Orangutan Encounters takes you on an amazing journey through the world of the orangutan. You will have the unique opportunity of working closely with orangutans in a Malaysian Zoo for 16 days, then discover more about the conservation and rehabilitation of this magnificent great ape with 3 days in the capital of Sarawak visiting two rehabilitation centre's, before heading to the Bornean rainforest to live and work with a tribal community (descendants of headhunters!) on a fantastic ecotourism project based around the wild orangutan populations.
Visit the Great Orangutan Project photo gallery for a fuller picture of the experience.
Working alongside trained experts and the indigenous tribes people of Borneo, you will have the unrivalled experience of working and discovering on the conservation of the orangutan. Your money contributes directly to these projects, making them possible, and going towards improving orangutans' lives and conservation, and to providing an economic alternative for the local Iban tribes' people who would otherwise hunt, become loggers, or leave altogether for better prospect far afield.The highlights of the programme include:
Spend 15 days working in a Zoo in Taiping or Kuala Lumpur working closely with primates of which orangutans is the main focus. Activities include feeding, cleaning and enriching life of primate
2 day visit to Matang Wildlife Centre with our expert staff - see orangutans in rehabilitation before being released to the wild. Learn about how the centre works and understand orangutan behavior.
Travel to Batang Ai and then upriver to the Iban longhouses on the edge of the Indonesian Malaysian border where orangutans roam free and pristine rainforest still survives away from loggers and modern civilization.
Monitor the apes in the wild, deepest darkest Borneo jungle where orangutans roam free, carry out nest counts, and collect and record insects.
Help local Ibans make orangutans an integral part of the local economy through ecotourism project.