To play your part in helping to save this critically endangered great ape, volunteer with orangutans in Borneo for a chance to aid the rehabilitation and release of our closest relative.
Native to just two islands, Borneo and Sumatra, orangutans are currently only found in the rainforests of these islands or at a number of orangutan sanctuaries throughout Borneo.
They remain critically endangered and much of the orangutan volunteer programmes we offer at The Great Projects strive to help counteract this issue and help to rescue and rehabilitate these magnificent apes. Here at The Great Projects, we offer a number of award-winning orangutan volunteer projects that work to improve the lives of those apes in captivity, as well as those that successfully release orangutans into protected areas of the wild.
Orangutans play the role of the ‘gardeners’ of the forest, helping to maintain their overall health through seed dispersal and making gaps in the trees to allow sunlight through so the forest can naturally regenerate. They face many threats from habitat loss, poachers and the illegal wildlife trade.
By becoming an orangutan volunteer, you can play a vital role in assisting to bring these incredible creatures back from the brink, so why not take a look at our orangutan volunteer projects and secure your place today! Choosing to volunteer with orangutans is a great opportunity to make a real difference in the life of the Bornean orangutan.
Volunteer with orangutans on this award-winning orangutan project at Matang Wildlife Centre in beautiful Borneo!
Work on enrichment for 112 orangutans and 72 sun bears at the world-renowned Samboja Lestari Rescue Centre
Travel with your family to Borneo, and see how you can aid orangutan conservation whilst meeting indigenous tribes-people on this exciting wildlife safari!
Help to restore Borneo’s rainforest and provide a safe home for wild orangutans and pygmy elephants.
Help to rehabilitate the largest number of captive orangutans in the world at this world-renowned orangutan sanctuary in Borneo!
On this 3 day trip, you will get the chance to meet the Iban, the once ferocious head hunters of Borneo!
Get a taste of working with orangutans before being immersed in tribal life in 2 national parks!
The Great Projects volunteer coordinators, Matt and Niamh, sent us an update of what the most recent group of volunteers have been up to at the sanctuary, from making coconut enrichment to working together to clear out the sun bear enclosure. Read today's blog to find out more!
The Great Projects' volunteer coordinators Matt and Niamh welcomed back the first volunteer groups of the year at the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Sanctuary. Enjoy an update on all the activities they have been getting up to over the past few weeks in today's blog!
As the Samboja Lestari Orangutan Project begins once again in 2023, take a look at what the first group has got up to including making hammocks for the orangutans, putting the finishing touches on scarecrows for the banana garden, rebuilding sun bear enclosures and much more!
1-year-old baby orangutan, Iqo, has been freed from illegal...
After 2 difficult years, we finally welcomed volunteers...
Both the Bornean and Sumatran Orangutan are considered critically endangered by the IUCN and this status looks unlikely to change any time soon. 100 years ago orangutan numbers were estimated to be around the 230,000 mark, but nowadays that number has dropped dramatically.
There are thought to be fewer than 54,000 Bornean orangutans left, and a tiny 6,000 Sumatran orangutans remaining. Population numbers of their newly discovered cousin, the Tapanuli orangutan, sit around just 900 individuals. With the population suffering from a 75% drop in just 100 years, the rate of decline is unsustainable and the orangutans are in grave danger of ceasing to exist. Few other animal species have suffered a population drop as drastic as that of the orangutan, and that is why change needs to happen and it needs to happen soon. As a volunteer with orangutans you can help make a difference.
Orangutans are facing many threats. As a volunteer with orangutans you can really make a difference:
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