Tuesday 14th December Oaklands College in St Albans (UK) animal care students swapped the cold, grey winter weather for tales of Borneo as they heard from Head of Conservation of The Great Projects and driving force behind the Great Orangutan Project in Borneo, Leo Biddle (seen in image).

On his first trip back to the UK for three years, Leo delighted and shocked a hall full of students with facts about endangered orangutans and other species such as tigers, gorillas, elephants, chimps and sunbears, which the company helps support through conservation projects. According to the project, without intervention, orangutans could be extinct within the next 20 to 30 years.

Leo Biddle said of the experience: “It’s so important for me to visit colleges in order to raise awareness of the importance of conservation and the key trade problems which affect the existence of many species today.

“When I was younger and studying zoology I remember Jane Goodall visiting my college to talk about her experience in Tanzania and it sparked a fire in me. It suddenly brought the course alive and this is what I wanted to do for Oaklands College animal care students. I hope I have brought their studies to life today and in turn, sparked their interest in the conservation of endangered species.”

Tony Hawkins, Animal Care Manager at Oaklands College, commented: “We knew that today would be inspirational for our students and without exception they were fascinated by Leo’s experiences. He opened up their eyes to the real issues and the delicate balance between third world development and survival of animals in the wild.”

The Great Orangutan Project is always looking for volunteers to experience working life behind the scenes of wildlife centres and help support Borneo’s efforts in protecting the endangered orangutan. To find out more visit www.thegreatprojects.com.

Note:
Oaklands College is a large further education college with campuses across Hertfordshire and 10,000 learners. www.oaklands.ac.uk

Labels: Animal care, Best Volunteer Organisation, Borneo, conservation, Jane Goodall, oaklands college, orangutan, St albans

A slow loris, recently surrendered to Matang Wildlife Centre, was successfully released into the surrounding Kubah National Park. The animal was in good health on arrival to the centre and it was deemed in its best interest to return it to the wild.



The slow loris is nocturnal by nature, and this individual was certainly confused by so much action taking place for it during daylight hours. It sat through a 40minute walk through the forest in a carry case to a release site a couple of kilometres away from the centre and human civilisation. On reaching this destination though, it was not too eager to escape its cage and make for the trees.



Most people assume that when an animal is presented with its natural environment, it will quickly run towards its home and freedom. Sadly, this is rarely the case as animals become used to captivity very rapidly and are often reluctant to leave this existence behind. After some lengthy consideration though, the slow loris did indeed step out of the box and, despite its name, make a hasty line for the forest. We hope to catch images of it on the camera traps recently donated to the centre.

Labels: great orangutan project, matang, orangutan, slow loris, the great projects

Labels: orangutan, samboja lestari, volunteer with orangutans

At Samboja Lestari, once lonely Leo has recently been blessed by the company of several female orangutans, as reported on in previous blogs! Well it must be Leo's lucky year, because in the last few weeks he has had the great fortune to be joined by another female, Titin, and her baby Tinatoon.

Labels: orangutan, orangutan volunteer, samboja lestari, volunteer

The most recent development in the ongoing story of Komeng and Jovans wonderful friendship is that they have been joined by wonderful Nania.

To volunteer at samboja lestari visit http://www.orangutanproject.com/

Labels: Borneo, orangutan, samboja lestari, the great orangutan project, volunteer with orangutans

For those of you who are avid readers of our blog posts, you may remember a few weeks ago, a lovely story of poor little orphaned Komeng at Samboja Lestari, finding comfort and friendship in the form of Jovan, an 11 year old male orangutan. From the moment they found each other it was clear they had formed a solid friendship, but this was truly proved during a medical check up last week!

Labels: orangutan, samboja, samboja lestari, volunteer, volunteer with orangutans

Labels: Borneo, BOS, East Kalimantan, feeding platform, orangutan, orangutan rehabilitation, samboja lestari, sunbears, the great orangutan project, volunteer, volunteer with orangutans

Labels: baby orangutan, gap year, orangutan, orangutan volunteer

Whilst on a little visit to London yesterday, we noticed this little cheeky chap living it up at the STA headquarters..........







A little later after our meeting we bumped in to him eating his lunch and relaxing........







.....and then you would never guess who we caught him schmoozing with???................................








...lucky just isn't the word!!!!Keep your eyes peeled for more of his antics and he still needs a name, so more suggestions welcome!

thanks jacksparrowforhire!

Labels: Borneo, london, orangutan, STA, volunteer

Labels: Borneo, borneo orangutan, great orangutan project, orangutan, sarawak, sunbears, volunteer with orangutans

In May this year a specialist group of volunteers arrived for 8 days to help out in Samboja - Orangutan and Sunbear Rehabilitation Centre. We received a mix of orangutan zoo and maintenance staff from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in America. Keepers from zoos including Denver, Brookfield and Como arrived for the keeper exchange programme - designed to provide mutually beneficial working and educational relationships between international zoos.

After having met with all the partners at Samboja; BOS, Four Paws and REACT (who run the volunteer programme); it was full steam ahead working at Wanariset and Forest School to enrich and repair the cages. This was all done with money raised by the volunteer programme at Samboja and provided 660m of rope, 700m of tyre rope, 150 chunky D-locks, a very large generator and a welding machine. We were also lucky enough to have access to tools volunteered by Rigid that were brought over from America - a portable drill with bits and a grinder. On top of this we received a fantastic enrichment device made by Otto Environmental and hammocks provided by Aussie Dog.

Labels: america, association, BOS, Four Paws, gap year, orangutan, programme, REACT, rehabilitation, samboja, sunbears, volunteer, zoo

Our volunteers in July 09 were set the task of re-building one of our enclosures, making it fit for young orangutan. Volunteers of the past 18 months will know the area as the binturong enclosure, opposite the orangutan night dens. The climbing platform was designed by our orangutan keeper, Hilary, and both he and the volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure its completion within their month here. The structure was completed, roped, and a new pond added to the exhibit, initially for the volunteers pleasure but intended in the long run for the orangutans.




For now, this enclosure is intended for Ali.



Presently, he spends most of his days in the jungle with his designated keeper. However, on the odd occasion that he remains at the centre, it was thought best that he have an area that was enriching and designed to facilitate climbing practice. Ali is a very competent climber and has shown little affection for people, two great attributes in terms of potential rehabilitation success.





He is yet to spend a night out as he is quite young (around 2 years of age) and still requires night time care and the occasional feed. It is hoped that he will learn nest building and foraging skills, initially from Chiam and later, from Ghanti and George when they join the orangutan already released.

Our thanks go out to the hard work put in by our July volunteers. The addition of this enclosure to Matang is another small step as we work to bring the centre up to a standard of excellence. It is a fantastic area, presently for Ali, but will stand for many years as a training area for young orangutan. In a few months, we will join Simanggang with Ali in this area to see how well he copes with ropes and climbing structures - and of course another orangutan! We will update you on this event as soon as it happens.

Labels: baby orangutan, matang, orangutan, orangutan volunteer

After spending 3 months in quarantine, Katherine (estimated to be around 16 years of age) and Peter (perhaps as old as 25) were transferred into the orangutan dens. The move itself went incredibly smoothly, both orangutan had to be sedated to be moved, and although neither of them are keen on the blowpipe being pointed at them, the move was as stress-free as possible for humans and animals alike.



Peter's current location means he is often in view of George, one of the dominant males at Matang. Though they have seen each other before, this is the first time they have been in close proximity, and neither of them are very happy with the presence of the other. Wisely, when separated by just the bars of a cage, Peter keeps well clear of George, though he was recently seen being quite bold and pulling George's hair! Follow the link for a short video of Peter vocalising at George; this appears to be part aggression and part fear.



Though it is not clear from the video, Peter is very different in appearance to both Aman and George, though it is suspected he is older. This is because Peter is not yet a dominant male, therefore has not developed the prominent secondary sexual characteristics of such. Peter was malnourished on arrival, with no small amount of digestive worms, and it is thought that these factors inhibited his development into a dominant male. With the worms cleared and his nutrition vastly improved, we are waiting to see if he will now grow the characteristic flanges and throat pouch to mark his dominance, or whether this development will be inhibited by the presence of George. These changes are hormonally controlled, and the presence of another dominant male can delay or halt entirely another male's development.



After a couple of days alone to settle in, Katherine was mixed in the large outdoor enclosure with Doris and Ting San. Ting San spends most of her days in the jungle, so Katherine has spent the majority of her time with just Doris for company. Here is a link to a short video of one of their first interactions - Doris did not take kindly to her new housemate, and was witnessed on numerous occasions throwing various objects at Katherine, or hitting her and then bidding a hasty retreat.

Katherine has been completely un-phased by this unfriendly greeting. She has enjoyed herself exploring the new enclosure and has enjoyed interacting with Doris, seemingly unaware that her presence is resented. Doris was initially a little afraid of Katherine and has been forced to give up enrichment on occasion, which is a great change as she has for a long time had her own way entirely over Ting San.

These two orangutan now seem at peace with each other and both seem to like each others company. They still fight over enrichment, but competition can be healthy!



Katherine already has a good relationship with the orangutan keepers here at Matang. She is a very friendly orangutan and seems relatively easy to handle. The keepers are determined to include Katherine in the rehabilitation process and see no reason why she should spend the rest of her life in captivity. We will of course keep you updated on her progress, and her first jungle experience as and when it happens.

Labels: aman, orangutan, orangutan rescue, orangutan volunteer, Orangutans and Rehabilitation, sarawak orangutan volunteer