 for the Great Mountain Gorilla Project??? Just so you knoow where we are at, I'm off on Saturday to Uganda with a million and one things to find out and organise, and all going well will come back with the fine details down and the full costings and itinerary for it all to go ahead! So get ready for the adventure of a lifetime and a chance to see these majestic animals out there in the wild!!! Labels: gorilla mountain gorilla, volunteer |
posted by Nicola {:(|} @ 9:49 PM
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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 |
posted by Nicola {:(|} @ 8:16 PM
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Great little video of the sunbears at Matang having some fun! Thanks Helen!
Sun bears at Matang, Sarawak from Helen Cogman on Vimeo. Labels: matang wildlife centre, sunbears, volunteer |
posted by Nicola {:(|} @ 4:49 PM
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 Soooo.... the time for the Great Mountain Gorilla Project is getting closer....planning is underway and it is now 4 weeks until our visit to Uganda to finalise the details. Don't know if any of you watched the programme that was aired on BBC4 on Tuesday night (12th October) Gorillas Revisited with Sir David Attenborough but it certainly wet the appetite, what beautiful and fascinating animals they are! We have had an overwhelming response already to the announcement of this project, and are still taking details from people registering their interest. We will keep you posted with any further developments and with news from the field when we get there. Keep your eyes peeled :)  Thanks for the photos Wendy!Labels: gorilla, mountain gorillas, uganda, volunteer |
posted by Nicola {:(|} @ 6:46 PM
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 Calling all volunteers!Announcing exciting opportunities! Take a look at our brand new website, www.thegreatprojects.com, which aims to provide truly meaningful projects that make a positive impact whilst delivering a truly amazing volunteer experience!!! We are not "The Great Projects" for nothing!!! Due to your fantastic response to our opinion poll it seems that all you ape enthusiasts are after a great gorilla project, so watch this space.....because we currently have a 2 week mountain gorilla project under construction...and believe me, it will be great!!! It will run in July and October next year with a world famous celebrity conservationist on board to lead part of the experience!!! So register your interest at volunteer@w-o-x.com to get first pickings on the limited spaces!!!!! Labels: conservation, gorilla, mountain gorillas, the great projects, volunteer |
posted by Nicola {:(|} @ 9:33 PM
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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.
 It is great to see this mum and baby out of holding cages and in the wonderful surroundings of an island! So far so good and the two seem to have settled in well, Tinatoon seems to be enjoying herself  and Leo seems to have taken a shine to his new 'friend' !  Labels: orangutan, orangutan volunteer, samboja lestari, volunteer |
posted by Nicola {:(|} @ 7:39 PM
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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 |
posted by Julie {:(|} @ 2:14 PM
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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!
 In a routine health check, the two orangutans needed to be anaesthetised, Jovan, the bigger orangutan, went first. As the vets sadated him, Komeng shouted very loudly at the vets, not very happy at them taking his best friend away. Next, it was Komeng's turn and whilst he was being checked, Jovan was put in his enclosure to recover. As the staff brought back Komeng and placed him back in the enclosure, they noticed Jovan was in the sun, so one keeper climbed in just to move him to the shade.  As the keeper tried to move Jovan, Komeng suddenly awoke, despite being heavily sedated, yelling at the keeper and trying to protect his dear friend Jovan, very quickly (and rather wobbly) moving toward Jovan. .jpg) As the keeper left, Komeng tried to hug Jovan, and move Jovans arms around his own body so Komeng was as close to Jovan as possible. Once completely snuggled next to him, Komeng proceeded to give in to the sedation again and fell back to sleep. And both slept off their busy day! .jpg) So, tiny little Komeng, despite being heavily sedated, wanted to protect his friend so much, that he battled past the anaesthetic and awoke himself to try to save Jovan (from a keeper moving him out of the sun, hehe!) Now that's friendship if ever I heard it! Labels: orangutan, samboja, samboja lestari, volunteer, volunteer with orangutans |
posted by Julie {:(|} @ 6:27 PM
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 .....so I don't know how many of you remember all the talk of the dream team last year....a team of past volunteers and experts who went out to Samboja Lestari in July 2009 to try to implement and pave the way for the volunteer programme that now exists there. Part of our time there was spent working on Island Zero, an unfinished island that could be used to home orangutans from the centre once we had completed it.   The aim was to plant fruiting trees, build feeding platforms and nesting areas and to connect the island up with aerial pathways to allow the orangutans to live, as far as possible, off the ground, and encourage natural movement and behaviours. Thanks to the crazy visions of Rob, our construction expert, we managed to exceed even what we thought was possible, and get ourselves labeled as "Bule Gila" (crazy white people, hehehee!) by the staff as they thought the designs were slightly ambitious, albeit near impossible!      But with dedication and an incredible amount of effort from the whole team; Elaine, Steve, Kay, Hanna, Rob and myself, (along with some AMAZING visiting volunteers along the way!) we worked along side the brilliant staff at Samboja Lestari and made it happen! There was a lot of blood (mainly Robs, he has a talent at bleeding!), sweat (you would just not believe how much, ew!) and tears to get there, but it was worth every single minute of it when we got to look back and see the first orangutans testing out the finished product!   And so a year has now passed since we embarked on our journey to this once strange unknown place called Samboja Lestari, that we now all think of as a second home! And I thought it was a good time to update you on what is happening with the island with some pictures. Here are some gorgeous photos of the orangutans who now call our island bule gila home, Anih, Yuni, Henry, Bong and Misri.   Since the completion of Island zero, some of the other islands have been put to use, including one for the forest school orangutans, and lucky Leo the lonely bachelor, has finally got himself 3 ladies, Juminten, Elisa and Mona. Future plans are to connect Island zero with islands 4,2 and 1, to move Leo's group to island 5, and the orangutans from island 5 to 2, so that all the groups of orangutans who are healthy and eligible for release are together on the connected islands. It was an incredible adventure, and now looking at these orangutans using our platforms and the island, it makes me incredibly happy, as I am sure it will the rest of the team! I just want to say the hugest thanks to all the keepers at Samboja Lestari for making us feel so welcome, for all their incredible strength (without you the "gila" plans would have definitely not been possible) and hard work, and their endless commitment to supporting these wonderful animals! You do a great job, thanks for letting us try to do our little bit!  If you want to volunteer and do your "bit" take a look at the volunteer programme held at Samboja Lestari (and dont worry, this was a one off, there would not be this much construction work to do!!!!!) Labels: Borneo, BOS, East Kalimantan, feeding platform, orangutan, orangutan rehabilitation, samboja lestari, sunbears, the great orangutan project, volunteer, volunteer with orangutans |
posted by Julie {:(|} @ 7:01 PM
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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! |
posted by Julie {:(|} @ 5:20 PM
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 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.  After months of planning this event heralded true cooperation between many organisations for whom the conservation of orangutans is more than just a day job. The first zoo group trip in a number of years can count the enrichment of 40 orangutans (half a dozen of which were taken out of small cages) as just one of their successes. Of these 40, half a dozen orangutans were removed from small cages and placed in better and healthier environments thanks to the determination of hardwork of both the zoo group and the fantastic staff at Samboja.Thanks to everyone who made this trip such a success and thanks to the volunteers for providing the funds that made it happen. To find out more about out Orangutan and Sunbear Rehabiliation Centre click here Labels: america, association, BOS, Four Paws, gap year, orangutan, programme, REACT, rehabilitation, samboja, sunbears, volunteer, zoo |
posted by Julie {:(|} @ 2:00 PM
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 More updates on the sun bears progress by current volunteer Heather: 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.
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. 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
Labels: Borneo, conservation, Malaysia, orangutan, sunbears rehabilation, volunteer, volunteer with orangutans |
posted by Clare @ 1:08 AM
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| Labels: Borneo, great orangutan project, Malaysia, orang utan, Orangutans and Rehabilitation, volunteer |
posted by Clare @ 7:27 PM
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Aman, our big 19 year old male, is enjoying his new low level decking that keeps him out of the mud in his favourite corner of his enclosure. We are all getting very excited at the prospect of his cataract eye surgery in a month’s time! We had a fantastically successful fundraising evening at the Jambu restaurant in Kuching with the owners Chris and Ashfa who kindly combined their 2nd anniversary with a “Save Aman’s Eyes” fundraising event. A stunning print of Aman’s face, a signed drawing of Aman by Keith Lloyd, our resident expert, and an Aman t-shirt were all auctioned and at the end of the night a grand total of RM2,850 (£425) was raised! That will nearly pay for the anesthetist to fly from South Africa to Kuching in May. Fantastic!!! Hopefully, the online appeal will also bring in more pennies (and pounds and dollars…) to help to pay for everything from bottles of eye drops to the surgeon’s accommodation and freighting the delicate equipment around the world. It isn’t too late to donate. Please send your money NOW, see the link on this website for details - http://www.orangutanproject.com/index.php?prd_sub_id=24
And as great as all that news is, I have some MORE exciting news, hot off the press….. drum roll please……… Keith was rewarded for working today on a Sunday as he was the first to see LENA”S NEW BABY! Yes folks! The self released lady has finally given birth, we think to a girl and she chose to come back to the orangutan building when Keith was in there painting Gus’s new den (the rescued orphand orangutan), to show him her orange bundle of fluff. That really shows the degree of trust she has in him to choose him as the first one to show her new baby to and even let him take photographs from 3 feet away…very special stuff.  Lena and new baby return to the Orangutan Building So, as if we needed another excuse to ask for donations…Aman now has a second (probably) daughter who he will be able to SEE once he has the surgery. Please help this fantastic cause. The bear project (to get 4 bears out from terribly cramped cages into a larger outdoor area) is underway, with contractors quoting for the wall that will section off the end of Doris’ enclosure to become bear land. Thanks to incredibly generous donation from Heather, an ex-volunteer, and her husband Gareth, we can start as soon as possible. We’ll keep you posted. Thanks to the improved diet regime as well as regular mind bending and stimulating enrichment activities for the animals, there has been a definite increase in spring like behaviours in some of our animals; we have seen two bears mating and the two binturong (bear cats) enjoyed a ‘special hug’ as well the other day.  Although we are pressed for funds and for space, the fact that the animals are not pacing and plucking any more from hunger and boredom, and are engaging in such flirtatious behaviour must mean that they are feeling more contented with their lives. We are waiting to see if the crocodile eggs are indeed fertile and will hatch…yet another example of natural behaviour resulting almost certainly from improved conditions and diets.Last bit of news for now is that we are currently raising another orphan Sambar deer (marsh deer) that was rejected by his mother. Gus has enjoyed helping out with bottle feeding and surprisingly has met a creature with nearly as much attitude as she has. It was hilarious seeing a 3 day old deer stamping his hooves next to a startled one and a half year old orangutan! I am sure that they will forge a strong friendship, since although that seems unlikely, Doris (orangutan) and Judy and Jacob (Sambar deer) have demonstrated to all their fondness for each other with play fighting and stroking.  The baby has been named Little Leo, after our newest team member Leo, who has spent two weeks with us, finding out how the programme and Matang Wildlife Centre run. It has been great working with him.Well, I have had my hour of peace, I can hear Gus stirring so it must be time to chop up more fruit and veg and get ready for the bundle of energy to burst forth into action…. Labels: baby rehabilitation, lena, orang utan, orangutan diary, Orangutans and Rehabilitation, volunteer |
posted by Guillaume @ 3:45 PM
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