge being reconstructed. Vet care has improved, enrichment and husbandry continues at a high standard. Even the platforms that were poorly built and have decayed so quickly have been replaced.

With Sarawak Forestry leading, the volunteer program supporting with sweat, effort and love, Matang Wildlife Centre has rapidly turned into one of the world's best orangutan and tropical animal rescue ad release centres.

Aman hits the headlines

2008-02-26T20:48:00.002+08:00

Our beloved Aman featured in the London newspaper, The Metro, today showing the world what fantastic progress he is making. Before his cataract operation in May last year Aman was blind but his eyesight is now fully restored and he's making the most of it...

"Meet Aman, king of the swingers and – thanks to a pioneering eye operation – a lean, mean love machine. The 20-year-old orangutan is feeling like a new ape after living in darkness for half his life. He's lost 10kg, toned up and chilled out – all of which makes him quite a catch in ape circles....." Read the full story on the Metro Online: Orangutan's got the look of Love

Or click here to find out more about Aman

Into the Enclosure

2008-02-08T01:08:00.000+08:00

More updates on the sun bears progress by current volunteer Heather:

Monday 4th February

The time had arrived to let the bears out into their new enclosure, the decision was made to allow the less dominant bears Corrine and Jo out first to try and lessen territorial disputes. Food was placed on the outside ladders to tempt them down.

However only Corrine ventured out as Jo was still too nervous. Corrine walked around eating and licking up the honey, she spent about 5 minutes out not venturing very far but certainly not pacing and quite at ease. Her entry back into the dens was through Jo’s door and there was a moment of concern when for the first time the two bears met. Fortunately, there was not a sound they acted as if they had been together all their lives. Although Jo never made it outside a big step had been made in introducing them to each other.

Next Bernie was let out. He was still on his own as Situ had not yet been moved. He is the dominant male and when Corrine approached him there was a fight which probably sounded worse than it was, but thankfully there were no injuries. After what seemed a long time, but in fact was only a few minutes, the two bears were exploring the enclosure once again as if they had always been together. It was very emotional to see them finally outside.

I watched them wondering to myself what they were thinking and whether they were enjoying the moment as much as myself and all the volunteers that were watching them.

On Tuesday Sarawak Forestry resident rehabilitation officer, John Colam, successfully darted Situ and with the help of volunteer Belle, who is a veterinary nurse, and she was moved safely to her new den.

Bernie has been let into the outdoor enclosure to allow us access to their night den and to give Situ time to recover peacefully. The whole procedure of moving these bears to their new home has been amazing, better than could ever of been expected. It was done quietly and professionally with very little stress involved. I feel it was a very touching moment for everybody to witness these bears have their first taste of freedom and I know that all previous volunteers and staff will be thrilled that everything has gone well.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this possible.

We managed to catch everything on video. Visit our YouTube channel if you can't see them

Knocking out the Sun bears

Sun bear recovery

Sun bears see the sun

Heather

Sunbears Move to New Enclosure

2008-02-05T01:29:00.000+08:00

Here's a report on the sunbear move to thier new enclosure by current volunteer Heather

It’s nearly a year since I first came to Borneo and finally 3 out of the 4 sunbears in quarantine have been moved to their new home. Situ a female sunbear was the only one who failed to respond to the anesthetic and has to be left for a few days to recover before she can be sedated again. The other 3 Bernie, Jo and my favourite Corinne were successfully moved without any stress.

They were sedated and then the vet allowed me to assist him with his health checks, they were weighed first and then he gave them a complete health check including a sample of blood to be analysed.

The weather was horrendous and in order to keep them dry and warm we transported them the short distance to their new home in a wheelbarrow covered in hessian sacks. One of this months volunteers, Bella, is a veterinary nurse and she was able to stay with all the bears while they were recovering. All 3 of them woke up after about an hour and surprised us all by being extremely calm and well adjusted to their new surroundings. They are now able to see each other through connecting grills in their night dens and it was expected that there would be some aggression when they saw each other but after a few growls of disapproval they left each other alone.

Once they had all recovered we left them alone to get used to their new surroundings in peace. Situ appeared quiet enough alone in her quarantine cage and all had gone well.

We returned Saturday morning to find everything very peaceful, I had been concerned that Situ and Bernie may have been distressed at having been separated but they were both fine and all bears had eaten well. Situ showed no signs of missing Bernie in fact seemed to be quite content on her own, all the bears had recovered well and once Situ joins them next week we shall make plans to let them outside into their new enclosure, it has been a long time since these bears have been outside.The vet and our resident Conservation Officer John were great and very professional it is a great relief that with their expertise all went well.

More updates soon....

Heather