Orangutan Foundation

Category: Forest Fires, Logging, Pondok Ambung Research Station, Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP) | Date: Nov 06 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

During September (dry season) the Sekonyer river, which flows through Tanjung Puting National Park (Central Kalimantan Indonesian Borneo) was very low. We are also noticing that the low tides, year on year, are getting worse. Some people believe the root cause of the low tide are illegal logging and illegal mining. 

Tanjung Puting National Park. Photo by Fajar Dewanto, Orangutan Foundation International 

When fire fighters from Tanjung Puting National Park (BTNTP), Central Kalimantan Agency for Conservation of Natural Resources (BKSDA Kalteng), Orangutan Foundation, Orangutan Foundation International, Friends of National Park Foundation tried to damped the forest fires in park the extreme low tide prevented the speed boat from getting through.

Tanjung Puting National Park. Photo by Fajar Dewanto, Orangutan Foundation International

Water level on the jetty of Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station. Photo by Devis, Orangutan Foundation

This is a worrying trend. Thankfully, October has had rain reducing the fire risk.

Thank you,

Hudi Dewe

Programme Co-ordinator Orangutan Foundation

Tags: Borneo, illegal logging, low tide, mining, Rainforest, water

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Category: Other wildlife, Pondok Ambung Research Station, Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP), Uncategorized | Date: Oct 29 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

The Orangutan Foundation is proud to support Indonesian students conducting research at Pondok Ambung Tropical Forest Research Station in Tanjung Puting National Park, Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. We want to encourage and help young Indonesian scientists and researchers.  Yusi (at the front) and Harri (in the middle) conduting their research in Tanjung Puting National Park. Photograph by Brian MatthewsIn 2009, we provided two grants, one to Yusi Indriani for her research into the diversity of butterfly species around Pondok Ambung and one to Harri Purnomo for his research into the diversity of bird species. The students spent two months at Pondok Ambung conducting their research. Yusi Indriani (in the middle) presenting her research results to Ashley Leiman (left), the Orangutan Foundation Director, Rene Bonke (right), a German Tomistoma researcher and Hudi DW (just left of centre), the Orangutan Foundation Programme Coordinator in Orangutan Foundation Pangkalan Bun office.Yusi recorded over 80 butterfly species. Orangutan FoundationI hope to bring you more news about Pondok Ambung and its amazing wildlife soon.Thank you,Hudi W.D.Orangutan Foundation Programme Co-ordinator

Tags: birds, Borneo, butterlies, Orangutan Foundation, research

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Category: Orangutan Foundation Staff, Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP) | Date: Oct 28 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

During the Steppes Discovery study tours (August and September 2009), Ashley Leiman, the Orangutan Foundation Director, played a joke with the “strange fruit” of Tanjung Puting (Indonesian Borneo) forest!The outside of the fruit looks very strong and hard. Ashley asked “who can break it with just your thumb?” The study tour participants tried to push their thumb into the fruit with all their power and then…Puffff….the fruit suddenly explodes over them.Exploding fruit - a study tour participant falls for the trick as the inside of the fruit explodes over his face! Photo by Orangutan Foundation.Greetings and huge thanks to all of the study tour participants from Orangutan Foundation Pangkalan Bun office, your support and donations are very helpful for orangutan and its habitat conservation and also for the local community.Regards,Hudi WD(Orangutan Foundation Programme Co-ordinator)

Tags: Borneo, trips, visits, Wildlife

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Category: Forest Fires, Other wildlife, Pondok Ambung Research Station, Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP) | Date: Mar 18 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

About a year ago, almost seven hectares of forest behind the Pondok Ambung Research Station was burnt to the ground (see post Fires in Tanjung Puting National Park). This was attributed to human carelessness (not the Pondok Ambung staff, we should note!), and favourable dry conditions. A burnt forest patch however, when left alone, regenerates and a vegetation survey was conducted in February 2009, at the burnt area, to see what had indeed grown back.

Field manager for Pondok Ambung, Mr. Devis, noted that the dominant plant types in the recovering burnt area are the ferns, or more specificially the Gleichenia linearis (tree fern) and Lycopodium cernuum (club moss).

Lycopodium cernuum (club moss)

The grasses and sedges are also growing back (Digitaria ischaemum, Sorghum halepense, Pennistrum purpureu, Eleocharis parvula, Cyperus kyllingia, Cyperus distans and Cyperus paniceus), along with the shrubs (Melastoma malabathricum, Ochthocharis borneensis, Achasma coccineum Val. Blumea balsamifera).

The trees as well are making a comeback (Schima wallichii korth, Garcinia sp, Rhodamina cinerea, Eugenia sp, etc.). The evergreen tree (Schima wallichii korth) dominates the rest of the tree types.

Schima wallichii korth is the dominant tree species

It’s not just good news for vegetation – the newly growing area is also attracting deer who favour open habitats for grazing.

Deer track

We will continue to monitor the changes of this recovering burnt area. With each new seedling pushing its way through the soil, one is reminded that this damaged patch of forest, as with the other fire-damaged forests elsewhere in Borneo, could come back to life, if it is left alone.

The forest just after the fire.

Forest recovery one year on. All photos by Devis Rachmawan.

Thank you very much Nicole D and Tal B for your recent donations. We are currently trying to raise $250-300 to buy two digital cameras (see post Meet our new vet for the orangutans of Lamandau Wildlife Reserve).

Thank you,

June Rubis

Tags: Borneo, Forest Fires, Orangutans, regeneration

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Category: Orangutans, Other wildlife, Pondok Ambung Research Station, Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP), Uncategorized | Date: Feb 26 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

Very quickly, if anyone would like to see Tanjung Puting National Park, one of the protected areas in which we work, then a short video clip has been released by a German film company who made a film about Tomistoma crocodiles last year. The narration is in German (which will probably be OK for our Swiss friends and an English translation to follow shortly) but the pictures speak for themselves. Its shows orangutans, proboscis monkeys and Pondok Ambung Research Station.
Here is the link: http://www.br-online.de/bayerisches-fernsehen/welt-der-tiere/sunda-gavial-krokodil-sumatra-ID1234357757657.xml

Tags: Borneo, Orangutans, Tanjung Puting National Park

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Category: Orangutans, Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP), Uncategorized | Date: Feb 05 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

During the late 1970s & early 1980s Dr Gary Shapiro taught America Sign Language (ASL) to some of the ex-captive juvenile orangutans at Camp Leakey in Tanjung Puting National Park. His star pupil was, beyond any doubt, Princess. The connection between Gary and Princess continues to run deep. Gary once said, as part of a sworn testimony no less, he had two children: his biological son in the US and an adopted orangutan daughter in Borneo.

Princess and her baby Percy

Anyway, I digress. I have my own Princess story which I was reminded of today and thought I would share with you.

One afternoon, a couple of years ago, an assistant and I were leaving Camp Leakey walking down the jetty to where our boat was waiting. I was carrying a bottle of water. Ahead of us, Princess and Percy sat on the jetty. As we approached, they moved politely to one side. Princess then very obviously made a fist with her thumb extended, and raised the thumb to her lips; the ASL sign for drinking.

It was incredibly touching and remains one of my favourite orangutan memories. There was no doubt Princess was trying to communicate with me. What is more she was using a human language, not her own. That she could remember the language after so long only shows her remarkable intelligence. There was also sensitivity in her actions; if she had wanted the water she could have just taken it. In the twilight of a day, which was also the twilight of my thirties, an orangutan asked me for a drink of water, which I gave her, and I sat next to her as she drank it.

You can find out more about Gary’s work at Orangutan Republik

Tags: communication, Orangutans, sign language

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Category: Orangutans, Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP), Uncategorized | Date: Feb 02 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

Are you familiar with the concept of speaking too soon? Well, last week it worked in my favour. As we travelled up to Pondok Ambung Research Station, I said to my colleagues, “It’s been ages since I saw a wild orangutan along the river”. Literally, not a minute later there was this young one.

Adolescent wild orangutan at the edge of the river in Tanjung Puting National Park.

It was impossible to tell if the orangutan was male or female but its size suggested it was an adolescent making its first forays away from its mother.

The orangutan is right in the middle of the photo - looks like a dark bundle!

Can you see the orangutan?

Seeing any orangutan is great but we all especially love seeing wild ones, as opposed to the rehabilitated ex-captives seen near to the camps or in Lamandau. Anyway, I am now saying “It’s been ages since I saw a river dolphin….”

Tags: Borneo, Orangutans, Tanjung Puting National Park

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Category: Orangutans, Other wildlife, Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP), Uncategorized | Date: Jan 21 2009 | By: orangutanfoundation

I am sorry for the long silence – I had a fantastic break with my family in Australia. I hope you all had a similarly good end to the year. I actually got back to Indonesia on 9 January but had to spend a frustrating week in Jakarta; the traffic jams in the city are something else!

Anyway, I arrived back in Pangkalan Bun last Thursday and, you’ll be pleased to know, I wasted no time in getting back into the forest. Yesterday, the National Park office hosted a visit by the Bupati, the head of the local Government. There was a cast of thousands; well 67 to be precise but the orangutans did not seem at all fazed.

Visit to Camp Leakey organised by the National Park Office.

There were lots of orangutans about including Tom who remained incredibly cool despite the crowd of onlookers. Even the gibbons came in.

Feeding Site - Camp Leakey

After everyone had moved back to Camp I stayed on at the feeding site as there was a new sub-adult male at the feeding platform. The Assistants tell me it is Popeye, the son of the wild female orangutan Peat. Ashley and I can remember following him when he was just an adolescent. Unfortunately, it was getting very dark and overcast by then so my pictures don’t do the scene justice.

There are in fact three or four orangutans in the photo spread out through the trees - you might be able to just work them out.

The day ended in a local village with a display of traditional dancing. All in all it was a fine welcome back!

Brigitta - thank you very much for you recent donations we really appreciate your support.

Tags: Borneo, Camp Leakey, Orangutans, Tanjung Puting National Park

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Category: Orangutans, Rehabilitation, Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP) | Date: Dec 12 2008 | By: orangutanfoundation

Thank you for all your comments and I’ll do my best to respond to them soon.

Another interesting thing happened on Sunday at Camp Leakey: Siswi almost completely submerged herself in water. Orangutans can’t swim though they do wade. The rehabilitated, ex-captives at Camp Leakey will also play with water but that is probably a behaviour learnt from watching the staff. What made Sunday interesting was that Siswi spent so long in the water. She sat there for a good fifteen minutes and actually bobbed up and down so the water rose up to her chin.

Siswi - adult female orangutan in the river.

I am quite convinced she was simply trying to cool off. However, that does not fully explain a) quite how an orangutan’s natural wariness of water could be so totally overcome; let’s not forget there are crocodiles in these rivers and b) how an orangutan who instinctively shelters from rain, which makes them cold, would on another occasion use water for exactly that purpose.

Siswi sitting in the river

Who knows whether Siswi would have sat in the water for so long if we had not been there and it is not a huge intellectual leap to realise water makes you cold and you can choose when you want to be cool or dry. However, none of that dry scientific reasoning detracts from the interest: orangutans are fascinating!

Tags: Borneo, Camp Leakey, Orangutans

4 responses so far

Category: Orangutans, Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP), Uncategorized | Date: Dec 11 2008 | By: orangutanfoundation

Firstly, a big thank you to Brigiatta for your monthly donation and Maciej for your donation of $100. As you recently visited Tanjung Puting National Park and Camp Leakey this post should hopefully be of interest to you.

In July, we discussed why the orangutan Riga shared her food with her mother, Rani. The reason may be biological or social but what is certain is that it is a rare event between adult orangutans; which is why it was surprising to see it happen again on Sunday – but this time with another twist.

Tom - dominant male

Tom is the undoubted King of Camp Leakey; the dominant male. He doesn’t have to share anything with anybody if he doesn’t want to. On Sunday, he sat down with his bucket of milk and proceeded to slurp away at it with Siswi looking enviously at him. Tut then came up, she had not been to the afternoon feeding so may have been hungry. Tut is Tom’s mother but subordinate to Siswi, so she approached warily.

Tom, however, passed over the bucket without hesitation (and all Siswi could do is continue to look on greedily!).

But what made all this doubly interesting is that it points to an answer to one of the big remaining questions of orangutan research: do they recognise their own parents/offspring? In reality, there is no more reason for Tom to share his milk with Tut than with Siswi (indeed, Tut is not in season but Siswi could be) and yet he did willingly. Why? It would be interesting to think Tom knows his mother and that was why he acted favourably towards her but like so much about orangutan behaviour we still have a lot to learn.

Thank you,

Stephen

PS Apologies for the rain spot on the photo.

Tags: Borneo, orangutan behaviour, Tanjung Puting National Park

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