Doris

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

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.

Ilford & Kingston Primary School Contribute to the Great Orangutan Project

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

Aman hits the headlines

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

Doris in a tree after 3 days!

It’s only a quick visit to the tree but it is her first – this is massive progress for an orangutan her age and it’s only her 3^rd day of rehabilitation and visiting the jungle. We were expecting it to be a month before she got this far.

To start off with we had trouble getting Doris to let go of me so the two other keepers, Hilary and Jugah, moved to the second feeding platform to tempt her with coconut…but this is quickly spotted by Ting San.

After an hour of me ignoring her and Jugah calling her we had a break through and Doris touched her first tree. After this Hilary prepared some more bait so we could take this into the trees ourselves. After watching me up a tree for a long time and thinking about it she watches Hilary go up too and then amazingly she climbs a series of ropes up into her first tree and is high off the ground.

She comes back down for reassurance and although only a short visit this progress is huge.

Keep your eye for glimpses of Ting San whose happily plays whilst we tempt Doris.

Watch the videos here:

Or visit our Orangutan Project Channel on YouTube

Leo

Doris' Jungle Training Day One

The most exciting thing to happen this month….

…..Doris took the first of several journeys into the jungle!

We’ve started ta snippet of some of the videos we took on the first day to the site

A word of caution before you watch though, don’t be expecting a free Willy or born free moment. Rehabilitation of orangutan is a notoriously labour intensive project; Doris doesn’t make a bolt for the first tree she sees and brachiate smoothly off to freedom….
In fact we’re not even successful in getting her to let go of us. What you’ll see is the very first baby step in getting her out and into the treeline; after 7 years, for Doris, it is an amazingly big one.

What will follow is hopefully weeks rather than months of getting her to acclimatize to what for her is an alien environment and grow in confidence; untill Hillary and Jugah can teach her what she needs to know.

I only found out as we sat on the platform that even as an infant the keepers were never able to get Doris away from the centre & on subsequent attempts we haven’t always been able to get her as far as we did the first time. However from now on every day Doris will be going out and even if to start with it is only for a single minute and a single yard into the jungle as long as in a week’s time we can make it two, rehabilitation is a step closer.

A lot of people have told us in the past that they do not think Doris can be rehabilitated, that it will be too hard, as she’s too old and too human-centric and I’ve always categorically refused to accept this. I’ve never based my rebuttal on scientific expertise or experience (though I pay them close heed) but on something older than science. Anyone that has met me will know I have a bit of a soft spot for Doris and that she was the first orangutan I connected with when I came to Borneo.

I see Doris’ wings and for all the pleasure it brings me to be around her it pains me daily to know that they’ve been prematurely clipped by captivity. With forestry’s finest, Hillary, her lifelong friend, Jugah, and with the continued funding & indefatigable help volunteers bring I would encourage all others equally enraptured with Doris to watch this year’s progress and see if we can’t teach her to fly again.

Personally I was so lucky to have been a part of that first day, we wanted Jugah to take her up as he is to be her mentor, but when they tried the day before and a few times that morning the centre was too busy with visitors or Doris was just too shy to come out.

It was chance that kept me delayed at a meeting all morning and luck in later passing a man on the road selling (expensive) durian. Chance and luck together brought me Alvin and Eddie to that platform to try one last time for the day at a time Doris when was ready to go and I’m honored to have been in her company for this event.

Tempting Doris out of her Enclosure

At the feeding platform

Ting San plays whilst Doris is busy eating

Doris eating a durian

Doris decides to go back to the centre

If you cant see the videos click here

Thank you to all our past volunteers, without who this amazing progress would not have been possible.

Leo

An update from Leo

New Years Day 2008

Well it may be the end of December and the end of the year; but it’s very much the start of the next stage of the great orangutan project’s endeavours at the Matang Wildlife and Rehabilitation Centre, as we enter phase two of our involvement here.

Before I can talk about what’s new I have to extend our thanks to everyone who made getting this far possible.

The November group of volunteers was Keith & Caroline’s last; I think that every volunteer and visitor that met them will know what an asset they were in assisting the centre to raise animal husbandry standards. They were also the custodians of the project on the ground for us and the face of WOX to our volunteers. In all things the effort and hours they contributed cannot be understated; without them successfully completing the infrastructural phase of the project we would not be able to begin our part in the rehabilitation of animals at MWC.
Thanks also to the Forestry dept, Matt, Wong, Lisa, James, Laurence and Heather for your invaluable help along the way.

Mostly though a tremendous thank you to each and every one of our past volunteers!
It is impossible for me to articulate how interminably grateful we are to you all.
This isn’t a job for any of us; it is an attempt to make a positive difference towards the conservation of endangered species, particularly the orangutan, within Borneo & that’s no small feat.
We undertake this challenge because we believe that there are people like us, who, wanting the same will give their time, money & sweat into making it happen.
There is not a single thing we have done, or will do, that could have been done without you.
Thank you is an understatement.

As for December……..
Well all of the new staffs are settling in very nicely.

One of WOX’s rehabilitation officers Hillary has been taking his charge, Ting San, out to the jungle feeding platforms every day for rehabilitation training and has begun to teach her how to make nests. He and I have begun an entirely natural diet for her (with the addition of milk) & we make up a nest for her in her night-den each evening to return to and familiarize herself with the feeling of sleeping amidst leaves.

We unsuccessfully tried this with our older females; but will need to be a little more inventive as they simply destroyed the ones we made for them.

We were both concerned that Mamu is a little underweight given that she is nearly 3 years old. Chiam stopped producing milk shortly after returning to the centre so we have decided to bottle feed milk formula to her and her daughter as Hillary feels this is the easiest way to start her lactating again and even if it fails it will be extra nutrition for Mamu.
Much easier said than done though as both Chiam and Ganti always try to steal whatever you are giving to Mamu; but we’ve managed to get milk to Mamu each day so far.

We’ve also recruited another experienced orangutan rehabilitator out of his recent retirement to fill the hole left by Hillary’s departure from Semenggoh (our sister sanctuary)

Our volunteer coordinator Alvin has been perhaps the busiest of us all helping me with doing all of the jobs we would normally rely on volunteers to undertake. After he’s fed, cleaned and medicated all of his charges; he’s out in the jungle looking for wild fruits and nesting materials. Then each afternoon we’ve been giving all of the animals their enrichment before preparing the clinic for the new WOX veterinarian.

(Thanks to Marcia from the last two groups for all of your enrichment ideas I’ve tried several & got the papier-mâché, forage mats & seaweed nests to work J You’ll be interested to know that the eldest female pig tail appeared to dominate on the feeds and that we can move/bribe them from one cage to another quite easily. Also the bears & binturong really loved the blood; which we spread around their enclosure or gave in ice blocks)

At the moment we are hiding all of the orangutan & bear feeds either in puzzles or distributed around their enclosures & high on the feeding platforms in order to amuse and make them work for their food; particularly Aman.
As soon as we have more volunteer hands on the ground again we’ll extend that to all of animals.

Alvin has also been helping me and the contractors with the new sun bear rehabilitation night dens; where the welding has been hampered a little by continual rain and recurrently failing electrical supply; but as I write this there is now only the roof left to go. And as Heather rightly said to me today, there are four bears that are going to have a very Happy New Year

A provisional & flexible release plan has been agreed for the deer, and most orangutan Chiam, Ganti, Doris & Mamu and volunteer work for the beginning of next year will be focused on making this happen.
The keepers, Alvin and I have been spending a long time traipsing around the deepest areas of Matang and Kubah & have selected a location that is far enough away from human habitations and the centre to consider suitable for releasing, feeding and monitoring Chiam.
Along with making ready for our new orange arrivals; the first of whom, a 17yr old male, is due in January.

Guillaume & I attended the Hornbill conference for conservation in Sarawak where Francis Gombek (forestry dept) & I presented our rehabilitation plan for all of the sun bears. We’ll put this up on the site for those that are interested in January along with video of their January transfer and the beginning of the rehabilitation training.

I spent four days over Christmas in the deep jungles of Batang Ai (the long term full wild release site for orangutan successfully rehabilitated at Matang) & received a wonderful present from one of the local Iban communities we work with; when they formally agreed with WOX to no longer hunt any animals for food, apart from the wild boar.

Mr Jugah (who many volunteers may know as Apai) also retired from the forestry department at the end of this year. Since he hand-reared Chiam, Ganti, Doris & most of the orangutans MWC have previously released; we felt that we needed his experience and animal relationships a little bit longer (At least until we have released & integrated Chiam & Ganti as he’s the only person who can safely handle them right now)
So WOX have made him an offer he can’t refuse and taken him on as our third rehabilitation officer. His job with us at the moment is to concentrate solely on Doris and throughout the next 6 months he’ll continue to take her out to the feeding platforms every day for as long as we can keep her there.

One last thank you to almost two years of volunteers; you all brought funding in order for us to be here and provide animals like Aman and Doris with opportunities, you brought your energy to mix cement or lay down boardwalk & brick in tropical heat.

Most of all though you brought the animals, the staff & this centre your love and that is what you bring best.

Happy New Year

Leo and all at Matang

Sunbear Update

Everyone at Matang has been working hard on the new sunbear enclosure which is due for completion in January.

Thanks to Sarawak Forestry Commission (SFC) cooperation, leadership and contributions we are working towards the world’s first sunbear rehabilitation and release project. This on going work would not have been possible without the hard work of our volunteers – especially Heather and Gareth who have donated over £7000 for the project and have personally been overseeing its construction.

The new half acre enclosure has been adapted to include night dens where the bears will sleep at night as, contrary to popular belief, they are actually not nocturnal. During the day the bears will have access to the outdoor enclosure that has been designed by world class experts and will help them to learn natural behaviors and interact with the environment, assisting with their future rehabilitation into the wild.

Construction of the new night dens

Outside enclosure

Watch this space.

Mission with a Passion

Leo Biddle, our Borneo Manager, as taken part in a feature on Matang Wildlife Centre and the Great Orangutan Project for the Borneo Post.

Borneo Post Online Sunday 30^th September 2007

Mission with a passion
By Rintos Mail

TO them, saving endangered species, especially the orang utan, is a life-long mission — one they carry out with passion.

They are fully committed to protecting the big apes from the threats of extinction … either in some far-flung corner of Borneo or anywhere conservation of the primates beckons.

“It’s not an ‘over-ambitious’ task. To know that our work helps in some way to protect and care for the orang utan is a reason to wake up smiling every morning.

“I enjoy the time here more than words can express … working so close to such magnificent creatures is a rare privilege,” said conservationist Leo Biddle from England.

He is among three foreign conservationsits and wildlife experts from Wox who are involved in the flagship programme of Great Orang Utan Project (GOP) in Sarawak called The Orang Utan Volunteer Programme.

They have been in Sarawak for nearly two years, trying to put in place a holistic solution for the long-term survival of the orang utans, and at the same time, savour every moment with them and the menagerie of animals at the Matang Wildlife Centre.

WOX is an international voluntary organisation that creates a project aimed at delivering real value to endangered wildlife.

The other two conservationists are primate expert, Keith Lloyd, and veterinary nurse and education officer, Caroline Bellhouse. Together with Biddle and the Wox staff, they are looking after conservation and rehabilitation projects at the Centre.

Lloyd, a senior primate keeper at the London Zoo for 11 years, is at the Centre everyday, helping to look after the orang utan and at the same time, transferring his 30 years hands-on job experience to the locals.

Joining him in this vital conservation programme are Bellhouse and Wox local volunteer co-ordinator, Alvin Gamar.

According to Biddle, the ethics and conservation consultant manager here, the GOP is one of Wox’s many international voluntary schemes to rehabilitate captive or injured orang utan — along with other endangered species — for eventual release back to their natural habitats.

“This is a long-term project and a delicate endeavour which can take several years just to prepare each individual orang utan for return to the wild,” he explained.

Funded by voluntary contributions, the GOP enables volunteers to participate directly in orang utan rehabilitation and release.

Volunteers are involved in the routine husbandry of resident animals and play a significant role in devising labour-intensive behavioural enrichment activities for individual animals.

Biddle, who is fully involved in the programme, said their activities were designed to mimic natural scenarios and teach the animals to respond to them … for example, creating structures for the animals to climb on or forage from within.

The Orang Utan Volunteer Programme is divided into three main phases which, Biddle said, are very conceptual and fluid and fluctuate according to the situation on the ground.

“Broadly speaking, phase I involves ensuring everything is ready for the rehabilitation of animals. Phase II is the long process of rehabilitation while phase III is the release and subsequent monitoring of freed animals.

“Each of these stages is only made possible by constant leadership and close collaboration with the Sarawak Forestry Corporation,” he said.

The programme is now between stages I and II where improved behavioural enrichment structures have been built within all animal enclosures and the apes are now climbing to a greater degree.

Read the full story at Borneo Post Online

Sara's Matang Wildlife Centre Experience

This is the feedback from one of our wonderful volunteers. It is very moving and she certainly experienced highs and lows of emotions! We are very grateful to Sara for all her help and encouragement and for taking the time to share her feelings.


There are occasions in life when something touches you so deeply it changes your life forever. My month at Matang has done exactly that.
The first week of our volunteer placement was spent learning the ropes, cleaning quarantine, making fire hose hammocks for the orangutan enclosures, painting murals and helping Caroline with behavioural enrichment. However the second week bought about a dramatic turn of events that will be imprinted on my memory forever. Firstly we were lucky enough to be present for Aman’s cataract surgery, the first ever on a orangutan. Although nerve racking at times it was an amazing experience to be a part of, especially watching Aman being released into his outside enclosure with sight for the first time.
Then next we had to deal with the death of one of the orangutans, Lena who left behind her 3 week old little girl Thambi (official name), or Jambu as we all called her.
Lena was released into the wild late last year but returned to the centre 3 weeks prior to our arrival with Jambu and although very tired did not seem visibly sick. Unfortunately though Lena deteriorated and passed away the day after Aman's surgery.
So from here on in our life at Matang became an experience that we can never repeat, and the emotion felt is one that cannot be described as you look down to see a sleeping baby orangutan on your chest.
When we first became a foster family to little Jambu she was doing well, a little on the thin side but eating and sleeping. As instinct dictates, a baby orangutan clings to her mother 24 hours a day so we became that mother and Jambu was always with one of us, whether sleeping or awake. Inflicted with the same parasites as her mother, a problem common to primates that can be fatal, we fought and fought for her going most nights without sleep. But unfortunately her condition also deteriorated and despite all the hours spent with the vet where Keith and I would sit with her all day we lost our Jambu on Thursday the 7th of June. An incredibly sad time as it seemed to us that Lena had bought her back to the sanctuary to look after her, but her mothers calling was obviously too strong. The bond I formed with little Jambu from all those sleepless nights and hours spent lying flat on my back with her is something I still miss but at least I have some amazing memories that will never be forgotten..
Not only did this experience teach us all so much but it has also formed friendships that I hope will last a very long time.
Although there are times when you feel so sad for the welfare of the animals as many of the enclosures are not in line with western standards the dedication and care of the staff, especially Keith, Caroline and Matt give you hope that at least someone is trying to improve the quality of life for not only the orangutans but also many other species that in the not too distant future may be extinct in the wild.