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Day 24

A ration of fruit and vegetables for an orangutan in Borneo

Wild fruit salad Wild fruit salad

A ration of fruit and vegetables for an orangutan in Borneo
Day 24
Starting aid for orangutan orphans in Borneo

The rainforest on Borneo is one of the world's most precious natural resources. It is one of the oldest and most pristine forests in the world. Borneo alone is home to over 1,600 different species of mammals, birds, amphibians and fish (WWF, 2019). But the pressure on the forests is growing and these areas are shrinking more and more. The main causes are palm plantations and the demand for palm oil for biodiesel, chocolate bars and cleaning products. In addition, animals that are acutely threatened with extinction and live in the forests are often hunted as trophies, captured and traded illegally around the world as status symbols. Particularly sought after: orangutans. The orangutans actually have no natural enemies on Borneo. But humans are destroying the natural habitat and repeatedly forcing the animals into human proximity in search of food. The resulting conflicts often end with the death of adult orangutans. Their babies are left abandoned and the chances of survival for the small animals are slim. Several rescue centers look after the animals: they receive medical care, are cared for and, after years of rehabilitation, are released into safe rainforest areas. For this journey, however, the animals need a lot of fruit and vegetables in order to grow big and strong.

Starting aid for orangutan orphans in Borneo
need
Fruit and vegetables for endangered Borneo orangutans in Indonesia.
activity
BOS Foundation employees buy fruit and vegetables as food for orangutans in the rescue centers.
Measurable performance
Number of fruit and vegetable rations distributed to orangutans in the BOS rescue centers.
Result
Orangutans are provided with healthy food and can develop so that they can one day return to the wild.
Systemically relevant impact
Orangutans are released into protected and intact forest areas and can live in freedom and establish new populations.
background

The number of orangutans is declining dramatically. Between 1999 and 2015 alone, more than 100,000 animals disappeared (Voigt et al. 2018). This led the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to upgrade the Bornean orangutan to a "critically endangered species" on its Red List in 2016 (Ancrenaz et al. 2016). The main reason for this dramatic development is the deforestation of the rainforest, which today forms the habitat for the remaining almost 54,000 orangutans. Between 1973 and 2010, the population was decimated by 56%. 39% of the former habitat has disappeared irrevocably. This corresponds to an area larger than Portugal. The rainforest is being cleared for palm oil plantations, timber and mining. The size of the plantations alone grew from 6,000 km² in 1985 to 140,000 km² in 2015 (WWF 2017).

Orangutans do not live in large social groups. Only mother and child stay together for up to eight years. If mother and child are separated, this causes a dramatic disruption in the development of the babies. A baby orangutan can easily become a victim of animal traffickers. Many of the animals are sold on the black market and kept privately as pets, although keeping, selling or killing them is strictly prohibited in Indonesia (White, Lanjouw, and Rainer 2015; Voigt et al. 2018).

East Kalimantan / Samboja Lestari, Indonesia
Day 24 Day 24
The good deed

With your donation you enable the provision of fruit and vegetable rations to orangutan orphans. The orphaned orangutan babies are taken in at the rescue centers of the BOS organization and prepared for life in the wild in a multi-stage rehabilitation process over several years. The babies are initially cared for by human foster mothers in the forest kindergarten. Since they have lost their mothers and can no longer be breastfed, they are given fruit and vegetables as well as soy milk. In the rescue centers, the animals develop all their skills, such as safely climbing jungle giants. After an average of eight years of rehabilitation, the little babies become independent orangutans, which are then released into the BOS nature reserves with an important task: to ensure the survival of their species.

AboutIndonesia
Jakarta
Jakarta
Capital city
264,000,000
264,000,000
Population
10.846
10.846
Gross domestic product per capita per year
Rank 116 of 189
Rank 116 of 189
Human Development Index (Human Development Index)

Indonesia is the world's largest island nation with a population of around 270 million. The country currently leads the list of animal species most threatened with extinction in Asia.
About the organization and further information

organization

BOS Deutschland eV

website

https://www.orangutan.de

Initiative Transparent Civil Society

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Further links