An Update From The Great Orangutan Project - What Will Volunteers Be Up To In The Next Few Months?

Posted by Ellie Hutchin on 22nd Jun 2017

At The Great Orangutan Project, the major initiative so far in 2017 has been the sun bear building project which has involved the building of 2 brand new sun bear dens!

Over the next few months, there is much work to be done in order to finish the project. Currently, there are four separate groups of the endangered sun bears at the sanctuary in Malaysia, but only two of them have access to an outside area that is large enough to fully enjoy. The construction of two new night dens for the bears is absolutely essential, as this means all these gorgeous creatures can have a lounge in the sunshine whenever they feel like it! A fact about sun bears is that they have extremely strong legs specially adapted for a life of climbing, so their new enclosures will help to stimulate natural behaviours within the species, which also happen to be known as honey bears and Malayan sun bears.

Not only will these new structures improve the quality of life for the animals at this orangutan sanctuary in Borneo, it will also help to better protect them. Three juvenile males resident at the sanctuary have acquired a knack for escaping from their smaller outside enclosure where they stay at the moment. Sadly, the young lads have had to be kept inside for their own safety. Don’t worry boys, volunteers are coming to the rescue!

Three cubs are currently in quarantine as there is no space for them until these structures are completed. This kind centre would never turn an animal in need away though, and will work tirelessly to provide what these bears need to survive. This is why volunteering abroad in Borneo will make much more of a difference than you could ever know!

Amazingly, one set of dens has already been completed, but older dens also needed repairing, so for now, the females have claimed the new dens whilst their own are being repaired. The quicker all of these goals are achieved, then the quicker the sun bears enjoy a new lease of life, and the staff at the project can focus on rescuing all of the other endangered wildlife in Borneo which is in need.

The building in the corner of the area are the newly finished night dens!

If you are interested in this project, or would like to know some more information then please view the project in our project page. We also have a last minute availability offer for this project at current, so check it out in the nick of time!

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