Did you know that one of the most powerful ways you help protect orangutans is by giving orphaned and vulnerable orangutans a second chance at life in the wild?
Your kindness helps rescue orangutans from danger, care for them as they recover, and guide them all the way back to forest freedom.
From rescue to rehabilitation and release: you are part of their journey every step of the way.
Today, I’m thrilled to share some wonderful news with you. Thanks to your support, we’re readying a protected forest area in North Sumatra, a natural safe-haven where rescued orangutans can safely return to the wild.
Welcome to the Siranggas Wildlife Reserve, the first orangutan release site in North Sumatra!
The Siranggas Wildlife Reserve in North Sumatra.
Siranggas is 5,627 hectares of protected forest, and a safe home for wildlife. While the existing wild orangutans population here is still small, this beautiful forest will soon become home to more orangutans starting their new lives in freedom.
Orangutans that are already in rehabilitation at our SRA Rescue Centre in Sumatra will move to the lush Siranggas forests when they are ready.
But Siranggas is more than a release site…
It is also becoming a brand new Jungle School, where young rescued orangutans will learn how to survive in the wild! Here they will practice important life skills like climbing, foraging for food, building nests, and moving safely through the forest canopy.
And when they are ready, they will be released into the surrounding protected forest. Our teams will continue to watch over them and support them as they settle into their new home. In the wild!
To make this possible, our teams are already hard at work, building a new outpost where rehabilitation and monitoring teams can live and work.
Drone footage of Jungle School facilities being built in the Siranggas forests.
The outpost will include essential facilities such as:
- Night enclosures for the orangutans
- Accommodation for field teams
- Kitchen and bathroom facilities
- Water supply systems
- Essential equipment and monitoring supplies
With a permanent base in the forest, our teams can safely guide orangutans through Jungle School, and closely monitor them once they are released.
The very early stages of construction of accommodation for the team.
The construction of night enclosures, to keep young orangutans safe at night.
This is a huge milestone for orangutan conservation in North Sumatra. And it’s only possible because of supporters like you! Siranggas Wildlife Reserve will soon give rescued orangutans a safe place to learn, grow, and return to the wild. Thank you for helping make this new forest home possible. 🧡
Program: APE Champion Team
Location: North Sumatra, Indonesia
Run by: This program is a collaboration with our partners at Centre for Orangutan Protection and the Ministry of Forestry 🌳