Gibbons are calling, hornbills are chirping, and orangutans are busy teaching their young how to forage for fruit, without fear of poachers or their habitat disappearing.

That’s what the Bukit Tigapuluh (BTP) sanctuary is for more than 200 rescued orangutans.

These orphaned and ex-pet trade orangutans have learned the skills they need to survive in the wild, at the BTP Jungle School we partnered with Frankfurt Zoological Society to build.

We worked together on the master planning of world-class primate facilities, behavioural enrichment, enclosure designs, conflict mitigation, and so much more.

We are also the ONLY Zoo in the world releasing zoo-bred orangutan into the sanctuary, with years of preparation invested into our orangutan so they can live safely in the wild.

At BTP, these rescued and zoo-born orangutans learn all the skills they were sadly never able to learn from the own mothers, like building nests, foraging for food, and even learning how to manage conflict with bees!

Excitingly, many of these orangutans are now having and teaching babies of their own, continuing the next generation of these precious primates in the wild!

While it’s important to celebrate this amazing success, there is still much work to be done to make sure we never see a world without orangutans in it.

Although they hold a special place in the hearts of many, these gentle giants are facing an uncertain future.

Habitat loss from palm oil deforestation, illegal poaching and the pet trade have pushed orangutans to the brink of extinction.

They need our help.

Despite being separated by oceans, we believe one person can make a difference to orangutans, and as a team we can do even more.

This Orangutan Caring Week, ttand on the front line of conservation with us, by supporting critical conservation work like this vital Jungle School in Indonesia.

Donate today