Project location
Palankaraya, Borneo
Project duration and start
1 year, 2009
Project Sponsor
Thomas Cook Reisen, Neckermann Germany, Thomas Cook Austria / Neckermann Reisen Österreich
Project description
The Southeast Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra belong to the last retreats for endangered orang-utans. 80% of the remaining great apes in Asia live on Borneo. Their numbers have dropped by two-thirds since the 1990s, to today’s estimated 55 000 animals.
Responsible for this decline is poaching, illegal animal trade and the advancing destruction of their natural habitat. The specie-rich rainforests of Borneo are under a lot of pressure due to the conversion of forests into plantations - especially palm oil plantations - forest fires and the legal as well as illegal use of wood.
In 1999 the Dane, Lone Dröscher Nielsen founded the Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre, Nyaru Menteng, with the help of the Borneo Orang-Utan Survival Foundation (BOS). BOS is a non-governmental organisation that has, in corroboration with the Indonesian population, made it its duty to protect the orang-utans and their natural habitat. The BOS foundation supports the local forest police with the confiscation of illegally kept animals; prepare them for a life in the wild and their subsequent release in suitable rainforest areas.
The BOS-station Nyaru Menteng lies 28 km from Palangkaraya, the capital of Central Kalimantan. A clinic, quarantine facilities and socializing cages for orang-utans are situated on a 1,5 ha enclosed area.
In the rehabilitation ward human foster parents are presently preparing more that 600 orang-utan orphans for a normal life in the rainforests. For his release into the wild an orang-utan has to learn how to climb properly and to build sleeping nests. He also has to know hundreds of plant species and be well integrated. Up until now it has been possible to release more than 500 orang-utans into the wild. On five river islands close to Nyaru Menteng round about 90 orang-utans live until their final release into the wild.
A flood of new animals has brought the centre to its maximum capacity. In 2005 Nyaru Menteng II had to be founded, which consists of rehabilitation cages and a 50 ha training forest. At Nyaru Menteng II the ‘wild’ orang-utans that were rescued from palm oil plantations and deforestation areas, are housed. As they are not used to a life in captivity their speedy release back into the wild, is a special matter of concern for BOS.
Project goals
- Rescue of orang-utans
- Rehabilitation of orang-utans
- Resettlement and release of orang-utans into suitable wild rainforest areas
Project partner / Project coordinator
The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS Foundation) is the organisation implementing the project in Indonesia.
BOS Deutschland e. V. is one of the BOS Foundation’s biggest cooperation partners in Indonesia.
