Orangutans
Orangutan literally means ‘Man of the Forest’. We share 99% DNA with orangutans—they are our closest relative—yet they are driven towards extinction and are now critically endangered.
More and more often, we confiscate young orangutans or even baby orangutans. There is a dark wildlife trade responsible for orangutans' suffering; babies are torn away from their mothers, their mothers killed in the process, to be sold illegally on the black markets. The young ones are easier to transport than adult monkeys. They require a lot of maintenance and are also physically strong and dangerous for people.
Mother Orangutans are killed by people working on the palm oil plantations or in surrounding villages. There they look for food and an alternative living environment. Their habitat is destroyed by cutting and burning down virgin forests.
We perform medical checks as well as a DNA test on rescued orangutans to see which one of the three is involved. For example, we determine which monkey group the animal belongs to and we approach a partner party such as The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program. They take care of the rehabilitation process before they bring the monkey back to their species in nature. We arrange transport in large transport enclosures by plane.
3 Types
The genus Pongo has three species: the Bornean orangutan, the Sumatran orangutan and the Pongo Tapanuliensis which was only discovered in 2017. The great apes do not only end up with us because we catch the smugglers, customs also come across animals at the airports. Recently a stunned monkey was found in a suitcase. The case was checked by chance. After paying a fine and showing regret, the offender was allowed to travel further. We are working hard to make sure that there will be stricter punishments in Indonesia for smugglers. Without these punishments it is too easy for people to continue this horrible business.
Action against the hydro-dam
Action for orangutan: specie is in danger of extinction due to hydro-dam construction On December 4, 2018, activists from Wildlife Watchdogs asked the Bank of China, together with an” orangutan”, to immediately stop all finances for a planned hydro-dam. The construction of this hydro-dam is planned to take place in the Batang Toru forest. This is the habitat of the newly discovered Tapanuli orangutan.
It is estimated that only 800 of the Tapanuli orangutans are left. The hydro-dam project will cause enormous damage in the most important area for the Tapanuli. The plan is to build a 15-km long tunnel with a diameter of 10 meters across the rainforest. Roads and electricity lines are laid around it.
This project is a disaster for the primary rainforest area where the world's most endangered human ape lives. It also causes the farmland of local residents to flood. The last Tapanuli orangutan populations will be fragmented and other species will not survive either.