Researchers observed a male Sumatran orangutan self-treating his facial wound with a healing plant. Even though there is evidence of certain self-medication behaviours in animals, the evolutionary biologists from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior,... View Article
When surrogate mother Eva recently got injured by a branch, she received unexpected emotional support. It was a usual day at the Nyaru Menteng Forest School, where young orangutans learn from one another while their human... View Article
Our Post-Release Monitoring (PRM) team at Camp Himba Pambelum in the Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park finally spotted Suci again. Find out how the young female is doing. The PRM team was thrilled to encounter... View Article
Meet Wiwik Astutik, BOS Foundation’s incredible Volunteer Facilitator. Her passion and love for orangutans are truly inspiring, and it all started almost 30 years ago with a ravaging forest fire. Since when have you been working... View Article
Orangutans are also highly curious beings. Even though our Post-Release-Monitoring team is used to our red cousins’ inquisitive nature, a recent observation took them by surprise. Our PRM team at Camp Nles Mamse woke up to... View Article
Camp Lesik has had a new visitor. The Post Release Monitoring (PRM) team recently observed an orangutan off the back of the camp. While we don’t yet know who this individual is, we can be certain... View Article
Orangutans are semi-solitary primates who spend the majority of their lives alone. However, in some orangutan populations, the females will gather in groups from time to time, especially during the fruiting season, when forest food is... View Article
Recently, our monitoring team conducted nest-to-nest observations on Desi, a female orangutan residing on Juq Kehje Sewen, one of BOS Foundation’s pre-release islands in East Kalimantan. The team, consisting of Aluna, Ubay, Rustam, and Erik, had been... View Article
All living things, including orangutans, have the drive to meet their biological needs: water, oxygen, food, shelter – and the opportunity to reproduce. When it comes to wild orangutans, who live a semi-solitary life, the reproduction... View Article
An overcast sky provided the perfect atmosphere for a relaxing afternoon at Camp Nles Mamse. While resting in a swaying hammock, I read a book and enjoyed the cool air as it gently breezed through the... View Article
On a scorching day at Nyaru Menteng’s Forest School in Central Kalimantan, some students from Group 4 discovered the ultimate way to cool down creating mud bath time. Monte was the first to find a refreshing... View Article
Orangutans have distinctive personalities and unique physical characteristics. These make it easy for those who work with them to tell individuals apart. A few indicators our technicians use to identify orangutans are body size, facial features,... View Article
Our Post Release Monitoring team spotted Long again! The female orangutan left a deep impression on the BOS staff, as her relationship with Arief is one of the most extraordinary we have ever observed. It all... View Article
Earlier this year, our Post-Release Monitoring (PRM) team from Camp Lesik in the Kehje Sewen Forest, East Kalimantan, was observing orangutans when male Hamzah suddenly appeared out of nowhere Hamzah crashes the party. Find out what... View Article
Enrichment is essential in keeping the orangutans in our care mentally engaged while learning vital skills. Dr Nadine Adrianna Sugianto, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, is working on the Orangutan Enclosure Design Tool... View Article
Do you miss cheeky Valentino? He is eagerly tackling his final steps to freedom on a pre-release island. But he still has a lot to learn. Find out how his island life has been going. Valentino,... View Article
Orangutans are fascinating to observe. If you pay attention closely, you will uncover a world of exciting behaviours and interactions. For example, when several individuals come together and form a so-called ‘party’. Our Post-Release Monitoring (PRM)... View Article
Observing orangutans involves collecting data on their behavioural development and physical health. Sometimes, this can be tricky, as we have experienced with Desi on Juq Kehje Swen, a pre-release island she shares with Kimi, a wild... View Article
Two weeks ago, we reported that Hamzah sadly had to part ways with Bong, who we had to transfer to Muara Soh. After we moved Bong, Hamzah appeared displeased, and he disappeared into the forest as... View Article
It was early in the morning when our Post-Release Monitoring (PRM) team at Camp Lesik, in the Kehje Sewen Forest, East Kalimantan, set out to capture Bong. The female orangutan, whom we released five years ago,... View Article
It is always interesting to look at the progress young orangutans make along their rehabilitation journey at our Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. This time, let’s find out what Paulinus, Christina and Monita, the newest members... View Article
‘Crack!’, went the sound of a broken twig, stopping our Post-Release Monitoring (PRM) team from Camp Nles Mamse in the Kehje Sewen Forest, East Kalimantan, in their tracks! Tasked with observing and collecting data on the... View Article
At our orangutan release sites and on our pre-release islands, the BOS Foundation employs special monitoring teams. They conduct regular observations and collect data on how released orangutans are adjusting to their new environment. The data... View Article
Recently, our Post-Release Monitoring (PRM) team from Nles Mamse Camp, in the Kehje Sewen Forest, East Kalimantan, spotted three orangutans building nests only a few minutes’ hike from camp. What makes it so unique: It was... View Article
When our Post Release Monitoring team recently observed female orangutan Desi, they made an exciting discovery. Desi is currently the only rehabilitated orangutan living on the pre-release island of Juq Kehje Swen in East Kalimantan. The... View Article
What a day for our Post Release Monitoring (PRM) team! During their regular observations in the forest, they recently spotted three mother-infant pairs in one spot: Lesan and her daughter Ayu, Sayang and her daughter Padma,... View Article
We have stunning new images right out of the Bornean rainforest for you. These snapshots are not just valuable insights into the life of our released orangutans, they are also evidence of the abundance of species... View Article
The ultimate goal of all of BOS Foundation’s reintroduction efforts is to establish populations of orangutans who are self-sufficient, have babies and raise them to independence. Therefore, the best marker of success for us is when... View Article
The BOS Foundation’s RHO Program team stationed at the Juq Kehje Swen Pre-Release Island in East Kalimantan conducts regular patrols to secure the island and collects observational data on orangutans. The individuals placed on the island... View Article
You might have seen the #10YearChallenge on social media, where people upload two photos of themselves, taken ten years apart. The ‘challenge’ typically highlights just how much an individual’s appearance has, or has not, changed over... View Article
Orangutans, much like their human relatives, each have their own unique personality. Some are friendly and have a playful character, while others are more serious or aloof and like to be left alone. Malika, a 5-year-old... View Article
Orangutans acquire many important skills throughout the rehabilitation process. They must learn how to identify trees, climb them, and build nests in them, in addition to the very foundational skills of how to forage for food... View Article
For the human surrogate mothers at the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, the moment a young orangutan progresses to a more advanced Forest School group is an occasion to celebrate. This promotion occurs whenever an orangutan... View Article
If you’ve ever watched recordings of gorillas, chimpanzees, long-tailed macaques, langurs, gibbons, or proboscis monkeys, you would have seen them gathered in groups, exploring their surroundings or foraging for food together. Orangutans follow a completely different... View Article
“Yooo! Buah, yooo!”, it resounds through our Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Central Kalimantan every morning around 8 o’clock. It is the call of the surrogate mothers to signal the little students in their enclosures... View Article
Orangutans, much like their human relatives, each have their own unique personalities. At our Nyaru Menteng Forest School in Central Kalimantan, we have class clowns, social butterflies, and we have quiet orangutans, who prefer to spend... View Article
