Thanks to Vinay Datla and Nikki Sharp at Wildlife SOS

Our charity partner in India at The Great Bear Project, Wildlife SOS, recently undertook a dramatic rescue of an adult sloth bear, from the village of Shikohabad, about 75km outside of Agra, where one of IAR and Wildlife SOS’s bear sanctuaries is located. A call about a wild bear was received by Dr. Ilyaraja at 9 am, and he promptly deployed a rescue team. After a two hour journey, the team reached the village, where an adult sloth bear was discovered in the middle of a dry storm drain. It was very dark inside the drain, which was estimated to be around 40 feet in length. Without a long a torch in the rescue kit, the villagers used a mirror and directed the natural light from the sun into the storm drain.

With a transport cage and a net to hand, Dr. Ilyaraja decided to cover the dry storm drain on one end with the cage and the other end with the net. Dr. Ilyaraja managed to dart the bear with sedation through the netting as planned. After waiting about 15 minutes for the drug to take effect, a member of the rescue team, Santyender, went into the storm drain with a long stick and tested the bear’s response. The bear was still conscious, and started moving backwards towards the cage, as planned. 

The team at this point thought the rescue was a success, as the bear moved into the cage, but suddenly the villagers shouted, “balu aa gaya”(“bear has come”). The bear, spooked, ran towards the other end right towards Santyender, who narrowly escaped a direct encounter with the frightened sloth bear. The bear reached the net and broke free. The villagers who were responsible for holding the net were understandably scared by the force of the angry sloth bear, dropped the net and ran away.  The bear was left tangled in the net. Two members of the rescue team, Raj Kumar and Veeru, bravely held on to the net to contain the bear while Dr. Ilyaraja attempted to dart the bear again. Unfortunately, he missed, which can happen when one tries to dart a bear in open spaces! The angry and aggressive bear managed to escape recapture. At this point Dr Ilyaraja found himself face to face with the bear... He had a dog-catcher in his hand and attempted to catch the bear. The bear almost attacked him, but fortunately ran away instead.

The bear evaded the villagers and escaped into nearby wheat and potato fields about a kilometre away, resting in the shade under a tree before getting spooked by villagers again. The bear moved on, now about two and a half kilometres from the place where it was initially darted. Eventually the bear was successfully darted and immobilized.

Santyender covered the bear eyes with a cloth and the team carried the bear for almost a kilometre. With an additional dose of tranquiliser, the bear was loaded into a cage and the cage was then placed into the vehicle. The team left the village at 3:30pm and arrived back at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility at 5:30pm. At the facility, the animal was observed for injuries and general condition. The bear has now been fully examined and deemed releasable and should be released soon when an appropriate release location has been determined.

An exciting rescue for the team, and certainly not a straightforward one – well done Wildlife SOS! 

It's not just orangutans at The Great Orangutan Project! The facilitators at the Matang Wildlife Centre also have a passion for sun bears, a species just as vulnerable and susceptible to habitat loss. This week's guest blog is from Tasha Beckerson about the care required to rehabilitate an orphaned cub -

“Last month the sun bear affectionately known as Baby Bear III moved house from the quarantine area at Matang Wildlife Centre to the night dens of one of the existing bear enclosures. Though the experience of being neighbours with some full sized sun bears was certainly stressful for her – as an 8 month old cub she should still be in the company of her mother – we quickly found that honey can remedy all stresses in a sun bear’s life. They are called ‘honey bears’ with good reason!

It is often assumed that increasing the enclosure size of a captive animal will be an incredibly positive experience for that animal, and common sense would suggest that if a larger space is available for an animal, it should be moved into it immediately. However, for animals that have known a life of captivity, experiences outside of the regular routine can be very daunting, and transitions into larger areas can be incredibly stressful. Like humans, animals take a lot of comfort from familiarity, of both their surroundings and the daily routine of captive life. Upsetting that routine, if done with care and consideration, can be an enriching event – however, it is often highly stressful.

For young orphans of any species that end up in rescue and rehabilitation centres, they have already experienced an inordinate amount of stress to be in the position that they are. With this in mind, we plan to give Baby Bear III a good few weeks with the run of the night dens of this area before giving her a trial outing in the outdoor enclosure. At the moment we feel it would be a confusing and miserable event for her – to be left in an unfamiliar, large, outdoor space on her own would certainly not be fun –and we are able to provide lots of enrichment and adequate space for her in the caged space. She can also run around and get used to the older bears’ smells, and they can get used to hers.”

This week’s blog comes from our new partners in the Peruvian Amazon, the CREES foundation.

The beautiful short film below is about Reynaldo Ochoa who is an inspiration to the people of Manu in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. For the past 20 years he has dedicated his life to finding new ways of living in balance with his environment. By encouraging farmers to plant trees with their crops and enabling families to grow fresh organic produce he is helping to forge a sustainable future for the region, both protecting the environment and allowing local people to flourish.


It hasn't always been this way. When Reynaldo moved to the rainforest over 30 years ago he cleared the forest just like everyone else. When the soil could no longer produce crops he moved to new land and started again. After years of working like this he realized that if people continued in this manner there would soon be no forest left. And so he began learning about sustainable farming and started to experiment with his own land. He tried lots of different methods and eventually found a system that works.. Now he uses the waste from his chickens to feed pond algae which, in turn, feeds the fish.. The waste from his sheep he uses to fertilize the land for crops and he plants nitrogen fixing trees and vines to regenerate the soil. The system is akin to permaculture and works much as nature would without the introduction of a monoculture.

Reynaldo helps farmers all across the region to plant trees with their crops as part of CREES agroforestry project. These trees enable the forest to regrow and also replenish the soil with nutrients, thus reducing the need to clear new land for farming. The trees absorb CO2 from the air and can be used for carbon offsetting. Each tree is protected for between 15 and 40 years after which they can be used as a source of sustainable timber.

Reynaldo helps share his knowledge not just by working with commercial farmers but also by helping local people start gardens of their own where they can grow crops in an organic way. The aim is to help improve people’s nutrition and provide an income through the sale of any excess produce.

Since he began, Reynaldo has started over 350 gardens and planted over 30,000 trees. He does not drive a car and uses bio gas in his home (produced from his own families waste!). As a pioneer in organic farming he lives a truly sustainable existence.

Though he has been working in sustainable agriculture for more than 20 years, Reynaldo currently works with the CREES foundation to help forge a sustainable future for the Manu region of Peru, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.

“This was the first time that I had to do patrol alone, as Mattias our Namibian tracker was taking an extended vacation!  I was a little nervous but was up for the challenge, and I have got to know the area really well over the last year, so thought I would give it a go solo!  The first patrol of the year is always difficult as we haven’t been out in the field for 6 weeks and don’t have a good idea of elephant movements.

Luckily for me perhaps, Voortrekker, our largest and oldest bull in the area decided to help me out and wandered past base camp on Sunday afternoon!  He was heading down river and I thought it more than likely that he was following the herds, so I could breathe a sigh of relief that I knew where to start looking the following morning!

The aim of the first patrol of the year is to do a general check on the elephants, make sure they are all present and check for new births.  During the rainy season the elephants tend to move on to the higher ground and farm areas, and conflict is high, it’s always a worrying time as a few years ago 4 elephants were shot in this area. We had seen tracks going into the farm areas, but it seemed that most elephants were still in the river system as the rain still hasn’t come.  The rivers here can flash flood during the rainy season and of course the elephants don’t want to get stuck in the mud!  In fact the Ugab River is called so as ‘Ugab’ describes that noise that your foot makes as you pull it out of the mud!

We weren’t on the road for long before Voortrekker popped out of the bushes and walked straight past the car without a care in the world! We carried on in search of the herds and a half hour later located them in the river bed close to Anixab where the local school is.  We saw Mama Afrika Herd’s with their 3 babies all doing well and all the cows were present and correct. We stopped for lunch under a tree and relaxed whilst the elephants did the same.

Once the heat had subsided, (not that it felt like it!) we carried on driving up the Ugab.  Just before we called camp for a night we found a young bull Tsaurab (meaning the one who goes softly, named because he slept in the base camp one night with Johannes who didn’t realize he had a sleeping buddy!). So having seen one herd and two of our bulls we decided that was a good day’s work and made camp overlooking the Ugab.

Tuesday started well and by 09.00 we had found Mama Afrika again and Voortrekker.   We took some ID photos and then continued on our mission.  Around 11.00 we found the three naughty bulls in the first wetland.  These bulls are seasonal visitors and we think come from the Omaruru area every year when the Ana trees seed pods are ready for eating.  They tend to stay until the rains come.  They had the best time pulling up water pipes and breaking fences at our camp over Christmas!

After lunch our luck got even better and we found one of the other Ugab herds, G6, and again all the elephants were there including their new baby.  We took some ID photos and after an hour or so continued onwards. 

On Wednesday I decided to head into the farm areas as we had seen tracks going over the main road and one herd - the Ugab Small herd - had still not been seen.  Last year during the rainy season they were also difficult to track and went into really remote mountainous areas.  We drove a lot this day, but it seemed my luck was running out and we didn’t find any fresh tracks.  I decided to head back towards the Ugab in case they were in the northern reaches of the area.  Just before we made camp we saw Voortrekker again (I was starting to think he was checking up on me) and being the gentleman that he is, he brought Bennie another one of our bulls with him! 

On Thursday morning we saw all the elephants close together which was amazing! At one point we watched on in disbelief as a farmer chased them and then all the elephants ran off!  Not wanting to disturb the elephants anymore and being pleased with what the patrol had accomplished we headed back to base camp for a much needed shower and rest.”

Here's a guest blog from Natasha at The Great Orangutan Project...

"Word reached us at Matang that a crocodile had been caught in an area roughly 90 minutes away from the centre. Though no known human had been eaten or injured, it had made a meal out of a VIP’s pet dog, and was therefore no longer welcome in the river next to his house. A humane trap had been set, and the crocodile caught within it successfully. The colloquial name, ‘salt water crocodile’ is misleading as this species dwells and hunts in fresh-water rivers. However, is able to travel through areas of high salinity due to special pores it possesses, leading to its name, and sadly leading to conflict with humans, as we are rather keen on fresh-water too.

Unfortunately, crocodiles are not welcome inhabitants of their natural territories should that area overlap with human settlements. It’s not surprising really – consider (I am a Brit) the British people’s aversion to pigeons. The pigeon’s only crime is to poop in places that we would rather not see it. And fly very close to our faces. For these acts, pigeons are rather mercilessly persecuted. It sounds dramatic, but it is sadly true. Now consider if the pigeon was 4 metres long, had dozens of re-growing sharp teeth and would eat us. It is not likely that we would stand for it existing in our country, and would certainly not allow it to inhabit our back gardens.

The rumour was that this dog-eating crocodile was 15 feet long – 15 feet! ‘No way’ we exclaimed, with arrogant surety, ‘the guys always exaggerate, the crocs are never that big’. We were guessing that the new arrival would be perhaps 6-8 feet. Then the truck arrived. Upon it was a crocodile that was perhaps not quite 15 feet long; 13 feet maybe. I have never seen such a large crocodile, though of course they can grow this big, and bigger. They simply continue to grow with age as long as they remain in good health, so we guessed we were looking at an old individual. With salt water crocodiles living up to 70-80 years, this one had to be older than 50.

It was rather obvious that the crocodile enclosure at Matang was not going to be suitable housing for this animal, not only because it would probably knock down the wall of the enclosure with one swipe of its 2-feet-wide, incredibly muscular tail, but also because it would no doubt treat the resident, 2 metre crocs as breakfast. Therefore, after numerous phone calls it was arranged to move this animal to one of the crocodile farms in Sarawak. Estuarine crocodiles are a protected species in Sarawak, therefore it is illegal to harm or kill them. When problem crocodiles are caught from the wild and transferred to farms, they are kept to be used as breeding stock.

We are hoping that the enclosure at its new residence was secure enough to house this guy in the long term. It was a shame we could not keep it, but we have to be realistic as to our logistical capabilities. For sure, it would have been a huge hit with tourists. However, after watching the local team here transferring and working with crocodiles on numerous occasions, I can’t help but feel Matang may have been continuing with one less keeper had this animal been handled here!"

The beginning of 2013 is proving to be exciting and eventful for our friends at IAR in Indonesia! On January 21st, the young orangutans from Ketapang made the move to the new centre in the village of Sungai Awan, which is a testament to the work undertaken there with the help of volunteers from The Great Projects. 

The group handled the 25 minute drive well and spent the rest of the day and night getting used to the sights and sounds of their new surroundings in the habituation cages. The next morning, they were introduced into the forest school enclosure, where they will learn what it takes to live like wild orangutans. 

Roy swinging and eating

Merah, Galang, and Marcela took to the trees straight away, which was not surprising given their more feral nature. They have been busy building nests and have also taken turns being the one who is reluctant to return to the cage for the night. Butan is one of the fastest climbers, and spends much of her time patrolling the tree tops in search of ant nests. Big boy Roy and little Jacky have surprisingly shown some confidence while going high in the trees, and Ceria looks good while swinging there as well. Jack seems to be happiest when acting tough, and he makes a mess by breaking off all the dead branches he can find.

Both the animals and staff are getting used to the new routine, and we are constantly looking for the best ways to teach the skills needed for survival and to encourage those individuals who require a little more help.

Joyce climbing up high

Joyce remains very active and is a clever little girl.  Her medical procedures went well, and the results look good!  In a short time, she will finish her initial isolation period and can be introduced to the group and the forest. She has been the first to use the accommodation in the spectacular new building dedicated solely to quarantine.  We are trying to wean her off close contact with humans as she is still very dependent on people after living with a family for a year. Joyce is gaining some confidence while climbing in the trees and loves to be outside.  When the wind blows, she opens her mouth wide and lets her tongue taste the breeze!

There will certainly be further news shortly as preparations are made to move more individuals in the near future. 

Keep up to date on all the news from our charity partners International Animal Rescue by visiting their website and following them on Facebook and Twitter. And if you want to volunteer at the new centre, join our IAR Orangutan Project!

By all accounts from those involved, November’s Great Gorilla Project went brilliantly, with some spectacular wildlife viewing twinned with important community work. As part of Our Sponsorship Promise on the trip we were extremely glad to hand over a cheque to the Kisoro Demonstration School for 10,000,000 Ugandan shillings, which is enough to sponsor 22 disabled children through school with school dinners for the next 12 months! We hope this is the first of many giant cheques we get to give to the school and we owe a huge thanks to all the volunteers who opted for us to donate to the school on their behalf. At a school with very little funding we know that this funding will have a huge impact on the children's future.

On each Great Gorilla tour we take a group of children from this school to Mgahinga National Park, this is a popular place for wildlife viewing, and allows the opportunity to educate the children about protecting wildlife and the amazing animals they have on their door step.

The group of children we take to the national park is varied, this time we took 2 blind children, 2 deaf children and an able bodied child. The new and vivid coloured flowers and the impressive scenery of the bamboo forest could be seen on the excited faces of the three deaf children, whereas the blind children were able to touch and smell things they had never been around before such as placing the hand of a blind boy in the footprint of an elephant so they could get an idea of the astounding size.

As for wildlife spotting, the November group successfully saw both the Mishaya and the Kahungye gorilla groups in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Both groups were as entertaining as ever, allowing the volunteers to get some good photographic evidence of their success. There is honestly nothing quite like seeing these majestic animals in the wild, their soft vocalisations and their gently nature and of course no trip would be complete without seeing the powerful silverback. Sightings have definitely improved in the last few years, further evidence of the recent population increases within the park.

After all the of the community work the volunteers put in, we whisked them away for a visit to famous Queen Elizabeth National Park. Here we went on game drives, boat cruises along the Channel and a trek to see the wild chimpanzees.

The most amazing wildlife opportunities actually took place at the accommodation. On the first night the elephants were crowded around the porch, on the second a lion made a kill and the volunteers were able to watch from the window. On the final night we had to wait for some hippos to move on from munching the grass before we could even get in our front door!

This year's gorilla trips are booking up fast with places left only on the second Great Gorilla Project with Ian Redmond - fittingly this year being the 25th anniversary of the release of Gorillas in the Mist - and on the just released dates for November's Great Gorilla Project which we will be running from November 18th to December 1st.

Pelangsi, the orangutan who lost his hand after being trapped in a snare, is given the gift of freedom for Christmas this month.

A young male was found in April this year after he had been caught in a snare near a palm plantation. He had been trapped for days without food or water. The tissue on his hand had become necrotic as a result of the snare around his wrist and he had injured his elbow in his desperate attempts to get free. His condition was extremely serious and for the first few days the medical team feared for his life.

Luckily the rescue team reached Pelangsi (named after the place where he was found) in the nick of time. He was rushed to IAR’s Orangutan Rehabilitation and Conservation Centre in Ketapang where he gradually recovered from his injuries and his life-threatening condition. In May 2012 the IAR medical team, led by wildlife specialist vet Dr Paolo Martelli (Chief Veterinarian of Ocean Park in Hong Kong), carried out a complex and lengthy surgical procedure to amputate Pelangsi’s hand which had suffered extensive damage and could not be saved.

For weeks after the rescue, IAR’s medical team continued Pelangsi’s intensive care until he was clearly on the road to recovery. However it wasn’t until six months post-operation that he was considered to be healthy and strong enough to be released.

In December this year, a team from IAR and the Agency for Natural Resources Conservation (BKSDA) Ketapang released Pelangsi in Pematang Gadung forest. As his original home in the forest has been completely destroyed and converted into palm plantations, Pelangsi has had to be reintroduced into a different area. Pematang Gadung is one of the forests in Ketapang Regency with the richest biodiversity. Many endangered species can be found in the forest which is patrolled and monitored by a volunteer group of local villagers. Yet this area is not currently officially protected. “With the release of this orangutan and by raising awareness of the condition of orangutans and their habitat in Ketapang, we also hope that Pematang Gadung will be given the protected status that it deserves” states Adi Irawan, Manager of the Yayasan IAR Indonesia programme in Ketapang.

Alan Knight, Chief Executive of International Animal Rescue said that, “We have all been eagerly awaiting the day of Pelangsi’s release. When endangered species like the orangutan are in crisis, every single individual counts. Pelangsi’s story is cause for celebration, not only because his life has been saved, but also because his reintroduction into the wild is a small but symbolic step in support of orangutan conservation.”

“Pelangsi’s fate is no different to that of many other orangutans: their populations are rapidly being decimated in the wild, leading to serious concerns about their future survival,” says Karmele Llano Sanchez, a veterinarian and Executive Director of IAR Indonesia.

Following the release, a team of experts will be following and monitoring Pelangsi's progress closely to see how he is coping.

IAR’s rehabilitation centre at Ketapang is home to more than 50 orangutans, the majority of whom IAR aims eventually follow Pelangas's footsteps in returning to the wild. In the meantime, the charity and dedicated volunteers are in the process building a new centre with a large forested play area for the infants and spacious enclosures for the adults where they can develop the skills and the strength they will need to survive in the wild. If you would like to play a part in IAR's amazing work at Ketapang, join the IAR Orangutan Project.