Recently, Matang has become home for a female rhinoceros hornbill, which is the state animal of Sarawak. These are magnificent birds, very large and listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN.

This bird was temporarily housed in the quarantine area while the large aviary opposite the orang-utan dens was re-worked by our July volunteers and a preliminary disease screen was carried out. The large aviary has been divided into two large spaces, one half intended for this new arrival and a pair of pied hornbills destined for the

other half.

It was great to see the rhinoceros hornbill literally spread her wings and take advantage of the larger space on the afternoon she was transferred.

Labels: hornbill, orangutan volunteer, sarawak orangutan volunteer

I am happy to say that just a few moments ago we were awarded Highly Commended in the Best Volunteer Company Category at the Responsible Travel Awards at WTM! Thanks everyone who voted for us :)

Now if you want to take part on any of our projects visit www.orangutanproject.com or www.thegreatprojects.com

And all of this on "orange for orangutans" day....whos wearing orange???

Labels: orangutan volunteer, Responsible Travel Awards, the great orangutan project, the great projects, volunteer, WTM

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

Now, the arrival of kittens at the centre is not actually a rare event, as many past volunteers will be aware. However this particular kitten is, no offense to regular cats, a bit more special than the average.



It's a very young leopard cat, estimated to be around 3-4 weeks of age. He needs to be syringe-fed, which he was not very keen on originally but is now a bit more accepting of the strange instrument. He has recently started trying small pieces of meat, and shows a great appetite for it, guarding the food with an aggression that is a bit hard to take seriously, considering his size.



These cats are offically listed by IUCN as Least Concern, though precious little academic research exists with regards to them, particularly the Bornean subspecies. They are solitary, as with most wild cats, though we hope with a careful integration process this kitten will be able to join the existing pair at Matang in time.

With thanks to Kuno and Lauren Schiffermuller for the images, volunteers in September 10.

Labels: great orangutan project, leopard cat, orangutan volunteer, sarawak orangutan volunteer

The sun bear known as ‘Baby bear’ to many volunteers has recently moved house out of the quarantine area and into the larger sun bear enclosure housing the other ‘quarantine bears’. Though she is still significantly smaller than these other adults, it was deemed time to begin the familiarisation process. She currently has one of the night dens to herself, and we are giving her and the other bears time to get used to each other through the safety of the cage. She was pretty scared for the first couple of days, and her defensive shouting at the other bears provoked some aggressive responses, but she soon calmed down and the others now seem at peace with their new neighbour. It may still be some time before she is let out with the others though.



Though she is still spending the majority of her time in a cage, every now and then we are keeping the four adults in and letting her enjoy the outdoor enclosure by herself. Letting her out for the first time was incredibly exciting, and she seemed incredibly pleased by the experience.



The picture below shows her following and enjoying a honey trail leading out of the night den. Baby bear has always showed great natural behaviour, even though she has been confined to a small, unnatural area. She did not disappoint in the outdoor space, foraging for most of the day, digging vigorously at the ground and climbing trees with ease.



Her next stage is obviously full integration with the existing group, and until then she will continue to enjoy days exploring the outdoor space. We also have a video of her first outdoor excursion, which will be posted soon.

Labels: great orangutan project, matang wildlife centre, orangutan volunteer, sun bear

Some new photos of the clouded leopard, one of the newer arrivals at Matang Wildlife Centre. These wonderful pictures are credited to Paul Brand and Leisa Woodhouse, volunteers in July 2010. Many thanks for these.

Labels: clouded leopard, matang wildlife centre, orangutan volunteer, the great orangutan project, volunteer

Boboy, the long tail macaque with a big personality, was released from Matang Wildlife Centre last year. He was chosen as a monkey to test a possible release site for all long tail macaques because he was not coping well with the stress of captivity. He was released onto an island in Kuching Wetlands Park, a site away from human habitation which is key for macaque release.



Though we visited the site regularly, we were not lucky enough to spot Boboy for a long time. However, recently has was seen enjoying the natural habitat on the island, and looking in excellent health. This is incredibly good news, both for the welfare of this one individual, and for the potential of the area to accept more of his species.



Boboy was a favourite character of many volunteers that met him, and to those with fond memories of him, please enjoy the images of him enjoying his new lease of life.

Labels: great orangutan project, Long tail macaque, matang wildlife centre, orangutan volunteer, sarawak orangutan volunteer

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

Labels: borneo orangutans, orangutan rehabilitation, orangutan volunteer, samboja lestari, the great orangutan project

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

After the first few weeks when Chiam relished the novelty of the jungle and kept to herself, she has since been coming back to the feeding platform when called regularly. July volunteers were able to join the keepers, one at a time, on the twice daily excursions to the jungle to call and leave food for Chiam. About 70% of occasions saw Chiam returning for food, so the volunteers were lucky indeed.


During one afternoon, we witnessed a first for Matang for a number of years when four orangutan gathered at the feeding platform. Have a look at the photo below and see if you can spot who is who:



All the orangutan present were greatly enjoying the treetops, which made clear photography a challenging task. Check the picture below for more of a clue.




It was certainly a special sight to behold. Chiam was very interested in Ting San, who was initially wary of Chiam but soon gained confidence and would stay in the same vicinity as her, equally curious. Chiam was also allowing her baby to explore the trees on his own, and it was quite incredible to see him practicing the art of climbing in the trees, as previously we had just seen him do this in a cage. Though it was wonderful to be able to observe Chiam's baby close up in captivity, it simply does not compare to watching him practice his natural behaviour in his natural environment. Ali seemed oblivious to the larger apes; he was immensely pleased with the small tree he had found, and spent most of the afternoon swinging it backwards and forwards.



From this day on, keepers have intentionally been bringing both Ali and Ting San to Chiam's location, when she is present. The two youngsters will learn much more from her, a fully competent semi-wild orangutan, than they will their human keepers. It makes our job of rehabilitation a lot easier - we now have an incredibly qualified teacher who, if willing, can continue jungle training with our juveniles.

Labels: chiam, jungle training, matang, orangutan, orangutan baby, orangutan release, orangutan volunteer

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.

Labels: Male orangutan, matang wildlife centre, orang-utan, orangutan, orangutan volunteer

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.

Labels: baby, baby rehabilitation, borneo orangutan, great orangutan project, matang wildlife centre, orang utan, orang-utan, orangutan, orangutan volunteer, volunteer with 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.

Labels: Borneo, borneo orangutan, borneo orangutans, great orangutan project, orang utan, orangutan volunteer, Orangutans and Rehabilitation, volunteer with orangutans

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

Labels: great orangutan project, Ilford and Kingston Primary School, orang utan, orang-utan, orangutan, orangutan volunteer

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

Labels: Borneo, great orangutan project, Malaysia, orang-utan, orangutan volunteer